KERBER: Hypocrisy Is Big In NFL

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Chris Kerber
CBS St Louis
<a class="postlink" href="http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/08/02/kerber-hypocrisy-is-big-in-nfl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/08/02/ ... ig-in-nfl/</a>

Osi Umenyiora is right. Hypocrisy is a perfect word to describe what happens with NFL contracts. Why should fans be upset with a player that wants to restructure a contract but that same standard is not forced upon the teams? The NFL is the only league that does it right. Only a certain portion of a contract is guaranteed and beyond that, the team can do what it wants to that contract and player. Keep it. Cut him. Or ask it to be restructured. When a players value falls or contract value becomes prohibitive, a team can restructure things to fit there needs. It is as close to a performance based system that exists in sports.

But turnabout is fair play. Teams cut players because they under-perform, or don’t want that contract anymore based on the market or their needs. We have seen it happen to players of any talent level, hall-of-famers to rookies. Fans never seem to complain that the team should have honored the contract they signed. But when a player out-performs his contract based on the market, and wants it redone or restructured, fans jump on them for not honoring the deal they signed.

You can’t have it both ways. If you have a problem when a player does it, have a problem when a team does it. If you don’t have a problem when a team does it, don’t have a problem when a player does it. Pretty simple. I like the system the NFL has and therefore don’t have a problem when a player holds out or demands more based on out-performing his contract. Look at what the Rams did to Oshiomogho Atogwe the last two seasons to avoid paying him a bonus. The argument is whether you believe Atogwe outplayed or lived up to his contract.

It’s different from baseball, hockey and basketball where the entire contract is guaranteed no matter how a player performs or what a teams needs are. Hockey teams can buy a player out, but teams still have to pay two-thirds of what is left on the contract. It’s much easier to demand the integrity of honoring a contract when both sides have to uphold that integrity. In the NFL, that does not exist. You can’t demand the players uphold the integrity of a contract when the teams don’t have to. That’s being a hypocrite and that’s where Osi Umenyiora is right.

 

[JdashSTL]

After reading this the first thing I thought about was what Mike Brown said about Carson Palmers contract. He said Palmer is supposed to be committed to the contract he signed. Yes the player can be committed, but how often is the team committed to the contract?? If Palmers performance continued to struggle they could have cut him or traded him whenever.

As fans, sometimes we may get upset with the players a little too much, and when it comes to contracts we believe guys like Chris Johnson and Desean Jackson are just being greedy. They arent. They deserve more money because of their performance. There are also situations where its okay to be upset with the players. Rookie holdouts. 49er fans had to go through this with Crabtree, he deserved all of the criticism he got. Another situation to look at is what happened with Jacob Bell. He signed a lucrative deal when he came here. He didnt perform up to expectations, but he has been a solid player tho. We asked him to restructure his contract and thats a tough thing for any player to accept, but it still worked out for us.

 

[Memento]

After reading this the first thing I thought about was what Mike Brown said about Carson Palmers contract. He said Palmer is supposed to be committed to the contract he signed. Yes the player can be committed, but how often is the team committed to the contract?? If Palmers performance continued to struggle they could have cut him or traded him whenever.

As fans, sometimes we may get upset with the players a little too much, and when it comes to contracts we believe guys like Chris Johnson and Desean Jackson are just being greedy. They arent. They deserve more money because of their performance. There are also situations where its okay to be upset with the players. Rookie holdouts. 49er fans had to go through this with Crabtree, he deserved all of the criticism he got. Another situation to look at is what happened with Jacob Bell. He signed a lucrative deal when he came here. He didnt perform up to expectations, but he has been a solid player tho. We asked him to restructure his contract and thats a tough thing for any player to accept, but it still worked out for us.

Chris Johnson doesn't have the right to do what he's doing. Admittedly, I did lose a lot of my respect for him when I saw how little he respected guys like Dickerson and Faulk, but the contract holdouts just solidified my stance. If I'm not mistaken, this is the second time in three seasons he's held out. That, to me, is greed. He saw what the Panthers paid Deangelo Williams, and he decided that he was worth more. So he's holding out, skipping practices, etc. It's getting to the point where the Titans management can't trust his word. If I pulled the same crap at my job, I wouldn't have one.

Jackson might have a fair claim to hold out. He's getting paid significantly less than all of the other stars on the Eagles. Still, after seeing his teammate, Jeremy Maclin, contract a serious illness (from what I heard, he lost twenty pounds of muscle as a result of his sickness and just gained it back) and still come back to work his arse off, I'm less inclined to sympathize with Jackson.

 

[JdashSTL]

Well I didnt like him holding out the offseason after he rushed for 2,000 yards. He didnt produce enough consistently in the NFL to earn more money. Yes he had that great season, theres still uncertainty on whether or not he can continue to be productive. Last year was another productive season for him. Hes the Titans best player. RBs take a lot of punishment so I understand why he would want more money.