When 95%+ of the workforce can do a particular job there is no incentive to pay more than $7.50/hr. Just because you work 40 hrs, doesn't mean it's equivalent work to someone else who works 40 hrs.
It's not a scare tactic, it is incentive for the consumer to honor the contract in good faith. If they breach the contract they have to pay a penalty. If there were no early termination fee the contract would be all but worthless and it would be much harder to not only retain customers early on but be able to secure all the resources necessary to obtain things customers might want (NFL Ticket, 3D channels, early PPV movies, more HD channels, etc) and which would keep them coming back regardless of contract.
He doesn't control his destiny. When he decided to sell his services, he didn't choose who he sold them to. He didn't impose a cap on his salary. Whether he makes $1 or $1,000,000,000,000 is irrelevant. What is relevant is that he has the opportunity to make every single cent he is worth.
Sounds like he should start his own team/league and stop working for someone else. No matter how good he is, no matter how relevant he thinks he is, he is a player who, after all, was willing to sell his soul to the sum of a relevant 40mil...
Or maybe his employer should be subject to the principles of a free market like almost every employer in this country is? Maybe he should have had the opportunity to play for whichever NFL team offered him the most money out of college?
Agreed. The NFL is better off violating anti-trust and labor laws. But in order for the teams to get away with this, they must either A. get an anti-trust exemption from Congress, or B. pay the players enough to keep them happy.
In a general sense, yes. Without their existence there is a strong likelihood the Vikings would not exist.
The Vikings absolutely wouldn't exist without the NFL structure of the past 20+ years. Instead, there would likely be a more efficient and better run organization taking their place.
So then, why does it matter whether we identify him as employed by a specific current team or the NFL in general? Oh, and a more efficient and better run organization(s) wouldn't necessarily translate to AP having a higher salary assuming that his salary were even capless.
Yes he did. He could have went to work for mcdonalds. Or Subway. Or go get a job at a college, or high school sports. He could have ... oh you get the point! Yes the NFL is unique, they are not a monopoly, they are not slave drivers. it's like going to GE and they say you don't get to choose your division, you're working in Michigan. Or something along those lines. They are 32 different franchises/companies, but also part of the Co-Op which is the NFL. It's like have you ever tried buying an apartment in a co-op in New York? It is really hard to analogize with normal businesses because this is a unique situation.
he could. Then the team with the most money wins. Then you have a crappy product. And AP won't make $40,000,000.00 he'll make $40,000.00. Ask him which he prefers.
Because he chose to play in the NFL, but he didn't chose to play for the Vikings. There is a big difference between playing for a well-run organization and a poorly-run organization. The system the NFL has in place provides no competition for owners such as Ralph Wilson, or Paul Brown, or Dan Snyder. If you get drafted by the Bengals, you're in a black hole for the next 5 years. The players agree to give away their rights to chose who they play for. People can characterize the players as ungrateful or spoiled, but the reality is there have already been major concessions made by them to allow owners like Ralph Wilson and Paul Brown to make a lot of money being very bad at their job.
I disagree. I think you would see owners *gasp* be innovative and creative. They'd actually have to do a good job managing their organizations. Maybe Ralph Wilson will actually hire a scouting department for the Cincinnati Bengals!
I've not done that, but he absolutely did choose to play for the Vikings. He could have done just like Bo Jackson did and not signed with the team that originally drafted him. He ultimately chose to sign the contract however.
Well that's definitely a possibility, it's also a possibility that a few teams from bigger markets will dominate. The Yanks dominate and thankfully they have a draft, or else nobody would ever win except the big teams.
The players should be estatic at what they make and I think the people in Congress know that the NFL provides sooo many jobs across the country that we might just see an exemption given to the owners. Because without it, the NFL will slowly turn into a league that sees one of 6 or so teams that win it all every season. Thus causing a decline in popularity. The only players who would see a significant drop are the incoming draftees. No matter how it is sliced there is one thing that the owners have taken a beating on and that's the top of the draft. Then there is always the lone player or two who have a good season and threaten a hold out to get their contract squashed and redone. It would be nice to see this go all the way to Congress and they give the exemption with some stipulations. Like giving the owners the extra billion they seek but then Congress oversees the spending of it with the following examples. Like with making a sort of arbitration for players playing in the 4th or 5th season so they get a raise based on their individual play. Let Congress set the salary cap, and floor, and make sure it's strictly followed. Set up a quality health care program, and last but not least, make them use a good portion of that money with the building of, or restoration of these teams stadiums so the tax payers are not longer asked to foot the bills....
What an arsehat. What an ignorant bafoon to make such a statement. I just get more and more disgusted with the whole scene. Where would a large portion of these idiots be without the ability to be paid tens of millions for playing with a pigskin? Idiots.
NFL players are the most highly educated athletes in the world. They generate billions of dollars in revenue for their owners and are entitled to their fare share of the profits. I dont see how "bafoons" or "idiots" applies to them at all. Now, the people who cant balance a 3 trillion dollar budget, forsee economic collapses and terrorist attacks, or say three sentences without lying? Those are the real bafoons.
Hah, no, I'm the young guy that has to manage all the old guys close to retirement. I just believe that the job market the way it is and with so many scientists now working at Starbucks, that there is no longer any such thing as entitlement. the older scientists feel differently
Really Adrian Peterson? Modern Day Slavery? Did this idiot learn anything in school about the days of slavery? Oh wait, thats right, he probably took joke classes like most other star college athletes. What a stupid, ignorant statement to make. Especially coming from a guy set to make 11.5 million next year, and who was presently getting PAID under a 6 year $40.5 million contract. Unbelievable... what a jackass.
You broke my sarcasm meter on that one. Your first two sentences drip with sarcasm. Your last two sentences say otherwise. At least I hope you're being sarcastic. Because, otherwise....damn!
He doesn't have to make himself eligible for the draft in the first place. It's not he is being made to make his services available to the NFL since his college days. He entered the draft by his own choice. He could have said at any time he didn't want to play football, or that he wouldn't play for team x. How that affects his prospects for employment within the NFL is up for debate, but to say he doesn't have the opportunity is a bit much. Players hold out for trades all the time, if he wants to play somewhere else, he can do that if he chooses. If the team doesn't trade him then he can retire for a year and come back if he chooses. He could play for the CFL or whoever or no one. But he did and does have choices. No one makes him play in the NFL.
They are entitled to whatever themselves and the employer agree to when they negotiate a contract. Nothing more and nothing less. If they do not like the deal on the table, do not sign it.
There is a fair chance he had an ancestor or two who were actual slaves, then to say something like that. He just sh!t on their graves as far as I'm concerned.
It wasn't just a bunch of racist nonsense thats for sure, even though many saw it that way. It was as much an indictment of what happened as it was saying what happened - at least in a 'man of the street' style.
But that's not what's happening in the NFL. The players are being highly compensated for their trouble. They can and should negotiate over benefits and other things outside the paycheck. But they're extremely well-paid. And I'm sorry, but concession staff should not be a 'well-paid' job. Those are not skilled positions and it is not back-breaking work. They could probably be paid above minimum wage considering what the product is being sold for. But it is what it is. Go to any high school football game on Friday night and those jobs are being done for free by parents/boosters. And that's not who the NFLPA is negotiating for. They're negotiating for themselves only. Not the coaches, training staff, office staff, security, concession, etc. Players only. So even if AP were correct in his assessment, it has absolutely nothing to do with why the players are suing the league and the league has locked them out. And when a deal ultimately gets done, the only people whose salary/benefits will change are the players. OT: I side with the players on this thing. DirecTV is one of the best companies out there IMHO. They are fantastic, especially from a customer service standpoint. But this is one area they can improve upon. You shouldn't be charged rent if you're paying full price for a box, especially if you'll never own it and you're charged monthly for using it's HD and DVR capabilities. I wouldn't say they treat me bad though. I always get what I want. They always cut me deals. They always make 'it' right. And the technology they offer account holders (extremely useful/functional website, mobile apps, etc.) is tremendous.
Two words poor folks didn't ever seem to learn or grasp was 'birth control'. They keep having more kids than they can support in an already overcrowded world and in first world countries social welfare programs support them. The intelligent people generally breed less and the stupid people breed more. They should try living in a country like Thailand or the Philippines as an unwed mother. No government funded welfare there. The young woman leaves her baby or babies with momma and heads off to the big city to work as something such as a bar girl or go go dancer to earn money to send home to support their children. They basically all have good attitudes about their lot in life though. No cries of lack of entitlement. I think at least in Thailand, being a Buddhist is very beneficial in coping with day to day life for these ladies. For everyone basically for that matter.
This statement is about as grotesque as when one of these athletes say that they are blessed by god for their skillset.
Thats my point. He should not get a free pass for making that kind of analogy if we are not willing to give everyone a free pass for it. Selective outrage is a pattern in this country. Let AP face the music for his comments just like Jimmy the Greek did in his time. Before some of you get carried away here, I am not saying AP should be fired for his comments, nor did I think the Greek should of been for his, but AP should issue a formal appology and if the PC crowd does not demand it from him, then they got no right to demand it from anyone else.
