NFL 2017 NFL OFFSEASON THREAD

[steve]

Man, I never listen to local talk radio anymore, but I might need to hear the clown show if they actually bring back Marty. Holy crap.

[RIPPA]

The story seems to have changed a little since this morning in that Richardson just wants Marty to be the interim and he will hire a legit GM at some point

At least based on the stories that are now being posted

[Ryan]

Promote Ron Rivera to GM. Make Panther legend Chris Weinke new HC.

[steve]

15 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

The story seems to have changed a little since this morning in that Richardson just wants Marty to be the interim and he will hire a legit GM at some point

At least based on the stories that are now being posted

That's what they were pushing when I tuned in on the radio for a few minutes as well.

[CSC]

I assume there's a line of veterans right now standing outside of Marty's office waiting to renegotiate a new contract immediately.  

[Tabe]

10 hours ago, Ryan said:

Considering I know your name...how do they screw any of it up?

Chiris Tabat

MAYH 1986

[Dewar]

How much weed was the engraver on at the time?

[Kevin Wilson]

First one of the year? Chargers rookie Mike Williams perhaps out for the year:

He was the 7th overall pick. Some theories that he hurt his back during the combine or pro day but kept it under wraps, officially it was hurt during the first rookie practice. Rough deal.

[RIPPA]

Michael Oher was released by the Panthers as he failed his physical due to still suffering the effects from his concussion

It appears he is leaning towards retirement as he is still in the concussion protocol and has been since like Sept of last year

[sabremike]

39 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Michael Oher was released by the Panthers as he failed his physical due to still suffering the effects from his concussion

It appears he is leaning towards retirement as he is still in the concussion protocol and has been since like Sept of last year

So disposable piece of meat got injured and the team just gets rid of him. No severance, no nothing. And there are people fucking stupid enough to think the NHL should have a lockout to force players to agree to get rid of guaranteed contracts. The treatment of players in the NFL is beyond disgusting, particularly when you figure how many end up physically and mentally crippled from the game.

[supremebve]

13 minutes ago, sabremike said:

So disposable piece of meat got injured and the team just gets rid of him. No severance, no nothing. And there are people fucking stupid enough to think the NHL should have a lockout to force players to agree to get rid of guaranteed contracts. The treatment of players in the NFL is beyond disgusting, particularly when you figure how many end up physically and mentally crippled from the game.

Yeah, it really is one of those games that you lose, even when you win.

[sabremike]

1 minute ago, supremebve said:

Yeah, it really is one of those games that you lose, even when you win.

I'm amazed more athletic guys in this country don't just go "Why should I play Football and end up crippled? I'll play soccer instead. And even better is that there are countless well paying jobs all over the planet for soccer, not a one league monopoly".

[RIPPA]

I know what your general point is but just for the record - Oher is guaranteed $900K due to injury protection benefits.

So technically he is getting a "severance" in this (not counting obviously his pension)

The argument over whether it is enough to compensate for the physical/mental toll is a different matter

[supremebve]

Just now, sabremike said:

I'm amazed more athletic guys in this country don't just go "Why should I play Football and end up crippled? I'll play soccer instead. And even better is that there are countless well paying jobs all over the planet for soccer, not a one league monopoly".

It is because football means something in the United States, that soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, or any other sport can't possibly recreate.  Seriously, football = America in a lot of people's eyes.  I honestly think the reason the Colin Kaepernick thing got so much pushback is because he is a football player.  This isn't something that would happen in baseball or hockey based on demographics, but I don't think a basketball player would get 50% of the backlash that Kaepernick has received.  I honestly think it is more than just the stand he is taking, but he's taking it in a space where we've been conditioned to believe is a reflection of the ideals of America.  The NFL has shown to be corrupt, immoral, and dishonest, but games start with military personnel holding the American flag, with fighter jets flying over the stadium (They figured out a way to gouge the military in the process).  Soccer isn't ours, and that will never be able to compete with the NFL in the United States.  

[Kevin Wilson]

900K is more than I'd get if I got fired. I know in comparisons to other sports it isn't fair, but in comparison to real jobs its pretty normal. Its a capitalist country, most people that are no longer useful to the company they work for get fired and may get a few weeks severance if they are lucky. What else would an NFL team do. Now I'd understand if the Player's Union went for guaranteed contracts, but Carolina did what was best for their business.

Now the fact people willingly play a sport they are almost guaranteed to get a life impacting injury in is another story, but Michael Oher made 33 million in his career so I doubt money is his concern right now if you asked him.

[supremebve]

24 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Now the fact people willingly play a sport they are almost guaranteed to get a life impacting injury in is another story, but Michael Oher made 33 million in his career so I doubt money is his concern right now if you asked him.

Michael Oher is 31 years old with a brain injury.  There is a very good chance $33 million is not enough.  You have to realize that about 50% of that is gone just from taxes, then he probably bought a house, a couple cars, and who knows whatever it takes to maintain that lifestyle over the last 10 years.  I'd be surprised if he had $5 million for the rest of his life, which probably isn't enough.  

[Kevin Wilson]

31 minutes ago, supremebve said:

Michael Oher is 31 years old with a brain injury.  There is a very good chance $33 million is not enough.  You have to realize that about 50% of that is gone just from taxes, then he probably bought a house, a couple cars, and who knows whatever it takes to maintain that lifestyle over the last 10 years.  I'd be surprised if he had $5 million for the rest of his life, which probably isn't enough.  

He'll also get an NFL pension after he turns 55, about $4,500 a month so it doesn't have to last the rest of his life (and he really should have more than five million unless he was wasteful). If he had a high level lifestyle that was a personal choice he made, yes lots of athletes aren't smart with their money but that isn't the companies fault. I'm just saying he made far more than most people do when they get laid off, plus this is all hypothetical since he was leaning towards retiring anyway.

I feel bad when players suffer injuries but I'll never feel bad for those that run out of money, its 100% on them to manage their funds better. Not that Oher has said anything about money, but just in the general sense. You have people out there with children trying to survive on 30K a year before taxes, there isn't a scenario I am going to feel bad for someone that pocketed millions and spent it all, they chose to enjoy the "good life" while they played and then cried poor mouth once the checks stopped coming.

[Ryan]

He could be dead by 55. Many of them are. The skills guys could move into games like baseball and soccer and what not. What do they big burly power guys do? Not a lot of other sports for a Michael Oher out there. He's not playing hockey.

[supremebve]

1 minute ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I feel bad when players suffer injuries but I'll never feel bad for those that run out of money, its 100% on them to manage their funds better. Not that Oher has said anything about money, but just in the general sense. You have people out there with children trying to survive on 30K a year before taxes, there isn't a scenario I am going to feel bad for someone that pocketed millions and spent it all, they chose to enjoy the "good life" while they played and then cried poor mouth once the checks stopped coming.

No one is asking you to feel bad, but to recognize that giving a 19 year old millions of dollars and expecting them to be set for life is fairly unrealistic.  Did you happen to see that story about Clinton Portis, and how he wanted to kill a former financial adviser?  He made millions, his financial advisor stole a shitload of it, and essentially got away with it scot free.  Bruce Arians was on the Lebatard Show last week, and he was talking about Peyton Manning not being able to dress himself.  His mother legit took pictures of all of his clothes and hung them up in his closet so he knows what shirt goes with what pants...for every single thing in his closet.  It was said as a joke, but it illustrates that these dudes aren't equipped to do anything but play football.  Giving them millions at a time in their lives where they have no concept on how to manage money, is setting them up for failure.  Add the entire industry of financial people who make a living taking advantage of athletes with little or no legal recourse, and I fully understand how they go broke.  It is a lot of money in theory, but not in actual application.  

[Kevin Wilson]

I recognize a lot of athletes are bad with money, but I don't think that's an excuse to not have any. Lots of non-athletes are bad with money too, millions of people are in massive debt as we speak, it isn't an athlete-only issue. Someone making 50K can still spend 75K and be in debt. Athletes aren't special, they just have more money to waste. If they made 200 million they'd probably spend all of it too so I don't think a severance would help the issue. They could make it so that 20% of all money they made went in a special account they couldn't touch til retirement, but that would just piss them off.

20 minutes ago, Ryan said:

He could be dead by 55. Many of them are. The skills guys could move into games like baseball and soccer and what not. What do they big burly power guys do? Not a lot of other sports for a Michael Oher out there. He's not playing hockey.

I mean they chose their profession. They know the risks. I feel bad when they get permanent injuries but it was a known risk they took. Knowing the short spans of their career would be a good idea to not buy three houses, six cars, and go out every night but just put it in a bank. Don't even invest it, let it chill in a savings account. Trust no one, hoard it. There are a lot of big burly guys that find jobs that aren't football, what a weird argument. Be a bouncer or work construction. Get some IT certifications and fix computers. Just being big powerful guys doesn't mean they can't have a second career.

[Ryan]

You really need to look into how a lot of these guys come up and where they come from when it comes to money management. It's not quite that simple. Referring to some of the Black players. Obviously, not everyone comes from a poor background or any number of difficult life situations, but plenty have. That and add in the NFL outright lying about head injuries until recently to the equation. Others with a more nuanced understanding of all of this can phrase it better than Captain Lily White the SS wypipo like me.

[sabremike]

They know the risks works better if the league hadn't literally spent decades trying to hide and deny the damage the game was doing to the players.

[supremebve]

6 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I mean they chose their profession. They know the risks. I feel bad when they get permanent injuries but it was a known risk they took. Knowing the short spans of their career would be a good idea to not buy three houses, six cars, and go out every night but just put it in a bank. Don't even invest it, let it chill in a savings account. Trust no one, hoard it. 

They started playing football at an age we wouldn't let anyone else make a life changing decision.  The people in charge of football at every level have flat out lied about the risks for decades.  If you got tens of millions of dollars (most players don't get nearly that much, but still) when you were 20, what would you have done?  Investment is probably not #1.  Even if it was, how the hell do you know how to do that when you never had any money?  A savings account is an extremely stupid place to move millions of dollars, because it is only insured up to $250,000.  If something happens, and the bank goes out of business you'll never get that back.  

The real issue is that you are giving someone who has no experience with money a large sum of money that is going to have to last for the rest of their lives.  If they want to buy a house, they use that money.  If they want to get their parents out of a bad situation, they have to use that money.  If they get married and have kids, everything comes from that money.  The average NFL player doesn't make long-term, life changing money.  The average NFL salary is $1.9 million, which seems like a lot until you realize that quarterbacks, wide receivers, left tackles, and pass rushers make so much more than everyone else it inflates those numbers.  Subtract 50% for taxes, and that is about $1 million per year.  The average career is about 3 years.  $3 million dollars for the rest of your life is not really that much, when you have nothing, and need to buy everything you'll ever need with that money.  It's not about feeling bad for these people, it is just understanding that they are put in a situation that is set up for them to go bankrupt.  

[Kevin Wilson]

33 minutes ago, supremebve said:

They started playing football at an age we wouldn't let anyone else make a life changing decision.  The people in charge of football at every level have flat out lied about the risks for decades.  If you got tens of millions of dollars (most players don't get nearly that much, but still) when you were 20, what would you have done?  Investment is probably not #1.  Even if it was, how the hell do you know how to do that when you never had any money?  A savings account is an extremely stupid place to move millions of dollars, because it is only insured up to $250,000.  If something happens, and the bank goes out of business you'll never get that back.  

The real issue is that you are giving someone who has no experience with money a large sum of money that is going to have to last for the rest of their lives.  If they want to buy a house, they use that money.  If they want to get their parents out of a bad situation, they have to use that money.  If they get married and have kids, everything comes from that money.  The average NFL player doesn't make long-term, life changing money.  The average NFL salary is $1.9 million, which seems like a lot until you realize that quarterbacks, wide receivers, left tackles, and pass rushers make so much more than everyone else it inflates those numbers.  Subtract 50% for taxes, and that is about $1 million per year.  The average career is about 3 years.  $3 million dollars for the rest of your life is not really that much, when you have nothing, and need to buy everything you'll ever need with that money.  It's not about feeling bad for these people, it is just understanding that they are put in a situation that is set up for them to go bankrupt.  

Who put them in that situation, themselves? The problem is, you are just listing problems, no solutions. Should the NFL set a minimum age of 25? Withhold some of their money to give them post retirement, like a forced investment? Should players only get to get paid 250K a year max, and spread out the pay for however long it takes (so if they sign a 10 million dollar deal, they get 250K for 40 years)? Everyone always lists problems, but no real solutions, do you like any of those? Should NFL teams pay players every year the rest of their lives so they have money to waste? I'd love that deal, sign me up. If I win 10 million dollars in the lottery and waste it all in ten years, who do I blame?

It is their responsibility to figure out what to do with their money, and figure out what they will do post retirement. Not mine, not yours, not the NFL. People ranging from Elton John to Mike Tyson ran out of money. Mayweather can't pay his taxes. Giving them more money or a severance package isn't the solution, so what is? People type a lot of words on problems, less on solutions, because there aren't many. The most straight forward solution is "players get smarter with their money" unless you have better and realistic ideas.

[Dewar]

The answer to me, is simple. Don't let the NFL get away with being able to sign guys to massive deals, and then cut them and pay them pennies on the dollar. The other three major leagues in North America have to pay all the money out if they cut a guy, or if he is too injured to continue. There's not a damn reason why the NFL does not have guaranteed contracts, other than the players union won't stand up to the owners to get them.