The new NFL superstar career

[erod]

Sure the signing bonus is guaranteed, but teams pay that knowing the player may not play out the full contract, so obviously they factor that into their decisions. Teams aren't doing this mindlessly.

Actually, they were, and they are largely regretting those deals big time.

I'm saying, I wonder if it isn't better policy to just let most of your stars go after their rookie deals and find more hungry rookies. Sign quarterbacks and those rare football lifers, and let the guys go that don't love it.

Truth is, the less you pay, the longer they have to play, and perhaps the more guys you get that actually love football and want to win.

Today's players, sadly, don't really care about winning that much. They want the lifestyle.

 

[OmerV]

The point is....it's backwards now.

Kenny Gant and Dixon Edwards used to play 5-7 years and then didn't get another job offer. The star players played much longer unless they had a catastrophic injury because teams wanted them.

Now, the star players will be the ones to get that big deal and retire early. The lesser guys will be the ones to hang on as long as possible to piece together their money.

Free agency is a different animal today, and the dollars for the league, the teams and the players are all different as well. We can't look at the early 1990's as an analogy to where things are today.

But you are right, the star players will be the ones to get the big pay days and have the option to retire early. But, again, the Andrew Luck situations are still the exception, not the rule. If that changes, the NFL owners will adapt.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Robert Smith retired at 28, the last game he played in was the pro bowl.

Jim Brown retired at 29.

Drew Pearson was done at 32. YOUNGER than Joe Thomas was his final year... A guy you’re using to show how soft current players are. You must have hated Pearson with a passion.

Bob Hayes was Joe Thomas’s age. So was Mike Ditka.

Bet you didn’t know Dick Butkus quit at 31, less than a year older than Calvin Johnson, did you?

We could go on and on and on. Nothing has changed, except you’re now at the forefront of outrage culture.

 

[Cowfan75]

Players used to play for love of the game and for Super Bowls. As soon as they started coddling players, telling guys they were hitting too hard, etc, that signaled the end of football as we know it. Now it's evolved to "hey, this football game is hard...I've made a few millions, why don't I just retire?" You can talk safety all you want; they know what the game is when they choose to play. Or what it used to be, rather.

 

[John813]

I agree. I want players to play long enough until they shoot themselves in the chest like Seau. Or have issues remembering basic things like Jamal Lewis. I'm sure the Seau family would repeat it all over again cause their dad/husband was a NFL legend.

Go out like real men. Not these pansy men worried about their health, short and long term. It's all about the legacy, not about having quality time with your family post football. Who cares if your knees, back or brain is fubar.
Damn players wanting to get paid in a sport that has revenues in the billions, and getting out before they are crippled in some way. Makes me sick. God forbid they get a cut of all those billions the NFL makes, and can retire early for being the best of the best of their profession.

I can't believe the NFL couldn't keep the concussion risks a secret. Damn shame.

The NFL will continue to give out big contracts to certain positions due to the short term value those players bring.
If they can get 2-3 years good out of a 5 year contract they'll consider it a win. No team will ever consider letting a star player walk for the small percentage they may retire early.

Most of the names on that list retired due to injuries. Calvin Johnson had multiple ankle injuries the years before he retired. Not to mention knee and finger surgeries. I mean, are you suggesting they play no matter what till 35 years old? Go after stats, even when your life is full of surgeries, rehab, and pain?

I think only Borland retired before the injuries piled up, but he suffered multiple concussions over his football life. He retired before getting a fat second contract.

 

[OmerV]

Actually, they were, and they are largely regretting those deals big time.

I'm saying, I wonder if it isn't better policy to just let most of your stars go after their rookie deals and find more hungry rookies. Sign quarterbacks and those rare football lifers, and let the guys go that don't love it.

Truth is, the less you pay, the longer they have to play, and perhaps the more guys you get that actually love football and want to win.

Today's players, sadly, don't really care about winning that much. They want the lifestyle.

Obviously teams make bad decisions at times, but don't think for a minute the Seahawks were blind when they signed Wilson, or the Eagles were blind when they signed Wentz. And teams are more knowledgeable today than they were 5 years ago, and more knowledgeable still than 5 years before that. They fully understand a player can retire at any time they choose.

 

[kskboys]

The millenials, the ones who weren't allowed to win or lose. Perseverence, loyalty, toughness, pride, all lacking.

 

[Ranching]

I don't blame them. As soon as I had enough money to never have to work again, I'd retire that season, too.

And yeah, the huge contracts today are a big part of it. It's no longer a career, but a payday. Why play the game one second longer than you have to?

We worked 90 hours a week during for 4 months during football season and about 60 hours a week in the off season. Football is now a year round sport, even in HS. Summer conditioning, 7 on 7, spring football etc, etc. Imagine the hours college and pro players put in. No wonder they get burned out and used up earlier.

 

[erod]

Robert Smith retired at 28, the last game he played in was the pro bowl.

Jim Brown retired at 29.

Drew Pearson was done at 32. YOUNGER than Joe Thomas was his final year.

Bob Hayes was Joe Thomas’s age. So was Mike Ditka.

Bet you didn’t know Dick Butkus quit at 31, less than a year older than Calvin Johnson, did you?

We could go on and on an on. Nothing has changed, except you’re now at the forefront of outrage culture.

Robert Smith wanted to go back to medical school. Brown retired mostly for racial and political reasons. Ditka wanted to coach.

Very, very different back then. An ACL injury ended your career. Medicine couldn't fix much. And many guys could make a lot more money outside of football. It paid for crap back then. Players had offseason jobs.

Look more at the early 90s. Emmitt's holdout resulted in a deal worth about $11 million total. Really good money, but not enough to retire on and live for another 60 years. He's still working.

We're a couple of seasons from seeing quarterbacks get deals totaling $200-300 million.

 

[kskboys]

Robert Smith retired at 28, the last game he played in was the pro bowl.

Jim Brown retired at 29.

Drew Pearson was done at 32. YOUNGER than Joe Thomas was his final year... A guy you’re using to show how soft current players are. You must have hated Pearson with a passion.

Bob Hayes was Joe Thomas’s age. So was Mike Ditka.

Bet you didn’t know Dick Butkus quit at 31, less than a year older than Calvin Johnson, did you?

We could go on and on and on. Nothing has changed, except you’re now at the forefront of outrage culture.

Smith couldn't stay healthy.

Game was much rougher back then. Most retired due to their bodies giving out.

 

[kskboys]

Robert Smith wanted to go back to medical school. Brown retired mostly for racial and political reasons. Ditka wanted to coach.

Very, very different back then. An ACL injury ended your career. Medicine couldn't fix much. And many guys could make a lot more money outside of football. It paid for crap back then. Players had offseason jobs.

Look more at the early 90s. Emmitt's holdout resulted in a deal worth about $11 million total. Really good money, but not enough to retire on and live for another 60 years. He's still working.

We're a couple of seasons from seeing quarterbacks get deals totaling $200-300 million.

11 mil is more than enough to retire on if you don't insist on living high on the hog. Most people retire on much much less.

 

[erod]

Obviously teams make bad decisions at times, but don't think for a minute the Seahawks were blind when they signed Wilson, or the Eagles were blind when they signed Wentz. And teams are more knowledgeable today than they were 5 years ago, and more knowledgeable still than 5 years before that. They fully understand a player can retire at any time they choose.

Quarterbacks are the exception. So are left tackles.

At other positions, rarely do those contracts play out well for the team. Many players get soft, disinterested, or just weird in a hurry when that wallet gets really fat.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Smith couldn't stay healthy.

Game was much rougher back then. Most retired due to their bodies giving out.

And Megatron didn’t? Injuries didn’t play a factor in Luck’s decision? Willis’s? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Robert Smith wanted to go back to medical school. Brown retired mostly for racial and political reasons. Ditka wanted to coach.

Very, very different back then. An ACL injury ended your career. Medicine couldn't fix much. And many guys could make a lot more money outside of football. It paid for crap back then. Players had offseason jobs.

Look more at the early 90s. Emmitt's holdout resulted in a deal worth about $11 million total. Really good money, but not enough to retire on and live for another 60 years. He's still working.

We're a couple of seasons from seeing quarterbacks get deals totaling $200-300 million.

First you said, “'Twas a time when NFL players were about playing until they couldn't play anymore. ”

Now you’re say that wasn’t always the case. Which is the same as now.

 

[kskboys]

And Megatron didn’t? Injuries didn’t play a factor in Luck’s decision? Willis’s? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The only one I can think of who I don't think retired due to injuries is Moffit, that OL for SEA.

Oh, and Dielmann quit early. I think he was 31. Just didn't want to go through it any more. (He's married to one of my poker bud's daughter or stepdaughter.

 

[kskboys]

And Megatron didn’t? Injuries didn’t play a factor in Luck’s decision? Willis’s? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Very few players retire early if it's not due to injury issues. Luck got hurt again. Wasn't he out for the season?

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

The only one I can think of who I don't think retired due to injuries is Moffit, that OL for SEA.

Oh, and Dielmann quit early. I think he was 31. Just didn't want to go through it any more. (He's married to one of my poker bud's daughter or stepdaughter.

I don’t think this thread is any kind of revelation. Players get way more money today, true. But no one is holding on for the money unless they have to, which is few of them (AP). When they get injured too much, they cry uncle. Careers are the same, you’ll never make it in the nfl if you’re only in it for the money, it’s too intense. They want glory, and that hasn’t changed in 50 years.

 

[erod]

11 mil is more than enough to retire on if you don't insist on living high on the hog. Most people retire on much much less.

First off, that $11 million quickly becomes $6 million due to taxes. (Players even have to pay higher taxes for games in New York or California.)

Also, players by nature have to live a more expensive lifestyle. Emmitt can't just live in your random town home in Dallas and find any peace. Life is more expensive.

So, he retires with $5 million tops. I know hundreds and hundreds of everyday people who have that. And Emmit's only 31 with no job.

So that $5 million spread over the next 50 years is $100,000 per year. Property taxes alone on his house are $30 million a year. Better not live in a nice area on that.

Conversely, Zeke is going to make more this one season than Emmitt did his entire career. Zeke should retire with more than $50 million in his account. He's about to be set for life in six days at the age of 24.

 

[erod]

Very few players retire early if it's not due to injury issues. Luck got hurt again. Wasn't he out for the season?

It's increasing rapidly.

The big contracts are ensuring that it will.

 

[kskboys]

Football is like fighting.. It's hard to do once you're rich.


The thing about football is a lot of these big guys like Olineman and Defenders in the front 7 do not have a fun job. None of them like to practice and all they look forward to is game day.

Football is just not a fun sport to be apart of until you're on the field for a game.

Yeah, I don't see Johnny Knoxville taking it in the nuts and diving into sewage pools any more.