The 2011 NFL Offseason Thread

This just in: Kevin Burnett is awesome.

There are a few other quotes that raise great points I've yet to see addressed anywhere else. It's about time a player has gone so publicly like this amidst all the mediation and in the advent of the lockout. Now that the NFL, strictly speaking, is currently out of business, hopefully we'll see players become more open and honest concerning Goodell and the rest of the NFL's front office. After all, what's he going to do? Fine them? Suspend them?

I will say, though, that there does need to be a rookie wage scale in place. Even if it becomes similar to the NBA, where the highest-paid rookies would make $3-4 million, there can still be all sorts of performance incentives in place for the Matt Ryans and Ndamukong Suhs who go far above the expecations of a rookie player. A wage scale, at the very least, would protect franchises financially from guys like JaMarcus Russell and Darius Heyward-Bey who have no place being NFL players, let alone such highly-paid ones. Not having a rookie pay scale of some kind in place is simply irresponsible. Yes, the responsibility falls on the teams to draft well (and it wasn't my intent to use Raiders picks as both of my examples), but a wage scale would provide a form of insurance to teams which would allow them to cut their losses (i.e. bust picks) sooner.

If I fuck up at my job, my company can readily fire me; why isn't it that way in the NFL? Even though there's more risk (and thus, shorter average careers) playing in the NFL as opposed to a "regular" job, the risk isn't that much higher to justify $30-40 million guaranteed, to unproven players. Obviously, I don't know all the nuances of the negotiation proceedings, but if the NFLPA wasn't expecting that aspect of the NFL to change, they are smoking some very high-quality stuff.

 

I used to think that same way but now I think it's stupid. The owners did it to themselves. They are the ones willing to give them that kind of contract. They don't have to pay the person, let them sit out.

 

Wait until the summer hits. Once it sinks in for a lot of guys that this shit isn't getting fixed, shit is going to get real, real fast. Some of the veterans and educated players that have been in the mix for awhile are going to get real honest. It'll be good to hear that shit.

 

I don't even have to wait that long: Derrick Mason adds his name to the list.

 

As much as I hate the Cowboys and Jerry Jones especially, you think he wants anything to do with this lockout? It is the owners in the small market teams that are driving this. Jerry Jones is making so much money off the Cowboys that he would end this right now.

 

Yeah, if anyone is not happy about being able to continue to show off his new toy it is Jerry Jones. He couldn't wait for Romo to come back. He's probably sitting there pissed as shit yelling at all the shitty owners to get their shit together. And I don't think Bob Kraft is heading this up either, he barely pays his players so...

 

Whatever. You know he's secretly waiting to show off his other new toy: Jon Kitna. Tony WHO??

 

Part of the stalemate, it seems, revolves around whether to implement fixed rookie contracts. To wit: 5 years for 1st-round picks, 4 years for picks in rounds 2-7. There are obvious pros and cons to it, and I'm not sure what to make of it. Thoughts?

 

I don't understand why this is an "offer." Ignoring the part in the article about veteran holdouts because that's a separate issue....wouldn't both sides be in favor of lower rookie salaries?

Current NFL players would make more money b/c more money is diverted to veterans.
Owners are better off because the rules allow them to dedicate more money to proven veterans rather than unproven rookies.
The only people who should be opposed to this are future rookies...who aren't members of the current NFLPA.

I don't understand how this was even a point of contention between any of the involved parties. Note that the quotes against this come from agents, not players. They aren't saying this because it's worse for the current players. They're saying it because it's worse for the agents' wallets. Last time I checked, agents were not members of the NFLPA...

 

Obviously it's bad for the agents involved, but I think the players would have the biggest objection to the mandatory rookie contract lengths and limiting their ability to hold out for a renegotiated deal before that time is up. The average NFL career is only around 4 years. A player taken after the first round that becomes a breakout star in his first couple years would lose the ability to hold out for a renegotiated contract until the original one was up. Considering that in the current environment, most contracts aren't (at least fully) guaranteed and an owner can cut a player and his salary for virtually any reason, it makes sense for the players push back against a proposal like this.

Another possibility (that I have no proof of at all) would be that the players are against it because they don't want to have any divisions in the union for negotiations in the future. Its entirely possibly that the younger players would resent the veterans for taking away their big payday while the veterans made a lot of guaranteed money and huge signing bonuses.

 

That's what I don't understand either. The agents are squawking in a mediation that's messy enough without them getting their bloodsucking ways involved. The quotes are laughably fucking stupid:

O rly? Granted, CJ is an outlier who I don't blame for holding out, but he's certainly not the first player to do so after outperforming his rookie contract. Sign new players to affordable contracts, and IF they play far beyond what their contracts would suggest, then they should be able to opt for more money. But paying a guy $30M guaranteed before they take the field? Find me someone who matters (i.e. no agents or incoming rookies) who actually advocates that. The owners did it to themselves, though. Apparently the only way to eliminate it is for the NFL to say, "Look, you guys suck at spending your own money, so we're making some restrictions that makes things better for everyone."

I can't figure out if he's suggesting that's a bad thing, because it certainly isn't. As much as I love watching Oakland make stupid, expensive picks year in and year out, such a system is unhealthy for the league. Giving teams a way out of bad contracts will restore the competitive balance.

 

It's all part of the negotiation game. The players may want it, but they want the owners to make some other concession in order to agree to it. Meanwhile the owners will try to call the players' bluff, since they're the ones who stand to gain more from it and would prefer not to have to make any other concessions in order to get the players to agree to it.

 

Amidst a shitty offseason composed of, "Well, doing this means these guys won't make as much money," Brandon Marshall got stabbed by his wife last night. Bitches be crazy.



I may have been a bit bitter about the way he left Denver, but I certainly don't wanna see the dude killed. Good to see that he's okay, though.

 

Is that George Foreman with a wig on, look at that fucking nose. You would think a rich professional athlete good do better.

 

God damn, I wouldn't keep guns or knives if she was in my house. And, didn't he get arrested for hitting her a few years back? Two complete idiots.

 

Fun fact: he was released on $300 bail, so says teh Wiki. You think he just gave the judge a funny look, like, "Dude, I have that much in my wallet right now. Here ya go. Deuces."

Also, the stabbing incident is, not surprisingly, already updated on his Wikipedia page. Just a general rule of thumb: when a professional athlete has a special Wikipedia section devoted to his legal troubles, he's probably bad news bears for your ballclub.

 

I could be wrong, but I think she-he played Kunta Kinte on Roots. Hell, the guards begged for the Judge to release it. She-he scared the cons and guards to death. Plus, was it put in the men's or woman's holding cell? So many questions…