Why does an athlete need $30m instead of $20m?

[conner01]

Well, to be fair, some employees do take less. For example, if you are getting reorged and the option is to either take less money or see your job go elsewhere, employees are often willing to take less. I mean you want a job and a job is better then no job at all so that does happen on occasion.

NFL players don’t have those worries
You pay them or someone else will

 

[HungryLion]

Socialist

Lol.

The salary cap itself is a pinko commie system.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Perspective on reality..

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

NFL players don’t have those worries
You pay them or someone else will

On the contrary, NFL players absolutely have this problem. Especially when there age increases, this is exactly what happens.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Lol.

The salary cap itself is a pinko commie system.

I liked it much better when we could just go out and spend. Cowboys were in a much better position in those days. It is what it is but a cap is not all bad. It guarantees that players also get a minimum salary compensatory with experience etc. In the old days, that didn't always happen.

 

[conner01]

On the contrary, NFL players absolutely have this problem. Especially when there age increases, this is exactly what happens.

Older players do
Younger player have a ready market
But older players have made their money
That’s why that second contract is so huge
By the 3rd you are a depreciating commodity

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Older players do
Younger player have a ready market
But older players have made their money
That’s why that second contract is so huge
By the 3rd you are a depreciating commodity

Not all older players. I mean, there are a lot of guys who are just career special teams guys etc. Those guys don't really make the big bucks and a lot of times, the same thing that helps certain players hurts them. What I mean by that is that there are a lot of guys who have experience and can help you on ST but they get cut in favor of younger guys who may not be as experienced but are much cheaper. I mean, that knife does cut both ways. That's also a lot of the reason why you see players careers average 3 years or whatever the number is. NFL teams are always trying to get younger.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Stop it! You know that a dance off would just be me taking advantage of you. I don't think a dance of is the answer mate.

And an insult rap contest is out of the question because you are too much of an affable chap.

 

[jday]

A timely reminder, jday!
Often we picture the athlete playing hardball at negotiations. That's is so incorrect.
Welcome back, JDay!

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Got some reeeeeeeaaaaaal unhappy Texans down here about that too.

Good burgers but you spend the next 3 days trying to get all the salt added out of your system.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Why 20 million instead of 10 million? Why 10 million instead of 5 million?

All moot questions. The problem isn't the dollar amount. It is the amount of money you pay one player as a % of the cap that matters. Those of us that don't want Dallas to pay Dak 30 million per , for example, are more concerned about the money available to build the rest of the team. Obviously, having Dak, Elliott, Cooper, and a top 10 OL wasn't good enough to sniff a super bowl. So, with al these guys coming up for new contracts, whats the point of paying them if thats not the road to a super bowl? If it was a capless league, we could care less what Dallas pays him. Prior to 1996, there was literally no discussion or controversy over a players salary. Nobody cared.

 

[OmerV]

I liked it much better when we could just go out and spend. Cowboys were in a much better position in those days. It is what it is but a cap is not all bad. It guarantees that players also get a minimum salary compensatory with experience etc. In the old days, that didn't always happen.

The Cowboys are probably in as good a position now as they have at any time since the Super Bowl years in the 1990's.

 

[DUO_CORE]

 

[JBS]

I can't believe there are people that actually think like this lol

 

[Roadtrip635]

If players were actually risking their lives, that would be one thing but that's not the NFL anymore.

It still is though. Life changing injuries happen every year, look at Alex Smith or Ryan Shazier. There's injury that can affect future earnings during contract years, like torn ACL, Achilles etc. Then there's the cumulative effects of playing football that they will live with long after their playing days are over, bad knees, bad backs, bad shoulders, surgeries attributed to their playing days and the decreased life expectancy for playing such a physically demanding sport. They may be regulating the sport to make it safer than it once was, but there's still a great deal of risk and a short earning window.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Is there, like, a book that outlines the "market" somewhere? I keep hearing things like going rate and Market Value but I haven't really seen anything that dictates you have to pay anybody anything, in terms of set contract values.

IDK

It is an approximation of what you would get in free agency should you be free to sign anywhere. We see this set of value setting every offseason. Not typically for QBs but most certainly for almost every other position.

 

[Rockport]

I liked it much better when we could just go out and spend. Cowboys were in a much better position in those days. It is what it is but a cap is not all bad. It guarantees that players also get a minimum salary compensatory with experience etc. In the old days, that didn't always happen.

I hated that because the rich owners won all the time. There’s a reason they instituted a salary cap.

 

[Rockport]

What you seem to be overlooking here is the agents role in all of this. It's not the player banging his fist on the table for more money...it's the agent. When these players say they have people that take care of that and they are going to let them do their job, they aren't lying. And the agent gets a percentage of whatever the player gets.

So to answer your question, no there really isn't that big of difference to the player. But the difference to the agent is massive. The money the agent gets on that transaction aside, if he gets that deal for Dak, other players are going to want him as their agent. That's how these agents market themselves...through the deals they get for their players.

And that is what it is all about...

It’s amazing how many fans don’t understand this and put all the onus on the player.

 

[Jake]

Not another Dak thread - but someone please explain to me, from the perspective of a pro athlete, just what makes $30 million/year so badly necessary more than $20 million/year?

Yes, I know, more is always better. Yes I know, inflation. But there is virtually nothing you can want with $30 million/year that you couldn't have with $20 million/year, especially considering that there is no state income tax in Texas (unlike, say, an athlete in California or New York). You want big mansions? You got 'em - you can buy several every year. You want Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, Corvettes, Bugattis, Maseratis? You can buy a dozen each year. You want hordes of women flocking to you? Well, you would have had that with even just $2 million a year, let alone $20 million. You want to send your kids to private school, make sure your family is financially set for life? Again, you sure don't need an income of $30 million a year to do that.

This isn't even taking into account the fact that many such athletes are making plenty of money on the side through advertisements, endorsements, and other ancillary income.

Where I'm going with this is: The difference between $20 million/year and $30 million/year is virtually nil for a pro athlete - either way, he's positively bathing in wealth. But it makes a big difference to a pro team's salary cap, on the other hand. The $10 million difference could mean the difference between an NFL team being able to sign additional talent that could propel them over the top, or not being able to.

Is it simply about "Such-and-such an athlete got so-and-so much, so I want just as much?" Or, "I want to be THE highest paid so I can feel like No. 1?"

The NFL made over $14 billion last year. The owners keep over 50% of the net, and their careers are much longer than the players.

I have no problem with players getting every penny they can get if that's how they choose to approach it. They're the ones filling the seats and putting their bodies on the line. If it creates a cap problem that's on the owners - they're the ones who want a cap.

 

[Corso]

It’s amazing how many fans don’t understand this and put all the onus on the player.

Because most fans have never had to use an agent to get a deal done.
They have no personal perspective.
I've been slightly lost without my agent...