Scourge of War Boards

I agree that the owners should open up the books. But... When a running back who makes 10 million bucks a year likens the NFL to modern slavery, it's hard for me to sympathize. His comments can't be helpful to their cause.

If he thinks the NFL is bad he should try soccer in Europe where owners literally buy and sell players. That's right, they don't trade, they buy and sell. In fact many teams balance their books by buying prospects, developing them and then selling them at a profit...

Well said!

Yeah, there's a few guys that ruin it for everyone. No doubt there are bad eggs. I'm guess that I'm considering the majority of the players in my comments. Of course if you want to look at it from the perspective that the 10mil running back is going to be hobbling for the rest of his life so that he can bring us some enjoyment, it paints a different picture. IMO, they all make too much, tickets are ridiculous and it costs more to attend an NFL game than front seats on Broadway. But when I go to split the money, I gotta give the bulk to the guys that are taking the hits. I think the old contract was a pretty good one, if they could have had rookie salary caps and a guarantee that the difference would go to veterans. Other than that, it was a pretty good deal and I think it kept football great.

They may get paid to much Norb but the only reason the money is there in the first place is because, you, me, and millions of other people value their entertainment. If we watched less they would be paid less, same goes for the owners, though in some regard I side with the owners.

Put it this way.

An owner puts up millions of dollars (if not billions in Jerry Jones's case) of their own money, they invest tons and tons of money and its increadibly risky, the NFL isn't imune from losing money, if we watch it less or are less willing to pay high prices for tickets they lose money. So while certainly physically the players take tremendous risks physically it isn't like the owners don't risk a ton and provide a ton. aFte rall if it wasn't for the owners providing all that fancy training equipment the quality of the entertainment would be far less.

The owners are what facilitates the NFL's existence. Take away the owners willingness to spend money and invest in their teams and there is no league that is able to pay players what they get paid now. Take away those billions in investments from the owners and the players will need to look for work elsewhere.

I don't really side with the owners but I don't really side with the players either.

The owners need the players and the players need the owners. The owners deserve some return on their investment and shouldn't see no return on the money they invest, but then again the players need more protection from the injuries and short careers that they typically have.

Basically I don't really feel sorry for either side and I think this could all be solved by transparency. If the owners open up their books and show that they are making a 250% return on investments then it would be obvious the players should get a bigger cut of that or what not. If the owners open up their books and show that their barely staying afloat then the players know they have no case. And if it is somewhere in between (as it likely is) it will be far easier to come to common ground if both sides know what they are really working with.

Absolutely, they make the money because it's there, because we pay it and we watch it every Sunday. I love it and my whole family gathers together, makes a great meal, and cheers on the Eagles. But only when my oldest doesn't have a soccer game.

Good points, but my sympathies still go to the players more than the owners. The biggest injustice for me is the ability for teams to cut players, but not players to cut teams. That's a big issue for me, needs to be fair both ways.

I see the non guaranteed contracts as both a pro and a con.

It's clearly a con because teams can take advantage of players and players have no security. Its a pro because it helps balance the scales and keep lesser well off teams competitive.

Baseball is a good example of how it can be very bad...

A typical baseball example would be from 2007. The Milwaukee Brewers signed Jeff Suppan prior to the 2007 season. The Brewers signed him to a 4 year 40 million dollar deal. Suppan had one decent year as a Brewer and 3 years where he wasn't worth the league minimum and probably was in the top 5 for worst pitchers in baseball. Why this example? The Brewers are in the smallest market in baseball and can't afford to replace him or cut him and pay a lump sum for the entire value of the contract.

I think guaranteed contracts would hamper the game in certain situations and prevent lesser market teams from being able to compete.

The thing that the NFL gets right over any other league is that any team can compete because of the way revenues, salaries, and contracts are handled.

I see it as one sided against the players. It's got to be fair. So either both can cancel the contracts or neither can. Cannot be one sided as it is now. Or some sort of buy out. There must be a cost penalty to canceling a player's contract. Because only the big guys are getting the up front money, there's a lot of work horses in the NFL.

The NFL problem is a bit more complex than how it is being portrayed here.

First, players CHOOSE to play in the NFL. They don't HAVE to play in the NFL. The could use their education - which many received for FREE and included lots of perks that the normal student don't receive -to look for a job in the field of their choice/study.

Second, despite the fact that NFL Players Association claims to be a union, they don't act as a union. If the NFLPA truly was a union, each NFL player would be compensated on a comparable pay scale - basically the worst player and the best player would make the same. Instead, each NFL player negotiates their contract without regard to other players. It is the rare player that negotiates his contract and thinks "hey I should take less so my fellow players can get more." I won't even get into the sham decertification process by the union, which is now a "trade association" but still seems to act collectively.

Third, since when does playing 1 year in the NFL entitle a player for benefits for an entire lifetime? Players, on the whole receive a lot more salary per playing year than the overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. It is up to the individual player to make a determination what to do with their money. If they want to buy a fancy car over a good health insurance or life insurance policy, that is their choice. What people don't see is that the players want additional health insurance benefits, life insurance, etc on top of their current salary, claiming that they are being short changed by the owners. These are new entitlements they want without paying for anything - they want it on top of what they already have. If the majority of us went into our employees and said we want additional benefits without offering to help offset the costs, you can damn well be sure your employer is going to tell you to pound sand.

Finally, the players are demanding that the NFL owners open their books so they can be reveiwed by the players. Hmmm, how many of you walk into the boss's office and say "Show me your books and give me a raise." There is no way in hell that is going to happen.

The players are two-faced in all these negotiations. They don't want NOR ever have wanted guaranteed contracts as they are given bonus money instead. What they want is UP FRONT BONUS MONEY because that is cash in their pockect right now. I have no sympathy for a player who receives $10 million in bonus money and ends up hurt and cut after 2 years. They should be able to live a lifetime on that $10 million but because they are morons they still screw it up. How do you screw up a $10 million bonus??? Even after taxes that is still $6 million dollars. Say you spent a $1 million on a house, car, clothes, furniture, etc you would still have $5 million in the bank. At a very modest 3% investment return per year, that is $150,000 in cash per year without even working!!!! That is more than most of is will ever see.

The argument is that the owners should share more is a joke. The players are well compensated in salary for the risk they are taking. With prudent financial planning many of them will be able to live VERY COMFORTABLY for their entire life WITHOUT WORKING ANOTHER DAY! Owners, are taking all the financial risk of employing hundreds of people, operating multiple facilities and building stadiums. Of course since it is their money they are risking, they are entitled to a very good return on their investment.