The Crying Season in Football

It's the crying season in the National Football League. Names such as Chad Johnson of the Bengals, Jason Peters of the Bills, Osi Umenyiora and Plaxico Burruss of the Giants, Brian Urlacher of the Bears and Anquan Boldin of the Cardinals are all protesting/posturing/withholding services in quest of more money. No NFL team is immune to these issues and none should delude itself into thinking so.

It is predictable with human nature that these complications arise. Free agency raised the bar at the top of the pay scale for each position and created long-term ramifications for players watching the marketplace race past the contracts they signed in recent years. Further, the attention given to contracts of top draft choices such as Jake Long and Matt Ryan -- that have not played a play in the NFL -- stirs the emotions of these players that they are underpaid.

To many players, who are highly competitive people on the field and off it, the equation is simple:

"Player X got paid this; I am better than Player X; I deserve more than he got." The fact that the player has remaining years on his contract or that his team's financial obligations may be different is given little credence.

Even for players with strong inner peace about who they are and what they make, the "whisper crew" -- his agent, other agents, other players, friends, family, wife, media, etc. -- is always reminding him that he is underpaid. At the Packers I braced myself every year for the inevitable calls from agents and players about being underpaid at the news of a similar player receiving a sparkling new contract.

There are different kinds of private or public stands that a player can make to ratchet up the stakes with a team. Two that stand out are Terrell Owens with the Eagles a few years ago and Chad Johnson with the Bengals this year. Due to the flamboyant nature of the players - wide receivers are the Hollywood divas of the NFL - their public demands for new contracts provided much-needed fodder for off-season media coverage

What leverage does a player to force the team to redo an existing contract? That is dependent on how the team responds. A player's objective in the behaviors above is to generate a level of angst among management that may eventually lead to action. The greater the swirl of discussion the player can create internally -- coaches buzzing how much they need the player, teammates supporting the player getting what he can, management feeling some real or imagined pressure -- the closer he is to his objective. Once the team steps out and takes a stand, however, the player's goal of creating tension that leads to action dissipates.

The team's response is important in ways far beyond the specific player, as the message resonates with the locker room on how it deals with the issue. Every player is watching and imagining himself in that situation. Agents and players always can make a case why they should be treated differently than other players on the team, but the most compelling argument a team can make is existing precedent.

Earlier this off-season, Chad Johnson said that he would retire rather than continue playing for the Bengals. Coach Marvin Lewis responded wishing Johnson luck in his retirement. Johnson - and all his peripheral baggage -- is now back participating with the Bengals. End of story.

The crying season is in full swing and will continue up until and through training camp. Some players will be rewarded with new contracts, some will be stonewalled, and some will reach some sort of compromise. With the market changing drastically due to free agency, a rising (and perhaps disappearing) Salary Cap, and lush numbers given to players at the top of the draft, the byproduct of unhappy players is becoming an annual rite of spring and summer in the NFL landscape. Come September, however, it will be as shock if any of these players is not playing. Still whining, perhaps, but playing nonetheless.

Comments

[drkazmd65]

As somebody that went to college, got educated, and worked his way gradually into a respectibly paying job via merit,... these guys need to get over themselves.

Yes - pro sports athletes (especially American Football) have (generally) very short careers with age and injury taking a rapid toll.

Yes - pro sports athletes can make the owners of their teams and their leagues sh*tloads of money and deserve a cut.

But - how on earth is the 'typical' person supposed to take somebody seriously compalints that somebody (for example Mr. Urlacher) who signed a 9-year contract back in 2003 with a $13 million signing bonus up front, and a seven-year of ~$40 million is underpaid.

With an NFL league minimum salary for rookies of $285,000 (not including any signing bonuses) as of 2007, and correspondingly higher salaries for those with longer tenure,... maybe the rookies have something to complain about - but Mr. Urlacher and Mr. Johnson just need to shut up, count their (physical) blessings, and play the game.

[Nommo]

That isn't yours to judge. Perhaps you should have been a walk on.

[WIpatriot]

A Professional Athlete Bubble to burst??

[jvarga]

Any opinion on the disconnect between the fact that teams do not have to honor contracts, and can cut players at any time, but players are expected to honor the terms of a contract?

[bstring]

that's a bunch of crap.
When they get cut, they don't give back the signing bonus they got, and all the upset crybaby fans forget that the contract pays a yearly salary but the team never gets credit in the discussion for the millions paid up front.