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Pay me or trade me.....

SteveA

SteveA

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Just the latest in an ever-increasing "move" by players in all the major sports. Forcing trades, forcing getting paid ....

On one hand as a fan it frustrates the hell out of me, because you want continuity on your team. But, we working stiffs will make career moves based on income so we can live a better lifestyle. It is hard to judge, even if he makes 10 million more than we do. But we don't have the social media platform to apply pressure to get our raise.

But this forcing trades needs to be addressed somehow in all the major leagues & their player unions.....

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27302133/gordon-agent-requests-chargers-trade-star-rb
 
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It's a tough PR win for a player. As you already mentioned, it's tough to relate to a guy already asking for millions holding out for even more. We also want to watch a winner and when one guy gets a bigger contract, that means fewer resources to help build the team.

NFL players are also watching NBA players control the landscape in their league and get ridiculous contracts and they want the same. Brown played the game, won and got more money. Bell played and lost out on a bigger contract. Gordon is playing his cards, I just don't see anyone giving him an absurd contract. I just don't think he's a guy that moves the needle for a team.
 
At 10 million, he's already paid more than Bell. He just doesn't have the guarantee, which I suspect is the real issue behind his grumpiness.

What Brown did, what T.O. did before him - that was shameful. Brown was PARTICULARLY awful because he'd JUST signed a deal and received a signing bonus. It's not like the Steelers hadn't taken good care of A.B. Yes, he wasn't getting as high a salary as he may have liked but they made up for that with a big ole signing bonus.

And then he forces a trade and signs with a team for ANOTHER signing bonus. It ought to be criminal.
 
wig said:
At 10 million, he's already paid more than Bell. He just doesn't have the guarantee, which I suspect is the real issue behind his grumpiness.

What Brown did, what T.O. did before him - that was shameful. Brown was PARTICULARLY awful because he'd JUST signed a deal and received a signing bonus. It's not like the Steelers hadn't taken good care of A.B. Yes, he wasn't getting as high a salary as he may have liked but they made up for that with a big ole signing bonus.

And then he forces a trade and signs with a team for ANOTHER signing bonus. It ought to be criminal.
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Yep, the league needs to make contracts fully guaranteed. If you sign 4 years, you have to honor those 4 years. If you hold out, then you'll have to hold out the length of the contract and that money doesn't count against that teams cap, and you don't get paid. If traded, the contract goes with you. I know it's alot more complicated than that, but something along these lines. You'd hope owners would stop giving these kind of asshats new contracts.
 
In hindsight the Steelers should have went trade when he was at maximum value. And whether it is Bell , Gordon and Elliot it is the same. The latest CBA did a good job lowering value of players who haven't played a down. And rightfully, it was out of control. But it screwed the RB where you end up getting the milk cheap before you send it to the slaughterhouse. That needs to be addressed. I'm thinking it will be similar with the PI review calls. It will have improvements and unintended consequences.
 
Coryea said:
Yep, the league needs to make contracts fully guaranteed. If you sign 4 years, you have to honor those 4 years. If you hold out, then you'll have to hold out the length of the contract and that money doesn't count against that teams cap, and you don't get paid. If traded, the contract goes with you. I know it's alot more complicated than that, but something along these lines. You'd hope owners would stop giving these kind of asshats new contracts.
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That all sounds great but unfortunately the NFL is a competitive business and successful teams and their brands equates to $$$$$$$$$
You will always have owners like Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder hiring guys that other teams won't touch just to further their position. I don't agree with the AB approach or guys holding out with more than one year on a current contract or all the tags process. I wish both parties would just honor the contract signed and then renegotiate a new one.
 
Paul G said:
That all sounds great but unfortunately the NFL is a competitive business and successful teams and their brands equates to $$$$$$$$$
You will always have owners like Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder hiring guys that other teams won't touch just to further their position. I don't agree with the AB approach or guys holding out with more than one year on a current contract or all the tags process. I wish both parties would just honor the contract signed and then renegotiate a new one.
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Well hopefully a few of these signing go wrong and these teams pay alot of money for a guy that doesn't produce. Hopefully the first one is AB, maybe they'll be hesitant to sign these guys that act like douchebags to get out of their current contract.

I don't care that teams can cut a player whenever they want, no matter their contract. My boss can walk in today and say you're fired. If these guys didn't have that threat of losing their jobs, alot of them would just slack off and care less. If they don't like it, then quit football and find a different job.
 
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Good luck with the ultimatum. RBs just aren't worth those high price tags.
 
I wish him all the best, as his career shelf life is much shorter than 'the average Joe'. How much money will he have 10, 15, 20 years from his final paycheck???
 
bermudasteel said:
I wish him all the best, as his career shelf life is much shorter than 'the average Joe'. How much money will he have 10, 15, 20 years from his final paycheck???
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Good question. Hopefully he can manage to survive on the $5.6 million he has on his contract for this year. In 20 years, I'll be lucky to be be at a quarter of his pay for this season.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Good question. Hopefully he can manage to survive on the $5.6 million he has on his contract for this year. In 20 years, I'll be lucky to be be at a quarter of his pay for this season.
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Maybe hire his agent and try and get yourself a better deal

I hear you
it would be nice to have his expense account for gold chains alone
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Good question. Hopefully he can manage to survive on the $5.6 million he has on his contract for this year. In 20 years, I'll be lucky to be be at a quarter of his pay for this season.
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I have zero sympathy for these guys when it comes to money.
 
Coryea said:
I have zero sympathy for these guys when it comes to money.
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I don't think I would use the word sympathy. If all players were in the same boat it would be different. But a workhorse back like Elliot he gets tackled about say 20 times a game. By dline and linebackers and safeties. Then say he has 5 or 6 serious blitz pickups a game with a linebacker at nearly full speed. So now let's say half of the tackles aren't bad. All of the blitz pickups are bad. That is at least 16 serious collisions a game. Compare that to a great wide receiver who catches say 6 or 7 passes a game usually against the smallest opponent. He would be unlucky to be in more than 2 hard collisions. In the end the running back will be lucky to get his big super payday and teams are hedging it on the fact that he is getting used up in his first 4-5 years. The receiver in New Orleans just got 100 million. They need to fix it for running back. Three years. No contract. Team gets an option on the fourth season but it is like the franchise tag. UFA after that no exceptions.
They need to allow and make it desirable for the team to sign a long term deal to the running back in the second or third season to get to about 7 years which is his shelf life.
 
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ark steel said:
I don't think he was as good as Bell or Gurley. GM's are now seeing, with the Gurley injury, that it might not be worth it.
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Which is the problem for the running back. I didn't have a problem with some of Bell's position with the Steelers. Its that the Steelers did bargain in good faith and made him a more than reasonable offer.
The running back used to be one of the key draft positions in football. Often right behind the QB. The game on the field has changed some but not that much. Feature backs still have a big workload. It's more the attitude of the FO and coaches. I will run the wheels off this guy and get a new one in round two or three in a few years. In the SEC alone there are probably 3 or 4 capable coming out every year. Alabama itself seems to have 3 or 4 NFL quality running backs on their roster every year. Roatating out about two at a time.
 
Cope said:
They would, but that's where you defer money over years instead of killing your cap.
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Then the contracts and salaries should come into better line with reality. The absurdity exists, in part, because teams looked for ways to "manipulate" the cap.

The other thing is players want guaranteed money. You know who else does - me.
 
Hoot said:
Then the contracts and salaries should come into better line with reality. The absurdity exists, in part, because teams looked for ways to "manipulate" the cap.

The other thing is players want guaranteed money. You know who else does - me.
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I think it would be better to have a hard cap, or get rid of it altogether. I agree the fluidity of accounting makes it seem like white collar crime as opposed to professional sports accounting....
 
SteelerSask said:
I don't think I would use the word sympathy. If all players were in the same boat it would be different. But a workhorse back like Elliot he gets tackled about say 20 times a game. By dline and linebackers and safeties. Then say he has 5 or 6 serious blitz pickups a game with a linebacker at nearly full speed. So now let's say half of the tackles aren't bad. All of the blitz pickups are bad. That is at least 16 serious collisions a game. Compare that to a great wide receiver who catches say 6 or 7 passes a game usually against the smallest opponent. He would be unlucky to be in more than 2 hard collisions. In the end the running back will be lucky to get his big super payday and teams are hedging it on the fact that he is getting used up in his first 4-5 years. The receiver in New Orleans just got 100 million. They need to fix it for running back. Three years. No contract. Team gets an option on the fourth season but it is like the franchise tag. UFA after that no exceptions.
They need to allow and make it desirable for the team to sign a long term deal to the running back in the second or third season to get to about 7 years which is his shelf life.
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Why make contract exceptions for only running backs? Do we need to do something for a kicker who makes 7 game-winning kicks in a season and sends his team into the playoffs? I get they take a lot of hits, but it's been known for awhile that running backs are not a high value position in the NFL right now.
 
Again, NO ONE is forcing these guys to play or be a running back. If they don't like the measly 6-10 million they make a season, then quit and go do something else. Or become a WR or a LB or another position.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Why make contract exceptions for only running backs? Do we need to do something for a kicker who makes 7 game-winning kicks in a season and sends his team into the playoffs? I get they take a lot of hits, but it's been known for awhile that running backs are not a high value position in the NFL right now.
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The OL and DL get hit by big guys EVERy Play.
 
Really. Ok. I will draft Sequon Barkley and you can have the kicker. Running backs don't have value because of the CBA not because of their importance to the game. The belief is because of the nature of the game you are better off with a rookie with nothing on the cap and no tread on the tires than an experienced pro in the prime of his career, but soon to drop off. And there isn't one other position like that. No one goes oh I know he is a top 5 receiver but I'm not going to re sign him. I will go cheap and draft. Ever. The contact a lineman receives is literally nothing compared to a running back. It's one yard apart. Running back contact is two freight trains colliding.
As far as the 6-10 million, do you short change yourself at your job? Who the **** does in this game. Did Ben Roethlisberger take less because he wanted to win a championship?
 
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They get free college, get millions, cry me a damn river.
 
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