Kristian: Restructure Brees? Not so simple, and awfully risky

TheOak · 02-25-2013, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by burningmetal

Again, it's not a discount to give a guy a 20 something million dollar raise, as opposed to 40 million. You're telling me that market value drives the number, when I already said as much. I know this quite well, and it is what bothers me with athletes. Comparing my opinion to that of a liberal is downright insulting.

A liberal tells a man to give up what he has earned in life. Ordinary people don't get to dictate how much they make to their employer. Athletes, however, do. You continue to say that we can't blame Drew or any other athlete for taking what someone gives them. I don't blame anyone for that. But the difference is that the Saints made him an offer they felt he was worth, (which was already a lot more than we could realistically afford) and he rejected it. He dictated the terms. The Saints needed him, so they had no choice.

A sport is a business just like any other. But an athlete is not like any other employee. You can let a desk job worker go and replace him with any of the thousands who are waiting in line to do the same things. But there are only a few exceptional athletes.

The idea that he may get hurt has nothing to do with anything. Drew is set for life, and for a little less money, he still would have been. If he gets a career ending injury, his money won't bring him back. He can get surgery to help make the rest of his life as comfortable as possible, but money doesn't cure anything. I wish no player would ever get hurt, but it's part of the game, and it's what players have used in part to drive up their salaries for years. But with athletes now in the 100 million range, the idea of being paid as much as possible has much to do with ego, and little to do with financial security, anymore.

Does Drew have a responsibility to take care of his team? Technically no. Does he want to win another championship? I would think so, but his contract hurts dearly. Even the hated Alex Rodriguez took a pay cut to help the Yankees sign other players, once before. He knows he can afford it. I don't buy this crap about players worrying about injury.

Dont be insulted. It is what it is....

An athlete is no different from any employee. Neither can dictate what their employer pays them, and neither has an employer that can dictate what they make, they can only negotiate. They can both shop their value anywhere else, if they are not making what they want to make. If anything the truth is the opposite. Normal employees can shop the market with any employer any time they choose to in any point in their career. An athlete in the NFL can not as a team can restrict and decide when that person can shop the market because of contractual terms.

What is being missed is that for a professional athlete in the NFL who's contract has come to an end there is no "pay raise"... A pay raise for them is if they hold out before their contract is finished for more money. When a pro football players contract is over, its over... He is not getting paid anything until he negotiates another contract. As far as for any person being set up for life that is merely an opinion and not for you nor I to decide. There are plenty of professional athletes that were "set up for life" in public opinion but for what ever reason went broke. Same as lottery winners that went through their winnings. The dollar value clouds peoples judgement, it is subjective, and once you change million to thousand or hundred no one throws around the word greed...

02-25-2013, 07:35 AM	#15
TheOak 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Cypress Tx. Posts: 19,059	Re: Kristian: Restructure Brees? Not so simple, and awfully risky Originally Posted by burningmetal Again, it's not a discount to give a guy a 20 something million dollar raise, as opposed to 40 million. You're telling me that market value drives the number, when I already said as much. I know this quite well, and it is what bothers me with athletes. Comparing my opinion to that of a liberal is downright insulting. A liberal tells a man to give up what he has earned in life. Ordinary people don't get to dictate how much they make to their employer. Athletes, however, do. You continue to say that we can't blame Drew or any other athlete for taking what someone gives them. I don't blame anyone for that. But the difference is that the Saints made him an offer they felt he was worth, (which was already a lot more than we could realistically afford) and he rejected it. He dictated the terms. The Saints needed him, so they had no choice. A sport is a business just like any other. But an athlete is not like any other employee. You can let a desk job worker go and replace him with any of the thousands who are waiting in line to do the same things. But there are only a few exceptional athletes. The idea that he may get hurt has nothing to do with anything. Drew is set for life, and for a little less money, he still would have been. If he gets a career ending injury, his money won't bring him back. He can get surgery to help make the rest of his life as comfortable as possible, but money doesn't cure anything. I wish no player would ever get hurt, but it's part of the game, and it's what players have used in part to drive up their salaries for years. But with athletes now in the 100 million range, the idea of being paid as much as possible has much to do with ego, and little to do with financial security, anymore. Does Drew have a responsibility to take care of his team? Technically no. Does he want to win another championship? I would think so, but his contract hurts dearly. Even the hated Alex Rodriguez took a pay cut to help the Yankees sign other players, once before. He knows he can afford it. I don't buy this crap about players worrying about injury. Dont be insulted. It is what it is.... An athlete is no different from any employee. Neither can dictate what their employer pays them, and neither has an employer that can dictate what they make, they can only negotiate. They can both shop their value anywhere else, if they are not making what they want to make. If anything the truth is the opposite. Normal employees can shop the market with any employer any time they choose to in any point in their career. An athlete in the NFL can not as a team can restrict and decide when that person can shop the market because of contractual terms. What is being missed is that for a professional athlete in the NFL who's contract has come to an end there is no "pay raise"... A pay raise for them is if they hold out before their contract is finished for more money. When a pro football players contract is over, its over... He is not getting paid anything until he negotiates another contract. As far as for any person being set up for life that is merely an opinion and not for you nor I to decide. There are plenty of professional athletes that were "set up for life" in public opinion but for what ever reason went broke. Same as lottery winners that went through their winnings. The dollar value clouds peoples judgement, it is subjective, and once you change million to thousand or hundred no one throws around the word greed...
	It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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