BleacherCoaches.com

i think the nfl has it's sport under control, the best of fthe major four at least. but i think some type of rule that allows a team to pay it's veteran players (8 years or more with the same team) a certain amount of money that does not count against the salary cap. so that teams and players would be faced less with the painful option of releasing a veteran guy that they feel will not fit under the cap.ie (levon kirkland) almost jerome bettis and i'm sure there is a host of other stories on other football teams that you may follow that this happens.releasing a player because he can't get it done is one thing letting him go because of salary cap stinks.

Kirkland was on his was down anyways. But the Salary cap in football is the best thing, it keeps players salaries down to where they arent crazy numbers like 289 over so many years like Arod got. It also does away with teams wining because they have more money then the other do.

Salary caps have brought parity to the NFL without washing out the level of competition. It has allowed virtually any program with a clever GM the opportunity to make gooddecisions and in a short period of time become a contender.

Like a No. 1 pick getting a 9 or 10 Mil signing bonus, but having a contract for the league minimum the first year and escalating after that? Not bad, but the owners have let it get way out of hand for too long. We're talking about a sport here, not a crucial occupation like a Doctor, teacher, or even military combat. There isn't a professional player in any sport period that is worth what he's getting for what he's doing. I believe a top draft pick should get a decent bonus, say 500K, and League minimum for his first year, escalating each year after that, based on PERFORMANCE of the year before. If he gets hurt, a certain guaranteed amount until he proves he is back to his previous peak performance level. No guaranteed contracts over 3 years, just like most unions(I'm not a pro-union man). The average joe can't afford to go to watch in person his favorites because of costs imposed by the owners for these ridiculous salaries they give the players. We the consumer pay in the end though, by paying for cable or Satellite service, and all those "official" clothings we all wear. We all buy the stuff that the sponsor shows on their commercials to promote their sports team(s). It just keeps getting further away from average joe.

Just curious WHite SHadow, how did you come up with 500K as a starting point for all rookies? Shouldnt there be an opportunity for thr phenon to cash in on some speculation from the owners?

Sure I would like to be able to go watch a pro football game for 10$. My question here is, who sets the prices for admission? And how big a difference in price is there across the League.

If you feel pro athletes get too much money, the solution is simple. Don't watch the games on tv, don't attend the games, don't buy their products or buy from those who advertise their products on those games. If you truly feel that way, boycott everything about the game.

Athletes get paid a huge chunk of change for what they do, but let's not forget they are the best in their profession. Maybe their profession doesn't have the importance of a surgeon, a senator, policeman, teacher, etc., but as a collective nation, we are willing to foot the bill for them.

If you were a pro athlete would you accept 500k if you knew the owners could afford to pay you 5 million?

While I agree athletes get paid too much money, I don't think that there is anyone on here that if given the chance would pass up getting paid that much money for doing a "job". If my company thought I was worth $1 million dollars a year, and were willing to pay it to me, I would take it in a heartbeat.

I tend to agree with what you fellas are saying about paying them what they're worth, but look at it from the average joe's standpoint, too. BTW- those 'fatcat' owners got that way because they market a product wanted by the masses, and once the athlete sees that these masses are willing to shell out big bucks to see them perform, then they know the owners are making it hand over fist and want their bigger piece of the pie, and on, and on, etc. It's got to be kept in check, and right now, it's not.

being a pro athelete has to b difficult...think about it...u get paid millions a year for 16 hours of actual work (NFL, and by work, i just mean games not actual preparations, ie practices) but u get paid all that play a game...a game that millions of people play for free every day. o yea, and if u and ur co-workers dont put out satisfactory to the owners, who gets fired? thats rite the manager, because hes not motivating u enough or whatever...dont u wish ur boss would get fired becuase ur not motivated?