Link: Athletes And Their Contracts
We see it every year, particulalry in the NFL — Player A decides he’s outlived his contract so Agent B says that Player A won’t be in camp until he gets the money he “deserves.” What happens then varies from situation to situation, but in a time when many families are struggling for work, money and employment, holding out for an extra MILLION can come off cold and heartless. Chris Stephens called out Thomas Jones in an effort to encapsulate a growing problem in professional sports.
One athlete was quoted this week as saying that unlike most people in this country, professional football players only have a few years to provide a living for their family for the rest of their lives.
That’s odd because I didn’t know it took millions and millions of dollars to live each year. For some of us common folk, $1 million is something we may make our entire lives. Even at $50,000 a year, which is not bad in today’s society, it would take 20 years to reach the $1 million plateau. But, somehow, we still manage to live comfortably.
I think the problem is some of these athletes live these lavish lifestyles where they have an open pocketbook, then all of a sudden, they retire and they don’t have that income anymore. They don’t know what they will do with themselves. How about get a job like the rest of us? After all, isn’t that why you go to college?
Many of today’s athletes are multi-millionaires and make more money in one year than most of us will make in a lifetime. But, yet, they are still unhappy about how much money they’re making. Some seem to forget that there are many of their team’s fans that pay their hard-earned money just to come watch a game. But, those thoughts escape many athletes because it’s all about them and how they can get paid.
Look, the NFL is a me-first business — player and team-wise. Both NFL execs and players treat the league as it is a cold-hearted business first and foremost, so if it seems that players are “out for me and the money”, you have to excuse them for trying for everything they can get their hands on. But — and this is a big but — Stephens makes a point that these athletes (See: Spreewell, Latrell) state that they only have a few years to make money for their families, but why can’t they get a real job outside of football? Many do, but there are too many of those that claim they need another $15 million to support their family on their private yacht. C’mon. Get serious.
There will always be a severe disconnect between professional athletes and fans because this isn’t the 50′s where most players get 2nd and 3rd jobs to provide. With the way the NFL rookie salary scale is going, it’s only going to get worse. But with the economy as troubled as it is and the unemployment rate skyrocketing, players should expect far less sympathy in the public realm as time goes. It’s not easy to defend someone holding out because they already got paid most of their money (especially when that’s the way they wanted it).
15 Responses to Link: Athletes And Their Contracts
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AL says:
I disagree completely. Nobody complains that your being greedy if you leave your boss to go to work for someone else to make more money. This is their job. If you make 50k and people doing your job in another company make 150k are you being greedy by leaving when you can make a comfotable living at 50?
We as fans are selfish and want these athletes to do what’s best for our team. But then we discard them like trash if they don’t play upto our expectations a la pennington.
People also forgot that 1,000,000 to an athlete after paying his agent and uncle sam can be 450,000.
In NY that fancy athlete can wip out his check book and grab a studio for that kind of money.
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AL, I agree with you 100% I rmember the same guys who hated Abe because he didnt play hurt that playoff game and misssed another with the flu ( by the way, I think he was hurt so bad as to be compl;etely ineffective and if youve ever had the actual flu you know you couldnt play) then, those same guys who louded Pennington becasue he played hurt where the first to say ” cut the guy, hes done”. The player are NO MORE selfish then the fans. ANd most are simply jealous about how much players make
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Jeff says:
Being an athlete is not a right, its a privilege. Regardless of the fact that they play up to expectations or not, they are getting paid alot of money to do it. I mean a backup offensive player or defensive player can make a minimum of around 4-500K a year!
I dont care who you are there are not that many jobs that pay that well! So yes I do believe athletes are getting overpaid. Not so much the veterans but the rookies.
Plus Jones shouldnt complain he restructured that contract and he was smart to do so, but he should know that an aging running back is not as effective as one that is 25
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StvDoe says:
I don’t begrudge athletes their millions. Our society values them, so they get paid. I don’t begrudge anyone, athletes included, trying to get paid as much as they can. That is capitalism. As stated in the article, it’s a two way street. They’ll cut your ass as soon as you don’t perform, so if you do perform, get what you can.
As far as I’m concerned fans who complain about it are just engaging in “sour grapes”.
I do begrudge rookies getting overly rich for what they MIGHT do in the future. I’d sooner see the vets getting some of this money, both in salaries and better benefits for retired players.
But that’s a problem for collective bargaining.
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SackDance99 says:
I don’t begrudge athletes wanting more money, especially when they’ve out-performed their contracts or restructured their deals for salary cap purposes with the front office’s promise to take care of them. Neither is the case with Jones. He made $13.1 for his first 2 Jets seasons. He didn’t earn his money the first season and earned it his second. He’s not giving back any of that money to the Jets for failing to earn his keep. So, why do the Jets have to pay him more for this year? He knows that the Jets will probably cut him before they pay him $6.1 million next season, but focusing on the $900,000 this year ignores the fact that for his 3 years of service, he’ll have earned $14 million. Now, will that end up being a good deal for the Jets or Jones? It’s a risk that both parties were willing to take in 2007. Now, Jones wants to put all the risk on the Jets. I don’t know what the Jets will do, but all I’d do is give him performance-based bonuses. That way the risk would be shared. Anything more rewards Jones for no good reason and, in fact, would reward him for conduct detrimental to the team.
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Jimbo says:
I think you have to take each player’s contract situation on a case by case basis. First, there’s always people who say something to the effect of “Pro athletes make too much money anyway they should quit complaining” but I never like that argument, since if the players aren’t getting the money, the owners are. Might as well spread it around…
Anyway, I agree that in TJ’s situation, he made a pretty nice chunk of cash for 2 seasons of work. Now, he wants more when he’s really not going to be worth it. Perfectly OK in a situation like this to just decide not to redo the contract – no one else would.
Then there’s Joshua Cribbs, who’s gotten a lot of attention over the last few days. Honestly, players need to realize that there’s multiple ways to handle contracts. Cribbs decided to seek an extension early and signed a long term deal to get himself some added job security. Now, he’s two year into a six year deal and wants yet another deal. There’s tradeoffs in contracts, and he made the wrong one. If he went for a shorter contract, he would have a much easier time getting another one. But now he’s just barely into his current contract and wants another extension when there’s no reason for the Browns to offer him one. Out of the other 31 teams in the NFL, there’s a good chance that at 2/3rds of them would do the same thing as the Browns and tell him they’ll consider it later. The only player I can think of recently who managed to get his team to redo a huge contract was Urlacher, and well, Jerry Angelo isn’t exactly the greatest GM out there…
Basically, players need to realize that although they do have a short window to make money (~5-15 years), they make considerably more than the average person, and if they carefully consider their contracts, they can make a lot of money during those years. They have to think long term when they sign contracts and avoid signing a huge deal if they have more potential and could get a bigger deal in the short-term future. Sign the big 6-10 year deals after you’re at your apex.
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two256 says:
Get Paid Now. You are a hypocrite. If you had this talent you would Get Paid Too. Stop wasting my time.
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hank/naples says:
Each business entity is separate and distinct from the other. The rule that “free” market forces dictates always apply, although with football those “free” forces are tilted towards its exclusive ownership. This is where the power weilded changes the scope of the business and forces its members to act in their own interest. Tannenbaum has constantly wielded this power on behalf of the ownership and I don’t blame TJ for protecting his own interest.
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TJBfan says:
I’m glad that many people have the same sentiments i do toward the situation.
We are in a recession…I understand that…but theres been plenty of homeless people in this country since before I was born. Unemployment rates rising etc should have nothing to do with the amount these people get paid because they help stimulate the economy like everyone else.
Lets see….football stars get paid a ridiculous amount of money…what do they do?
-Drive fans to watch the game…
-Millions in merchandise is sold
-People sign up for Direct TV just for sunday ticket
-bars are packed with those wanting to watch the gameAll of those venues flourishing stimulate the economy and create jobs. It would be a crime to let the owners(who HELLO ARE ALREADY RICH) get to keep a bulk of this cash while the people who put their bodies on the line get the short end of the stick.
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Oh and excuse me, the point I ment to make with homeless people in America is that money gaps existed prior to the recession. Suddenly when Middle America’s pockets start to hurt they start lashing out on atheletes for wanting that extra million? It feel its very hypocritical.
Using the 50k a year example…I bet that person didn’t think about the people who have nothing to eat on the street before buying that new car or getting that promotion.
That extra million they are asking for isnt going to charity…so I dont understand that “too greedy” point of view at all.
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James in TN says:
BS, they make too much money as do the owners. When industry keeps drying up then the tv revenues will dry up. When fans can’t afford to go to games Owners will lose money. If something isn’t done to stop the bleeding of our economy, 900K will be the best salary in the league. TJ should be grateful.
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If it were another sport, I’d agree. But does he realize how extensive the medical bills are for these guys after he leaves. Does he realize how many guys are, a few years later, crippled and broke? The players would be stupid NOT to try to get every last cent out of owners that will never take a hit.
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Frank says:
I have no problem with pro athletes making tons of money — this is a market-driven country for better or for worse, and they are entitled to make whatever they can in the market. If someone told me I had 5 years to make 90% of the income I would make the rest of my life, I’d damn well be sure to make as much in those 5 years as possible…
that being said — I think some of these athletes really need some serious PR work. It’s not like they don’t know that we’re in a recession and that they are tens of millions of people who are seriously suffering in this country right now. To say things like “I need to feed my family” is just ridiculous and turns public opinion against them. I actually think what Cribbs said is about as well as you can do it… make it clear that you realize it’s lots of $$ that you are talking about and explain the mindset as much as possible —
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/05/cleveland_browns_cribbs_releas.html
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Hailmatty says:
NFL owners are BILLIONAIRES! People who vilify athletes for seeking better deals seem to forget that if the money doesn’t go in the pockets of the athlete, it stays in the billionaires’ coffers. And none of those fat cat owners are risking life and limb out on the playing field.
great article.
They get too greedy.