Richard Sherman: "Players Have To Be Willing To Strike"

[LesBaker]

I don't think people expect the players to strike to get rid of the CBA, but to be willing to strike when CBA negotiations come up in 2020.

In order for there to be some contracts that are mostly or completely guaranteed it'll take a big name to threaten to sit out or actually sit out until he gets that deal.

I will regurgitate much of this in future conversations giving people the impression that I am smarter than I am

Quoting @Mackeyser may not give you the street cred you're looking for. Pop off a rhyme or two that's kinda edgy and you may get there faster .

Grant Hill made many, many millions playing a few games a season. Fully guaranteed contracts allow some players to hang on too long. That said, with careers in the NFL being generally so short, I can't say I'd be in favor of nothing guaranteed because career ending injuries in the NBA are relatively rare. In the NFL, they're a significant reason why guys stop playing.

I don't know how many contracts Hill got that were 100% guaranteed. Did he pull that shit on a few deals? That agent is good for sure.

Part of the reason NFL deals are not similar to MLB and NBA deals is exactly what you mention. The careers are often short, or can come to an abrupt end. With a hard cap it's difficult to navigate the landscape. So many things will have to change, and it's going to be complex and the first set of changes will only be a starting point just like they were in the NBA. The smart thing for the players is to fire that knucklehead Smith as their union leader. He cut the worst deal for the most profitable sport. For fucks sake the refs union leadership did better than that asshat.

 

[-X-]

players throughout the league are confounded by the disparity between NBA and NFL player pay.

Play 82 games like they do then.

 

[dieterbrock]

Can one not play for the honor and achievement of the game while also deserving and earning a respectable chunk of the money his efforts have earned a team and a league?

Over a million a year to play a game for a living isn't respectable?

 

[Mojo Ram]

The NFL should be the model. It's the NBA and MLB that needs change.

I'm not saying it can't be tweaked, but whatever changes are made should be made for what best serves the game and the league itself.

 

[Angry Ram]

Since when did Dick Sherman become the voice of the players?

He's such a hypocrite, with his lucrative $40 million deal contract. Yeah, he's more than willing to sign that deal and yet was the subject of trade talks this past draft.

I'm so thankful he's not the REAL representative of the players.

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/07/23/nflpa-message-save-now-fight-later/

NFLPA message: “Save now. Fight later”
Posted by Mike Florio on July 23, 2017

Getty Images

At a time when NFL players seem to be realizing that better pay will come only through labor strife, the NFL Players Association has a message for its membership: “Save now. Fight later.”

The union recently posted a video on Twitter with that message. The message to save money is a sensible one even without a potential work stoppage in four years.


View: https://twitter.com/NFLPA/status/888454346228342784

But the fundamental problem continues to be this — many of the players who may be expected to go without pay in 2021 have none to save now because they’re currently playing in college or high school. So they will have saved little or nothing, or otherwise may have nothing, if/when a strike happens.

Still, plenty of guys presently in the NFL will still be in the NFL in four years, and if as many of them as possible have enough money to go a year without playing, the players have a chance of winning.

It’s nevertheless a small chance, in part because the league would likely hire replacement players and continue to stage games, like the league did in 1987. And as the games go on and players who want to play are tempted to return and get paid to play football, it can all fall apart. Like 1987.

Then there’s the “fight later” aspect of the message. Frankly, players can fight now. (Or, more accurately, in about nine months.) None of them are required to show up for the voluntary portion of the annual offseason program, which is essentially a license to legally strike from every April through June.

If they can’t muster the will to collectively boycott the offseason program at some point over the next three offseasons, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be able to launch and maintain a work stoppage after the next four football seasons.

 

[den-the-coach]

FWIW's the owners might have to cave on the guaranteed money especially with the concussion issues, but the contract does not have to be as large for example, 20 million dollar deal all guaranteed as opposed to a 40 million dollar deal with 18 million guaranteed. Really just a 2 million dollar difference, but it makes the players feel more secure. Problem is common sense does not usually reign supreme during collective bargaining agreements.

 

[dieterbrock]

Sure. Owners will guarantee contracts. I assume players will be willing to take a pay cut in return?

 

[JackDRams]

This is fucked. How can you compare the NBA to the NFL at all? I don't follow basketball, but how many games a year, do those guys play? 80? How many game do NFL players play per year? 19 at the fuckin most? The fuck outta here with that shit. As an NFL player, you basically get paid to workout most of the week. No way, do NFL players deserve the massive contracts that the MLB and NBA do. Those guys play every other night. If not more. What the NFL needs, is an increase to minimum contracts. Anything under a million a year, gone. Not worth the risk of injury.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

Where is the money gonna come from for nfl players to get the same individual money guaranteed as nba and mlb players?

Nfl -1,700 players
Nba - 360 players
Mlb - 750 players

Impossible. What are they fighting about?

.

 

[DCH]

.

Where is the money gonna come from for nfl players to get the same individual money guaranteed as nba and mlb players?

Nfl -1,700 players
Nba - 360 players
Mlb - 750 players

Impossible. What are they fighting about?

.

Revenues by league, per MarketWatch:
NBA - $4.8 billion - $13 million per player
MLB - $9.5 billion - $12.6 million per player
NFL - $13 billion - $7.6 million per player

Average salary by league, per BusinessInsider:
NBA - $4.58 million - 35% of the per-player revenue
MLB - $4.17 million - 33% of the per-player revenue
NFL - $2.11 million - 28% of the per-player revenue

It works out that even with more players, the players are making enough less and the league is earning enough more that any high-school superstar athlete would be a fool to choose football over baseball or basketball. Plus the fact that the NFL player salaries are non-guaranteed...

 

[lockdnram21]

I follow the NBA pretty closely...when the salary cap exploded last year and the contract details came out, it really was mindboggling.

A really hard pill to swallow if I'm an NFL player, because despite the vast difference in players in the league, the NFL makes A LOT more than the NBA.

NBA and MLB plays way more games....

 

[lockdnram21]

Well, when the average NFL career is 3.3 years, and the median likely lower than that, plus your median salary being $770k, it's not surprising that so many players go broke. You're talking about a good-not-great salary (especially when compared to other professional sports) and a crazy short career, and not to mention a career that can very easily lead to a lifetime of health problems and medical expenses.

NFL players ain't all Bentleys and caviar.

Other sports play way more games... NBA plays 7 times more and MLB plays over 10 times more

 

[FrantikRam]

NBA and MLB plays way more games....

Well first, they play about as many games as the human body can take. Which means football is a lot harder on the body (obviously).

Second, who cares about games from a players perspective? They have one day off a week on average during their season - about the same as baseball and basketball.

The NFL season, work wise (which again, is what the players care about) runs from mid July to mid January or later - about 6 months - 7 months if you count OTAs and have a deeper playoff run.

MLB runs from February-ish to September - October for a deeper playoff run - 7-8 months

NBA runs from October to June - 7-8 months depending on how far you go

But, the NFL arguably requires more upkeep for your body than the other sports, which means even in your "offseason", you don't spend a ton of time relaxing if you want to stay in the league.

And as far as during the season goes, you often hear of football players working 12+ hours per day - I've never heard of NBA or MLB players doing the same.

I would safely guess that all in all, the average NFL player puts in more work than the average NBA or MLB player. So you have..

Hardest sport - NFL
Most revenue - NFL
Most hours worked by players total - NFL
Least amount of money made for the players as a percentage of the revenue - NFL

Something doesn't add up..

 

[Merlin]

Hardest sport - NFL
Most revenue - NFL
Most hours worked by players total - NFL
Least amount of money made for the players as a percentage of the revenue - NFL

Something doesn't add up..

Yep but is it...

1. The NFL is the model the other sports should be following (IMO the non-guaranteed contracts are the way to do business but of course there is also the conversation re: percentage of income to players).

or

2. The NBA & MLB are the model the NFL should be following.

And again, for myself there is no way I'd allow for guaranteed contracts. To keep that at bay I'd be all for raising the percentage of income to the player salary cap, raising the player minimum wage, etc.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Making whack trades and selling assets to dump guaranteed player contracts is just a part of what i don't like about the NBA model....from a fan perspective. Teams get straddled with mega deals and there's no way out and no way to improve the team when you've got Joe Shmo guaranteed to make his 5 year, $100mill contract. Salary dump trades are bad for the game IMO.

 

[DCH]

Yep but is it...

1. The NFL is the model the other sports should be following (IMO the non-guaranteed contracts are the way to do business but of course there is also the conversation re: percentage of income to players).

or

2. The NBA & MLB are the model the NFL should be following.

And again, for myself there is no way I'd allow for guaranteed contracts. To keep that at bay I'd be all for raising the percentage of income to the player salary cap, raising the player minimum wage, etc.

That's a very difficult question, but keep in mind that the existence of the NBA and MLB models - and the continued success and profitability of both leagues - means that it behooves the NFL players to pursue higher pay and better security.

 

[dieterbrock]

This is freaked. How can you compare the NBA to the NFL at all? I don't follow basketball, but how many games a year, do those guys play? 80? How many game do NFL players play per year? 19 at the freakin most? The freak outta here with that crap. As an NFL player, you basically get paid to workout most of the week. No way, do NFL players deserve the massive contracts that the MLB and NBA do. Those guys play every other night. If not more. What the NFL needs, is an increase to minimum contracts. Anything under a million a year, gone. Not worth the risk of injury.

Exactly, and NBA teams can go over the cap to re-sign their veterans

 

[bluecoconuts]

Hardest sport - ̶N̶F̶L̶ NHL
Most revenue - NFL
Most hours worked by players total - ̶N̶F̶L̶ NHL
Least amount of money made for the players as a percentage of the revenue - ̶N̶F̶L̶ NHL

Fixed that for you.

These CBA's are really complex, the NBA model would never really work for the NFL, which is why they borrowed elements from the NHL for their current CBA.


*Edit* also NHL season runs from September to June... September is when training camps open up, mid June is when the Stanley Cup finals ends. Teams can play over 100 games in a season (like the LA Kings did in 2014 when they played only 2 games less than the absolute maximum games), and it's more punishing on the body.

 

[LesBaker]

Second, who cares about games from a players perspective? They have one day off a week on average during their season - about the same as baseball and basketball.

Not rezlly. They have 1-3 off.

Something doesn't add up..

The issue is the NFLPA is shit ans DSmith is a buffon who fucked the players over because he's incompetent. Upshaw wasn't any better and was making HUGE money for being bad at what he did.

Making whack trades and selling assets to dump guaranteed player contracts is just a part of what i don't like about the NBA model....from a fan perspective. Teams get straddled with mega deals and there's no way out and no way to improve the team when you've got Joe Shmo guaranteed to make his 5 year, $100mill contract. Salary dump trades are bad for the game IMO.

It's true they aren't good for the teams that are doing the dumping if they are doing it simply to shed players and rebuild unless they get a lot of picks to rebuild. Otherwise it's a garage sale. But if a team has a big contract that is expiring another team can do a deal with them and it can help both teams sometimes too. It's a two way street.

That's a very difficult question, but keep in mind that the existence of the NBA and MLB models - and the continued success and profitability of both leagues - means that it behooves the NFL players to pursue higher pay and better security.

The NBA and MLB have way lower overhead so they can give the players a little more. The NFL spends lavishly, has a huge corporate staff and so on. They are more top heavy then the NBA. The stadium financing is also a HUGE expense because of the high cost of building the palaces that the overly greedy owners want. There are a lot of things that contribute to this thing.

Exactly, and NBA teams can go over the cap to re-sign their veterans

I have always said that the NFL should model after the NBA with some changes to adapt it to the uniqueness of the sport. The NBA has done a better job for the vets than any sport. Meanwhile the idiot DSmith just figured that plugging in a rookie cap without allowing teams to give more to their own FA or coming up to FA vets was to fucking hard to figure out even though the example was RIGHT IN FRONT of his face.

Even if they ONLY had a Larry Bird Exception type of rule it would help. And tha't one of half a dozen things they could have gleaned from teh OLD deal the NBA had with it's union.

The difference is the NBA leadership on both sides of the table is head and shoulders better than the NFL's.