Shame On NFL For Blaming
Rookies' Pay For Fiscal Woes

July 8, 2008
Detroit Free Press (MI)
By Drew Sharp

Billionaires should never cry.

But NFL owners are weeping into gold-laced Kleenex, complaining they aren't getting their rightful share of an $8.5-billion enterprise. They want labor concessions in a new collective-bargaining agreement within the next two years or they'll threaten a lockout.

Go ahead! Shut it down!

The world would still revolve without the precious NFL.

Roger Goodell has a lot of gall. Late last month, the NFL commissioner said it was "ridiculous" to reward untested rookies with lucrative contracts. He specifically mentioned the contract given to this year's No. 1 draft pick, former Michigan tackle Jake Long, who received a five-year, $57.75-million deal, with $30 million guaranteed.

How dare the NFL commissioner paint his ownership cartel as helpless victims of a rookie salary structure that's wrongly eating into teams' insane profit margins? He's suggesting that even billionaire owners struggle to make ends meet in the face of rising stadium construction costs and a failure to create new revenue streams.

But that's an insult to those coping with real financial issues, such as rising fuel and food costs and impending home foreclosures.

Where is the owners' accountability for creating this financial problem?

They established the rules, so I don't want to hear any of them crying about the consequences, especially when the central problem remains an utter lack of financial constraint.

The NHL sacrificed an entire season for the sake of a new financial structure intended to save billionaires from their own excess. The league cut labor costs, but that hasn't completely stopped the insanity: Vancouver reportedly offered 37-year-old free agent Mats Sundin a two-year contract worth $20 million.

Maybe it's time to show some appreciation for Pistons owner Bill Davidson, who rigidly insists his team's payroll not exceed the NBA's luxury tax threshold.

He operates his team on a strict budget, yet hasn't compromised its championship potential.

Like everybody else, team owners must make financial choices. If they make the wrong one, it's hypocritical to blame the system's flaws rather than their own poor judgment.

The NFL should be ashamed for blaming the rookie pay structure for its alleged fiscal challenges.

Drafting an NFL rookie is like buying a new car: The value immediately depreciates the second it hits the road. As soon as an NFL player absorbs his first punishing hit, the number of blows his body can take immediately decreases.

That's why potential is rewarded more than performance in the NFL. And it's also why the league doesn't guarantee contracts.

Don't blame Long, running back Darren McFadden and quarterback Matt Ryan for receiving a total of more than $90 million in guaranteed signing bonuses.

Blame the billionaires signing the checks for enabling such largesse.

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