NFL has a shrinking middle class

[MidnightVoice]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/09/05/nfl-shrinking-middle-class/2769467/

Drew Rosenhaus has negotiated NFL contracts since 1988, and he can't remember many free agent markets worse than the one that developed — or didn't develop — this year.

Only one player, wide receiver Mike Wallace, signed a contract worth more than $9 million annually. The average per year on deals for unrestricted free agents fell overall. Many established players waited weeks or months before taking one-year, minimum-salary pacts.

But Rosenhaus doesn't blame a salary cap that hasn't risen much in the last three years nor the NFL Players Association leaders who agreed to a collective bargaining agreement owners negotiated under the shadow of a threat to cancel the entire 2011 season.

"I don't think it's the CBA's fault or the union's fault or the negotiations," Rosenhaus, who has nearly 100 clients on NFL rosters, told USA TODAY Sports. "I think it's that teams have the ability to control the market. And they've done that."...........

"We're in a tough landscape," said agent Mike McCartney, who previously worked in personnel for two NFL teams, "because even in the last week of August a lot of teams (were) looking around their roster and saying, 'How can we save a few bucks off our cap?' I'm not sure that's where we should be in this league."

Trouble is, it's a buyer's market.

The rules of the uncapped year kept four- and five-year veterans from becoming unrestricted free agents in 2010. Many played under one-year tenders. So, a year later, the number of unrestricted free agents skyrocketed to 487. Many of those players again took one-year deals in hopes the market would improve. But that only kept the market oversaturated in 2012, when 431 players became unrestricted free agents.

"I'm at the point where I'm happy with what I got," said veteran tight end Dallas Clark, who signed a minimum deal with the Baltimore Ravens in August that included no guarantees. "But it's scary as a player to see that some of these players aren't getting paid what they deserve."

[Miami_Vice]

Dallas Clark can suck it. His last quote is so arrogant and out of touch imo. These aholes are all overpaid to begin with. If they dont like it...quit and go do something else

[gr8slayer]

I don't feel sorry for him or any of his players.

[DraftBoy]

The market bared what it determined the worth was. It wasn't an incredible FA class to begin with.

[MidnightVoice]

Given this situation I wondered if it had any bearing of the situation of a certain avian.

[Mace]

I really think this is what they all negotiated themselves into. You can get bigger contracts, but won't see the end of them so they aren't really bigger. Then you are wicked happy to get anything at all.

The owners don't escape. Pay monster bonuses and hope the guy keeps trying and doesn't get hurt. Hope your state antes up that stadium work.

I'm surprised the NFL has a middle class at all. It's not a sport that promotes longevity or humility on either end of the scale.

[BillsImpossible]

I hope J. Byrd reads this article.

[better days]

So the NFL is the same as the rest of the Country. Shrinking middle class.

[BillsFever21]

I don't hold a grudge for any NFL player looking to get paid. If a player doesn't get an extra million a year then that money will only go in the billionaire owners pockets anyway. Most of these guys only have one chance of getting paid and they have short careers that take a toll on their body.

I don't care if you're in the NFL or working a regular job you are going to try and maximize your earnings. If another company will pay you 20% more a year then most everyone will be switching companies. It doesn't matter if the difference is another million a year or another 10k a year.

These guys don't have guaranteed contracts like the rest of the sport. Most players won't even get a 2nd contract and the ones that do mostly have the one shot at a big payday before their career is done or they're too old for the sport. Anybody here would do the same thing if we had the opportunity.

When they got the rookie pay reduced for the top drafted players many players thought it would all trickle down to them. What they're finding out is the owners are going to use that money to keep their best players and the guys on the wrong side of 30 isn't going to get the money they used to. They can now replace them with a rookie for a much lower salary. That's what we saw this year and the way it will be for a while.

Now that the rookie contracts are also shorter that's just going to leave more and more players available for free agency sooner. The great ones will benefit from it but most of your marginal starters and especially backup level players will be lucky to see much or anything after their rookie contract is up. If they're not a top player then the team can easily fill their spot with a cheap rookie or find someone else of their level at a cheaper price.

[Typ0]

I don't hold a grudge for any NFL player looking to get paid. If a player doesn't get an extra million a year then that money will only go in the billionaire owners pockets anyway. Most of these guys only have one chance of getting paid and they have short careers that take a toll on their body.

I don't care if you're in the NFL or working a regular job you are going to try and maximize your earnings. If another company will pay you 20% more a year then most everyone will be switching companies. It doesn't matter if the difference is another million a year or another 10k a year.

These guys don't have guaranteed contracts like the rest of the sport. Most players won't even get a 2nd contract and the ones that do mostly have the one shot at a big payday before their career is done or they're too old for the sport. Anybody here would do the same thing if we had the opportunity.

When they got the rookie pay reduced for the top drafted players many players thought it would all trickle down to them. What they're finding out is the owners are going to use that money to keep their best players and the guys on the wrong side of 30 isn't going to get the money they used to. They can now replace them with a rookie for a much lower salary. That's what we saw this year and the way it will be for a while.

Now that the rookie contracts are also shorter that's just going to leave more and more players available for free agency sooner. The great ones will benefit from it but most of your marginal starters and especially backup level players will be lucky to see much or anything after their rookie contract is up. If they're not a top player then the team can easily fill their spot with a cheap rookie or find someone else of their level at a cheaper price.

Thanks for saying that! The guys playing the games are the workers ... let them get paid for all the people who work for money grubbing hogs.

[BillsFever21]

Thanks for saying that! The guys playing the games are the workers ... let them get paid for all the people who work for money grubbing hogs.

So many people act like their contracts are being divided up between all of our paychecks to pay them. They are being paid by billionaires who are making millions a year from the team and who's franchise is worth billions of dollars. It's not like these guys are being paid by your local mom and pops restaurant owner.

They are getting paid determined by the amount of money the NFL is bringing in from TV contracts, etc. Sure it affects the ticket prices some but they would still charge a bundle either way. They will charge as much as people are willing to pay regardless of how much the players are making.

[JoeMama]

No one attends games because they're excited about Ralph Wilson.

They do it because they like the guys that put butts in the seats. The players.

If the players want their fair share of the pie, so be it. I'd rather see Jairus Byrd get paid for his efforts, no matter how petulant and awful he sounds, than see a 94 year old throw a couple more tens of millions into his Scrooge McDuck pool of money.

[BillsFever21]

Some act like these guys should make 100k a year or something. They are doing something that only 100-200 guys at their position are able to do in the world. It's a big business and they should get paid whatever owners are willing to pay.

The money in their pocket is put to better use then the owners who are already billionaires. The money they spend help create/sustain jobs and some of the smart ones will open up businesses and create jobs with their money. Not to mention the extra tax money to the federal, state and local governments that are paid to the governments when they get their payday.

I can see people feeling the players are overpaid because they are. To hate on them for getting their payday is a different story though. It's not like the owners are going bankrupt because of player salaries.

[wozrob11]

waaahhhh i retired from my job at age 30 with millions of dollers wahhhhh

[DynaPaul]

Dallas Clark can suck it. His last quote is so arrogant and out of touch imo. These aholes are all overpaid to begin with. If they dont like it...quit and go do something else

Wow, you sound just like those people who say the same thing about the working middle class.

[better days]

Some act like these guys should make 100k a year or something. They are doing something that only 100-200 guys at their position are able to do in the world. It's a big business and they should get paid whatever owners are willing to pay.

The money in their pocket is put to better use then the owners who are already billionaires. The money they spend help create/sustain jobs and some of the smart ones will open up businesses and create jobs with their money. Not to mention the extra tax money to the federal, state and local governments that are paid to the governments when they get their payday.

I can see people feeling the players are overpaid because they are. To hate on them for getting their payday is a different story though. It's not like the owners are going bankrupt because of player salaries.

In the end, it is Football fans that foot the entire bill.

[stuckincincy]

In the end, it is Football fans that foot the entire bill.

No - the large portion is forked over by the folks who don't give a rat's patoot about football, paying for funded stadiums and their upkeep, and paying excess cable tv rates for sports programming.

Remember the Star Trek character Spock's pithy remark, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."? For pro football, it is reversed: "The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many."

[trapezeus]

i love how the people who hate that players want to get paid are probably GOPers argueing against CEO comp restrictions.

These guys aren't sitting at a desk doing a job for millions. they are playing a brutal sport where many of them don't even get to vest into the union benefits. so they got a couple hundred thousand and then have a crap load of medical bills and some legacy injuries that none of us have.

And yes, to some degree, with the players willing to gamble for bigger contracts but lower guarantees, they screwed themselves into this situatoin. because there are teams in cap hell that can't do anything but just wait it out.

but i would rather have a guy who gave it all on the field get a couple million dollars than the owners that have squeezed every last penny out of me via tickets, tshirts, stadium taxes etc. Many of those guys haven't sweat a day in their life to get where they are.

[alohabillsfan]

Brutal sport! Lmao, try getting shot at in a foreign country while your wife and kids are at home without you for 6,7 or 12 months! Yes they leave the field of battle to a training staff, hot tubs and massages all with gourmet meals. Dam sucks to be them! God bless our troops who do their job for the love of their country!

[Beebe's Kid]

Brutal sport! Lmao, try getting shot at in a foreign country while your wife and kids are at home without you for 6,7 or 12 months! Yes they leave the field of battle to a training staff, hot tubs and massages all with gourmet meals. Dam sucks to be them! God bless our troops who do their job for the love of their country!

I don't get it. What does this have to do with what is being discussed?

I don't think there is a price that makes what you describe worth it, but you should realize that wars are not fought for altruistic reasons. There is always somebody's pockets being lined. Always. It is just not the soldiers. Are you upset about that?

Football is a brutal sport, and this argument is one of the many reasons that I think football will cease to exist in 30 years. At least it will cease to exist in the form of the NFL, to be more precise. These guys lower their life expectancy considerably by playing football. The also work hard, and take a lot of HGH to get to the level they need to be at to compete and get paid. The owners aren't in the business of owning a team because they love the game...there isn't one. They are in the business of milking you of every dollar that they can, while paying the players the least they can get away with, in order to fatten their own bottom lines.

The comparison to soldiers is sad, as it seems to completely miss the mark that soldiers are completely exploited, not to mention the killing of often innocent people reaction to having their countries occupied by a bunch of soldiers who are calling their families terrorists and shooting them.

Lost of issues on all sided here, but the false equivalency of soldiers and football players is disingenuous and not really a fair argument to make in light of what Trap said.

[Mike]

waaahhhh i retired from my job at age 30 with millions of dollers wahhhhh

The average NFL player is out of the NFL after their rookie deal and 78% go broke with 3-4 years of retirement.


Being talented enough to be given a rookie contract is extremely rare so to compare, would you rather be the average:
1) NFL player
2) Wall St Trader (make millions/yr)
3) A top plastic Surgeon (make millions/yr)
4) Owner of a business that generated over $10 million in revenue
5) Hollywood Actor

You have to account for the fact that most if these players dedicate their lives and their time to football and being in top physical shape. There is a huge opportunity cost here as their time is Not being utilized to develop other skills sets.

[JoeMama]

Brutal sport! Lmao, try getting shot at in a foreign country while your wife and kids are at home without you for 6,7 or 12 months! Yes they leave the field of battle to a training staff, hot tubs and massages all with gourmet meals. Dam sucks to be them! God bless our troops who do their job for the love of their country!

Come on, that's pretty sanctimonious.

The NFL is entertainment, the military is not. Different professions with very different circumstances and pay grades.

And look, football IS physically demanding. As Bills fans, we saw Kevin Everett almost stop breathing on the field. We should know better than most fans that the sport has serious risks.

My parents are both retired military but I'm not resentful that entertainers make more money than they did under less grievous circumstances. Entertainers are wealthy because we give them our money voluntarily.

If you're mad about how good entertainers have it, then don't be entertained.

[DynaPaul]

Supply and demand as well. Entertainment and sports has a small pool of very talented individuals (I know that's up for debate) to draw from while the military will take almost anyone. Before some jumps my **** for that statement realize that I served 6 years in the Navy and I've seen some of the dumbest mofos on earth in uniforms.