Player Contract Sample

Crunch time for players, owners

Being a league that responds to deadlines, the NFL owners need to reach a deal with their players by this Saturday or Sunday in order to save the preseason.

Sure, most camps aren't scheduled to open until the end of the month, but there has to be some breathing room between the time an agreement is reached and the official start of the 2011 season. Too much has to be done in a short period of time, which is why free agency needs to start by July 15 or 17.

Based on some progress made last week in a critical negotiating session in Minneapolis, there is hope heading into this critical week. According to sources, owners and players are getting closer when it comes to agreeing on the division of revenue.

With Chief Magistrate Arthur Boylan stressing urgency in mediation, the percentage of revenues offered by the owners, according to sources, rose to around 46 percent. That's within striking distance.

For sessions that start Tuesday, the committees of negotiators working on major topics such as the rookie wage scale are being called on to resolve their differences. It will be a good week.

At stake for the owners is roughly $700 million of revenue in the preseason. Owners pocket most of that money because players are paid by the week during training camp instead of getting regular game checks.

What owners have to resolve this week is whether this can be a deal they can live with for the next decade or so.

If they can, football might be back by the time of next week's mailbag.

From the inbox

Q: Why don't the Eagles sign Kevin Kolb and trade Michael Vick ? Kolb is 26 with no wear and tear and projected by many to be an elite QB for years to come. Vick is 31 with years of wear and tear and plays a style of football prone to injury. Plus, I believe that it can be argued that he played to the very best of his ability last year on the adrenaline that came from realizing it was his last shot. The Eagles had a good season but were knocked out early in the playoffs. I think Vick peaked in 2010 and we saw the best year he will ever have. With Kolb, the Eagles could have a 10-year franchise QB who gives them a shot at the Super Bowl every year. I just don't get why Kolb is as good as gone in everyone's eyes, including the Eagles. Any thoughts?

Tony B. in Lackawanna, N.Y.

A: You raise a great question. The answer is the Eagles believe Vick is the quarterback who can get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. To put Kolb on the market as they are, you get the feeling that they have questions about Kolb being the quarterback who can get them to the Super Bowl. Andy Reid and his staff believe they can make quarterbacks good, and they can make great quarterbacks elite. Remember how the Falcons traded Matt Schaub to Houston? He is now an elite quarterback, but he hasn't been able to get the Texans over the top. Kolb compares to Schaub, but the Eagles believe in Vick, and based on what we saw last year, they are right.

The Dying Art Of A Footballer's Loyalty To His Club | EPL Talk

Loyalty in sports is often a one sided affair.  Fans seemingly will always remain loyal to their favorite club no matter how many losing seasons or failed signings occur.  But loyalty on the part of the club and the players is not always evident.   Is this something that football fans will just have to get used to?

So often throughout this past football season, I kept hearing player after player talk about his future with the club.  Players would repeatedly make suggestions in the press that they wanted to play the next season or finish their careers at another club.  Now as a football fan that makes me quite angry.  It is a slap in the face to those fans that have devoted their time, energy, and money to support a player and a club.  To me, a player has no business talking about any other club other than the one he has signed to play for.

These conversations occur more frequently during the summer transfer window as players and agents use the press to try and negotiate contracts.  If I was an Arsenal fan, I would be very tired of hearing Fabregas constantly talk about wanting to play for Barcelona.  To me, he has a contract to play for the Gunners and if he really wants to leave then he should put in a transfer request.  I don’t mean to single out Fabregas because he not the only player that does this.   Just today Celtic left-back Emilio Izaguirre was quoted about a possible move to Manchester United, “If I have the chance, I welcome the move with open arms. If that is the case I will thank God and I will take my opportunity.”  In my view, Izaguirre should not make any comment about his future until a decision, one way or another, is made.

All of this kind of talk is a result of the current economic system of football.  There is a lot of money out there to be made.  Player salaries have become so inflated that to them it is just good business to play for the highest bidder.  Most players have large egos and belief in their football ability that some team will always pay them more to change clubs.   With the way things are progressing, it makes me think that the days of a player staying with one club, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, for his entire career are quickly fading.

This negotiation tactic typically does not take place in American sports.  Last baseball season, if Derek Jeter would have talked about his pending free agency and said he would like to play for the Boston Red Sox, Jeter would have lampooned in the media.  The New York Yankee fans would have booed his every at bat.  I don’t know if the difference comes from American professional teams teaching their athletes on how to deal with the media or not.  More likely it is because American athletes have less control over their futures.  If a basketball player signs a five-year contract, it’s assumed he will be with that team for the duration of the contract.  There is no threat of a transfer once the contract is signed.  Also, with the use of salary caps in most leagues, the ability to trade a star player is almost impossible.

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