Carl Banks quasi-defends T.O. on Sirius

[John Hasbrouck]

Go back to the fifties and earlier. Most of the players played for a few thousand per season and some of the "Stars" up in the 15,ooo range. Go back further and they played for about nothing. The game was a whole lot rougher also. Besides it is all in the signing bonus. I would think the player would be thankfull he could command a contract in the millions.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by John Hasbrouck

Go back to the fifties and earlier. Most of the players played for a few thousand per season and some of the "Stars" up in the 15,ooo range. Go back further and they played for about nothing. The game was a whole lot rougher also. Besides it is all in the signing bonus. I would think the player would be thankfull he could command a contract in the millions.

What is you point? In the 50's a few thousand dollars was a lot of money and 15K was a shit load of money compared to the general public. Most players in the NFL today make the minimum and relatively few super stars make a ton of money. Besides, the NFL is big business now. They are raking in the dough from left to right while back in the day it was a struggling league.

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by Ramseyfan

PSUSkinsFan,

When I say I don't hate T.O. for wanting more money, I don't base that lack of disgust/hate on legal theories. Rather, I am simply saying that T.O. outperformed his deal and regardless of the terms of his deal, I don't blame him for wanting more.

Totally understand that RF.......and that's a valid point.
The only point I took issue with was justifying holdouts by saying, "hey, they're just businessmen trying to make the most they can." I deal with businessmen every day, and in no scenario are they allowed to breach contracts in order to make more money (at least, they are not allowed to without fully expecting a lawsuit being thrown back at them). So I just don't like the analogy. Simply saying that there is nothing wrong with a guy wanting more money is not enough to compare TO to Ralph Lauren.........it's, for me, more about the way in which they are trying to get that money.

Take, for example, Hines Ward. Now I know I've brought his name up a few times before, but just yesterday or the day before I saw that the negotiations are not going as quickly and smoothly as he expected. So what did he do? He purchased a $5 million injury protection insurance policy so that he wouldn't have to miss a single day with his team while the negotiations continue, and he also doesn't have to worry about a financial hit if he gets injured. As long as I see guys doing it the right way, I won't forgive players like TO for doing it the wrong way.

Actually, looking back on it, I guess I also took issue with the argument that it's ok to hold out because the team can cut the player whenever they want. I just wanted to show that I don't think there is anything wrong with that when the player is getting so much guaranteed money up front. The team has, essentially, paid for that right to cut the player after handing them a truckload of money before they even caught a single pass. Just trying to offer another perspective.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by PSUSkinsFan21

Actually, looking back on it, I guess I also took issue with the argument that it's ok to hold out because the team can cut the player whenever they want. I just wanted to show that I don't think there is anything wrong with that when the player is getting so much guaranteed money up front. The team has, essentially, paid for that right to cut the player after handing them a truckload of money before they even caught a single pass. Just trying to offer another perspective.

In addition to that, I said in another post that the people like TO who ARE demanding that extra money are the ones oftentimes responsible for other players getting cut due to "cap hell".

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

In addition to that, I said in another post that the people like TO who ARE demanding that extra money are the ones oftentimes responsible for other players getting cut due to "cap hell".

That's true.
It's no coincidence that the Eagles, who have never renegotiated a contract with anyone who has held out or threatened to hold out, have absolutely no cap concerns. It's not coincidence that year after year they are in a position to pick and choice who they want to re-sign and who they don't want to re-sign. The players on that team all know that as long as they do their job well enough, they will remain employed because the Eagles simply don't have to cut guys for financial reasons.