Sports Contracts... fair or foul?

[vbb]

It seems everytime one player gets a new deal, other players at the same position feel as if they should also get a new deal if their stats are better than that player's. This is the main driving force behind hold outs and the off season drama. Right now in the NFL, the wide receiver market has been "reset" by Justin Jefferson's major new deal. Now he is arguably the best person in the NFL at his position, and in a prime age, so nobody blinks at him getting the best deal. But other lesser WRs are getting big deals now too, which put them at a higher salary and total compensation package compared to some pro bowl vets in the league. So of course those vets are feeling like they're now underpaid regardless of how many years are left on their contracts, and they want to renegotiate.

What's fair here? Most of us would agree that if some new guy comes in and gets paid more to do the exact same job worse than us, we're getting screwed. But then again, contracts are contracts, and should be followed, right?

[BManBimma]

The thing is NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed unless your name is DeShaun Watson. They may a 5 year contract on paper but 3 may be guaranteed and the other two years the owners have the option to franchise tag at a certain rate for two years. In the NFL I don't have an issue with the players holding out since it's high contact sport and your career can be over with one hit.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by BManBimma

The thing is NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed unless your name is DeShaun Watson. They may a 5 year contract on paper but 3 may be guaranteed and the other two years the owners have the option to franchise tag at a certain rate for two years. In the NFL I don't have an issue with the players holding out since it's high contact sport and your career can be over with one hit.

I would also add these contracts and specifically the guarantees are opaque at best to the layperson. The only money a player is guaranteed is the money they receive at signing. The other "guaranteed" money is only guaranteed if the player is on the roster at certain dates as stipulated in the contract. A fair number of the players will never see all of the guaranteed money reported in these articles. The devil is in the details as they say.

In the grand scheme, these NFL contracts are awful relative to other professional sports leagues. What a lot of people don't realize is the lion's share of NFL players aren't making that much vis-a-vis the occupational hazard. I have no issue with players holding out and wanting more money because of the way these contracts are structured. Players in the NBA or MLB aren't holding out. The holdout is largely an NFL construct and won't go away until these contracts are fixed.

[bagekko]

It's funny how many view salaries of executives in a negative light but don't think twice about an athlete making $50m a year to play a game.

Every time a new mega contract is in the news I want to puke. Salaries of athletes and ticket prices have really turned me off all sports the past 10 years especially. Now college players will be paid a salary from TV revenue... problem will eventually lead to some downfall of sports.

Holdouts in the NFL are the worst, yeah I know how the contracts work. Part of the reason I gave up FF was when a keeper I had held out after only 1 year of his new deal.

Bobby Bonilla got his check the other day, he's still happy with the contract the sucker Mets gave him or took it over...

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by bagekko

It's funny how many view salaries of executives in a negative light but don't think twice about an athlete making $50m a year to play a game.

Every time a new mega contract is in the news I want to puke. Salaries of athletes and ticket prices have really turned me off all sports the past 10 years especially. Now college players will be paid a salary from TV revenue... problem will eventually lead to some downfall of sports.

Holdouts in the NFL are the worst, yeah I know how the contracts work. Part of the reason I gave up FF was when a keeper I had held out after only 1 year of his new deal.

Bobby Bonilla got his check the other day, he's still happy with the contract the sucker Mets gave him or took it over...

The Bobby Bonilla contract was a loser for the Mets for sure. The Chris Davis contract might be the worst. They owe him more than $40M between now and 2037. He'll be getting a nice little check for a while. FWIW, at least Bobby was a good baseball player. Most people probably don't even remember Chris Davis.

[TheWatchGuy]

these leagues make billions a year. who cares what the athletes get paid?

and yeah, as pointed out, NFL players get screwed when it comes to contracts compared to the NBA or MLB. Not fully guaranteed, usually a lot of protections for the team, etc. I have no issue about guys getting the bag. Every year the NFL brings in more and more revenue, and every year we see people complaining about how the latest contract is outrageous.

[JMcLellan]

I don't really care but I'm somewhat forced to pay attention because the media loves to talk about all the dollars being tossed around. Especially in the offseason when there aren't games to talk about, the media has to talk about free agency, contracts, etc.