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One thing players and its union have in common with owners is the desire for money.
Who gets it and who should has been a bone of contention especially in recent years with billions in revenue being generated.
Since the Paul Tagliabue sell off and even before, the tone and consistency of the game has changed from one of pride and honor to one of greed and selfishness.
Not exactly great news for a so called “team” sport.
Whether the retirement this year of Brett Favre is the complete end of such seemingly antiquated notions like playing for the love of the game is debatable, but more than ever, the NFL, like most monolithic business ventures in Dick Cheney’s America, is focused now on explosive, unsustainable growth and the almighty dollar.
Thats not necessarily a bad thing for players, but it has brought about the issue of guaranteed money in the $10s of millions of dollars to guys who’ve never played a down of professional football.
Simply “paying the guys who’ve earned it” sounds like a feasible and logical plan, after all, paying veterans who produce over long periods of time makes more sense, but this too could have unforseen affects not only rookies wallets, but on veterans careers too.
Some veterans play seasons into the double digits not only because they love the game and can, but because the kid waltzing into camp in pre season signed for more guaranteed money than they may make in their entire careers.
Some veterans stay and play to get the pay.
With distribution of big money to high caliber veterans instead of rookies, one wonders if careers might get shortened by vets who could still have tread on the tire, but are suddenly set for life. Several, lives actually...
It would likely have the affect of inspiring greater play and dedication from new comers looking to one day earn their place in the sun, but as it stands now, some young players day one in the League realize they and their family / entourage might not have to worry a whole lot about money ever again.
Its not too far of a leap to think this might be counter inspirational, especially for todays 20 somethings brought up on a steady diet of consumerism through corporate hypnosis and an artificial “Thug life” the less informed tend to gravitate toward. Some of them have yet to learn materialism means very little in the end and sadly, some of them never will.
Most of them find out how fleeting the success they strived for all of their adult lives is, unless they’re the rare exceptional athlete, really lucky and or have a solid, honest foundation supporting them. In fact, the most successful usually have all three.
The less succesful ones end up working regular jobs after their brief taste of the NFL.
Whether some of todays players will suffer in later years from might have beens, regretting opportunity for glory and immortality lost is anyones guess, but if the system were reversed and veterans got the pay, problems would likely still persist.
With the current system, it seems some players are content to take the money and coast or are foolish and arrogant enough to jeopardize potential future earnings with questionable and often illegal behavior.
Even with morality and performance clauses, players often come away far richer than they had been.
For that matter, some veteran players may coast after hitting it big and or retire earlier.
Yet, its harder to believe vets who worked themselves into a position to theoretically earn those back half big bucks would simply bail out with tread on the tire, but with the risk of injury always a "Spectre", long suffering families and potential for broadcast and advertising dollars, an early retirement is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Whether current commissioner Roger Goodell’s apparent lambasting of todays system means anything or is simply an opinion, will be born out over the next 3 years (Gene Upshaw, former Raider great and current Executive Director of the NFL players association, fired a shot back across the commissioners bow, stating “Mr. Goodell represent the owners. Not the players.”) but its still not clear if the “businness men” in charge of the NFL know how to do anything other than rape and pillage, let alone nuture and expand what for all intents and purposes is a proverbial golden goose.
If they run the NFL like they have the country...
The point is, changes to the current NFL pay system seems long over due, but will likely have short and long term ramifications both seen and unseen for years, even decades to come, not only for exiting veterans and rookies alike, but most importantly for the fans.
Lost in all of this by both sides is the simple fact players and owners seem to forget with out us, the fans, there will be fewer billions to squabble over....
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