Rockinkuwait
Well-Known Member
I get your point but, keeping it simple.
NBA/NHL/MLB...player signs for 4/20mil...barring something really unusual, that player is going to cash all of that contract.
NFL...4/20mil with $6 mil guaranteed...he's most likely not going to cash all of that contract.
Yeah they agreed to it via CBA, but that doesn't make it fair, it makes it acceptable.
The NFL is different from other sports. It's rare in the NBA for a player to truly have an injury that ruins his career where he can't play at an NBA level anymore. But if an NBA player gets a 3 year 12 mil deal where year 3 is a team option for 4 million, isn't that the same as an NFL player getting 3 years 12 mil with 8 mil guaranteed?
I think it's fair. I think most non-QB positions would get screwed if the NFL guaranteed all salaries. Currently you have those partial year guarantees where the team isn't going to fully guarantee a 3rd year for example, but with the partial, it gives incentive to keep the guy (maybe not worth the 8 mil in year 3 but with half that guaranteed anyways, it's worth keeping him if losing him only saves 4 mil). And it gives him a chance not only to play for more than his current value would have been in year 3, but if he has a turnaround that year, he gets a chance to get year 4 of that deal as well. In a fully guaranteed contract the team would just be giving him 2 years. I think we'd have a lot more movement (shorter deals, more chances at FA) and a lot more use of the franchise tags which isn't good for the league.
Take Arthur Moats on the Steelers. 3 years, 1.9 mil guaranteed on a 7.5 mil total contract. If a contract is fully guaranteed, that deal is only being guaranteed for the first year right? But with his signing bonus, year 3 he costs 3.1 mil against the cap, but you only save 1.9 mil if you move him. So if he's playing at an ok level, maybe not worth that 3 mil but close, you keep him on for 2016. In a fully guaranteed world, he's playing for a contract last year. Which is a year he slowly headed more into a 2 down only role, and ended with a major injury (torn pec). Now he's hitting FA with that on his record, where instead Pitt I believe has kept him on the roster since they already have invested 1.3 mil into him no matter what.
Outside of your stars, it would be very tough to get more than a 1 year deal for any player. Lots of movement for those players, no consistency for the team outside of the rookies... Free agency would be exciting as heck, but I don't think that kind of constant team turnover would be a good thing.