CU Medallion [65528]
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Posts: 33280
Joined: 12/3/03
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I finally figured out why NFL Free Agency bothers me. It
Mar 4, 2021, 3:46 PM
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didn't used to bother me, but nowadays, it is terrible. The reason is, I am mostly a "purist", in thinking that teams should put forth their best effort, the best players should play, AND make the best salaries. That last part is one thing free agency is about.
But, the current reality is this, and it is kicking into high gear right now. Good players that are a couple or more years into big free agent contracts are being cut loose, to balance the salary cap. In effect, good players are being let go, and lesser talented, cheaper players are being signed in their stead. This flies directly into the face of elevating the level of competition on the field. Any player who signed one of those big money contracts, other than at the QB position, might as well consider themselves as the Walking Dead. They will never see that last years of those contracts.
The NFL has allowed this situation to happen because they have not negotiated established salary "ranges" as the NBA did awhile back. This is one of the few things I will give the NBA, I do not watch it at all since Lebron and his cronies started trying to force their political views down my throat. Maybe I will start watching again after he retires.
The lack of contract limits is almost certainly tied to another thing that is totally wrong about the NFL, the lack of fully guaranteed contracts. The owners and the players union must get together and realize that the current trend is not sustainable, the bubble is going to burst.
Establish max pay tiers for contracts at the various positions, and LIMIT ALL CONTRACTS TO FOUR YEARS, FULLY GUARANTEEED, as is already done with rookie deals (the four year part is rookie deals). Eliminate the franchise tag. These changes would force the owners to keep competitive rosters around their QBs, or else they walk away in free agency every four years, or less, depending on the length of contract they negotiated.
If I was an upper tier QB with confidence in my ability, I would negotiate no longer than a three year contract. The market, and team rosters, change so fast, I would not want to lock myself down for any longer than that at a time. And, let's face it, unless you are a total idiot (and many seem to be), ONE upper tier NFL contract should have you and your family set for your lifetime and beyond, with any sort of sound investment strategery. The rest, as they say, is just gravy.
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