Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
There's no rule against guaranteed contracts in the NFL; the players don't push for them because the money is less.
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Well, that certainly convinces me. I'll hold my breath waiting for the MLB and NBA player's associations' push for non-guaranteed contracts with the only guaranteed money coming in the form of bonuses.
Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Regardless, I have a really hard time ginning up sympathy for players who make millions to do what many of us, as kids, dreamed of doing, even for free.
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I see. I guess you never dreamt of owning a team...as a hobby.
Sure, there are a good number of players who have signing bonuses that guarantee a lush lifestyle for the rest of their lives. Sure, many of them make so much more than we could ever hope to make, even if they are caught in a contract and aren't earning what is market for their position. But arguing that the players are so lucky that they shouldn't whine about getting fucked by owners is the argument I avoid having with the idiot at the game wearing this:
Are you one of those guys who think baseball should never have been forced to give players free agency too?
So many of the players in the NFL have very short careers (on average, careers last three years). Minimum salaries for the first three years are as follows:
1st year -- $225,000
2nd year -- $300,000
3rd year -- $375,000
Combine that with the fact that most players don't receive signing bonuses that will ensure their financial security in case of injury. Then throw in the fact that teams can release players in the middle of their contracts without being responsible for any of the player's salary for the remaining years on the contract. Once you've got that bubbling, sprinkle in all the injuries and destruction on players' bodies a lifetime of football brings and tell me again why I should weep for owners and turn my nose up at the players for being spoiled brats living my childhood dream. I'd switch places with any owner before any player in a second.
TM
