Adderley: Brees ‘greedy’ and ‘misinformed’

burningmetal · 02-01-2013, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by xan

I'm not taking sides. Just pointing out that Mr. Adderly's salary in 1972 was almost $50,000, his 11th season in the league. Over that time period, he amassed more than $90,000 in bouses associated with playoff games. He was the first black man drafted by and to play for the Packers in 1961, and was underpaid during his first 9 seasons relative to other white players. His rookie contract was for 4 seasons and, at the time, with no free agency, Green Bay dictated his salary. When free agency was available, Mr. Adderly signed with the Cowboys, who, essentially, doubled his salary.

In today's dollars, his peak year earning (1972) was [(229.6/41.8)*$50K)] $274,600. Minimum wage in 2012 was $380,000.

I just want to remind some posters that being ignorant of history is no reason to post statements about what former players should have or could have done from that era. It's like the statement by the NRA lobbiest who said that if slaves had guns they might have had it better in the US.

How about this.

Just because certain people believe they are "enlightened" and all others are fools, does not mean they are correct. Your point failed to make the statement it was intended to make.

It has already been acknowledged that players made less money back then. We know the history, but thanks for the jab anyway. The fact that free agency didn't exist does not mean there was no such thing as market value. Free agency is what allowed bidding wars to begin and has brought on these enormous contracts we see today. But even though players of old did not have free agency, they still had the right to demand more money based on their performance, as compared to other players in the league. Their teams could either pay up, or release the player. Obviously, if you have a player who is valuable enough to your team, you wouldn't just let him walk. Free agency just gave players freedom to negotiate with other teams.

Tobias already stated the other point I wanted to make, which is, Adderley's peak year earnings where at least five times that of the average person in that time. The argument you're making is only stating what we already know. Players made less then, than they do today... Well, everyone made less then, than they do now. It used to cost about a quarter to go to the movies. The cost of living was much lower then. So what is Adderley's excuse?

Those guys wanted as much as they could get then. It's irrelevant how it compares to today. These are much different, and more expensive times. If the average Joe could put his kids through college back then making a fifth of what Adderley did, then why did he have to use his pension? He blew his money, plain and simple. I'm not glad that he's struggling, but he could have done something else after football. Why didn't he?

02-01-2013, 10:25 AM	#21
burningmetal 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3,923 Blog Entries: 3	Re: Adderley: Brees ‘greedy’ and ‘misinformed’ Originally Posted by xan I'm not taking sides. Just pointing out that Mr. Adderly's salary in 1972 was almost $50,000, his 11th season in the league. Over that time period, he amassed more than $90,000 in bouses associated with playoff games. He was the first black man drafted by and to play for the Packers in 1961, and was underpaid during his first 9 seasons relative to other white players. His rookie contract was for 4 seasons and, at the time, with no free agency, Green Bay dictated his salary. When free agency was available, Mr. Adderly signed with the Cowboys, who, essentially, doubled his salary. In today's dollars, his peak year earning (1972) was [(229.6/41.8)*$50K)] $274,600. Minimum wage in 2012 was $380,000. I just want to remind some posters that being ignorant of history is no reason to post statements about what former players should have or could have done from that era. It's like the statement by the NRA lobbiest who said that if slaves had guns they might have had it better in the US. How about this. Just because certain people believe they are "enlightened" and all others are fools, does not mean they are correct. Your point failed to make the statement it was intended to make. It has already been acknowledged that players made less money back then. We know the history, but thanks for the jab anyway. The fact that free agency didn't exist does not mean there was no such thing as market value. Free agency is what allowed bidding wars to begin and has brought on these enormous contracts we see today. But even though players of old did not have free agency, they still had the right to demand more money based on their performance, as compared to other players in the league. Their teams could either pay up, or release the player. Obviously, if you have a player who is valuable enough to your team, you wouldn't just let him walk. Free agency just gave players freedom to negotiate with other teams. Tobias already stated the other point I wanted to make, which is, Adderley's peak year earnings where at least five times that of the average person in that time. The argument you're making is only stating what we already know. Players made less then, than they do today... Well, everyone made less then, than they do now. It used to cost about a quarter to go to the movies. The cost of living was much lower then. So what is Adderley's excuse? Those guys wanted as much as they could get then. It's irrelevant how it compares to today. These are much different, and more expensive times. If the average Joe could put his kids through college back then making a fifth of what Adderley did, then why did he have to use his pension? He blew his money, plain and simple. I'm not glad that he's struggling, but he could have done something else after football. Why didn't he? poydras and Jamessr like this.
	If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

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