Jets Caught Tampering?

[SuperHornet]

The Whiners have filed tampering charges against the Jets ICO #10 draft pick Michael Crabtree. The Whiners have some experience with this, having been caught themselves ICO Bears LBer Lance Briggs.

Jets coach Rex Ryan has gone public with denials. Whiners coach Mike Singletary (who belongs in Chicago) is refusing comment. Jerry Rice has gone public with anti-Crabtree smack, denying that he'll have ANY impact this year even if he shows up tonight.

Me? I say the Whiners should cut his butt right now. Nobody needs this kind of distraction. Of course, I'm old school.

Comment?

[UNHWildCats]

The Whiners have filed tampering charges against the Jets ICO #10 draft pick Michael Crabtree. The Whiners have some experience with this, having been caught themselves ICO Bears LBer Lance Briggs.

Jets coach Rex Ryan has gone public with denials. Whiners coach Mike Singletary (who belongs in Chicago) is refusing comment. Jerry Rice has gone public with anti-Crabtree smack, denying that he'll have ANY impact this year even if he shows up tonight.

Me? I say the Whiners should cut his butt right now. Nobody needs this kind of distraction. Of course, I'm old school.

Comment?

I'm not sure they can release their rights to him and they cant trade those rights until March I believe... Even if they could release their rights why should they... I rather force him to sit out the year, then let another team burn a draft pick on him.

[SuperHornet]

There's something to be said for that, but there's something also to be said for making an outright statement that he's not getting any dough from the Whiners after thumbing his nose at them as he did. Given that he's trying to destroy the draft pay structure (as cr@zy as it is), I don't believe that the NFLPA (did they ever re-form?) will support him, and he may not even qualify for membership anyway until he actually signs with SOMEBODY. If the Whiners cut him, it's incumbent on SOMEBODY to sign him if he's to play, and he'll have to learn their offense. I don't know many that will take that chance barring a huge rash of injuries. If he goes back into the draft, well, history says that those who do that drop like a rock if they're even drafted at all. Attitude says it all, and having an ignoramus for an agent doesn't help, either.

[UNHWildCats]

There's something to be said for that, but there's something also to be said for making an outright statement that he's not getting any dough from the Whiners after thumbing his nose at them as he did. Given that he's trying to destroy the draft pay structure (as cr@zy as it is), I don't believe that the NFLPA (did they ever re-form?) will support him, and he may not even qualify for membership anyway until he actually signs with SOMEBODY. If the Whiners cut him, it's incumbent on SOMEBODY to sign him if he's to play, and he'll have to learn their offense. I don't know many that will take that chance barring a huge rash of injuries. If he goes back into the draft, well, history says that those who do that drop like a rock if they're even drafted at all. Attitude says it all, and having an ignoramus for an agent doesn't help, either.

The Jets apparently are willing to take that chance... reportedly willing to pay him twice what the niners offered. Why let the Jets get him for nothing... might as well make them burn a draft pick next year on him...

[TwinTownBisonFan]

eh... a man controls his own labor - if I was advising Crabtree - I'd be telling him that next year is going to be one without a cap - he'll have a chance to be drafted by a franchise that isn't a going-nowhere clusterfvck, and get paid.

one of the things i really struggle with is why NFL fans seem to think players ought to just "shut up and sing" wherever they are told... the NFL salary structure is so f'd, no guaranteed money, small paydays relative to league revenues and the extreme physical risk and reduced life expectancy... IMO these players need to force a work stoppage after 2010 and fix this... because they are getting the ol' screwgy as it is.

[JMU DJ]

eh... a man controls his own labor - if I was advising Crabtree - I'd be telling him that next year is going to be one without a cap - he'll have a chance to be drafted by a franchise that isn't a going-nowhere clusterfvck, and get paid.

The thing about waiting until next year is that his draft stock will drop tremendously... just look at the players who will be coming out this year, Crabtree will be lucky to go in the top 10 again. He's also being advised by his cousin, I think, who has no experience besides repping Crabtree...

[UNI88]

eh... a man controls his own labor - if I was advising Crabtree - I'd be telling him that next year is going to be one without a cap - he'll have a chance to be drafted by a franchise that isn't a going-nowhere clusterfvck, and get paid.

one of the things i really struggle with is why NFL fans seem to think players ought to just "shut up and sing" wherever they are told... the NFL salary structure is so f'd, no guaranteed money, small paydays relative to league revenues and the extreme physical risk and reduced life expectancy... IMO these players need to force a work stoppage after 2010 and fix this... because they are getting the ol' screwgy as it is.

Any sources on the "small paydays relative to league revenues?" Not being critical, just curious. My take is that NFL rosters are considerably larger than other sports so they have to spread the money around.

I understand where you're coming from on the "no guaranteed money ... and the extreme physical risk and reduced life expectancy" but guaranteed money isn't just going to materialize and the owners aren't going to just give it up so some of it will also have to come out of players pockets (the payday will get even smaller to put aside money for guarantees, i.e. the players are going to have to help pay the premium for the "insurance" that is a guarantee).

[TwinTownBisonFan]

eh... a man controls his own labor - if I was advising Crabtree - I'd be telling him that next year is going to be one without a cap - he'll have a chance to be drafted by a franchise that isn't a going-nowhere clusterfvck, and get paid.

one of the things i really struggle with is why NFL fans seem to think players ought to just "shut up and sing" wherever they are told... the NFL salary structure is so f'd, no guaranteed money, small paydays relative to league revenues and the extreme physical risk and reduced life expectancy... IMO these players need to force a work stoppage after 2010 and fix this... because they are getting the ol' screwgy as it is.

Any sources on the "small paydays relative to league revenues?" Not being critical, just curious. My take is that NFL rosters are considerably larger than other sports so they have to spread the money around.

I understand where you're coming from on the "no guaranteed money ... and the extreme physical risk and reduced life expectancy" but guaranteed money isn't just going to materialize and the owners aren't going to just give it up so some of it will also have to come out of players pockets (the payday will get even smaller to put aside money for guarantees, i.e. the players are going to have to help pay the premium for the "insurance" that is a guarantee).

NFL roster = 53 players
MLB roster = 25 players
NHL roster = 23 players
NBA roster = 15 players

NFL average team revenues = 214 million
MLB average team revenues = 170 million
NHL average team revenues = 92 million
NBA average team revenues = 128 million
approx - from Forbes

NFL average salary = $770,000/year
MLB average salary = $3,260,000/year
NHL average salary = $1,900,000/year
NBA average salary = $5,380,000/year
Forbes and other sources

so - if we divide 214 mil over 53 players - we get just over 4 million/year
if we divide 170 mil over 25 players - we get 6.8 million/year
if we divide 92 million over 23 players - we get 4 million/year
if we divide 128 million over 15 players we get 8.5 million/year

obviously - this is very "back of the napkin" but if you combine that the average player accounts for 4 million a year in revenue (and yes... i recognize all the flaws in that logic... but bear with me) his salary of 770k/year is a significant drop off of 3.25 million whereas a baseball player accounting for 6.8 million ends up at a drop of 3.5 million (this surprises me) the NHL has a drop of 2.1 million and the NBA has a drop of 3.1 million...

so in this cheap analysis of CBA's... the NHL seems to be doing quite well - but there is no guarantee (IIRC) and the NBA is a hell of a racket - with less dropoff per player - and guaranteed contracts... MLB has a bigger drop off - but the teams also have MASSIVE minor league operations to finance... and again - contracts are guaranteed...

this is why I'm saying the NFL players get the hose - while there are more of them in the league - the NFL draws huge revenues - the physical risks are much greater than the other three sports - there is no guarantee - and careers are quite a bit shorter on average as well

[dgreco]

^ very interesting. My one problem with rookies is before they ever play a down they are getting 20-25 million guaranteed as a signing bonus or whatever it may be called. In any other sport you do not get that much. The owners are risking a lot of money for possible a player who will never play a down. I think the sign on needs to be lowered.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

^ very interesting. My one problem with rookies is before they ever play a down they are getting 20-25 million guaranteed as a signing bonus or whatever it may be called. In any other sport you do not get that much. The owners are risking a lot of money for possible a player who will never play a down. I think the sign on needs to be lowered.

but look at it from the perspective of a kid coming out in the draft... you're gonna go for the biggest guarantee you can find - especially in case of traumatic injury. hell, look at what Bradford an other college athletes are doing, getting big insurance policies in case they get hurt in college (a great idea, incidentally)

the signing bonuses are and have been huge in MLB for awhile now - teams regularly put up 1-2.5 million on bonuses for guys who never get above AA... it's part of the risk/reward of investing in the draft. me? i favor an NFL minor league set up - that would play in the spring (thus creating 1500 new jobs for the nflpa) and allowing college guys to acclimate to pro schemes (you could play it in the 32 biggest markets without a team, games on Saturday night or Sunday... the thirst for football is so great this would be a runaway success) creating this league would create many, many new revenue streams, and would enable them to structure contracts to say (you get x signing bonus now, and y if you move up from the minors to the big club, protecting their investment somewhat)

[UNI88]

Thanks! Couple other calculations that help your argument:

Average total player salary expense:
NFL $40,810,000
MLB $81,500,000
NHL $43,700,000
NBA $80,700,000

Player salaries as a % of revenue
NFL 19.07%
MLB 47.94%
NHL 47.50%
NBA 63.05%

I would be intersted in seeing where the remainder of the revenue goes on average for each league.

Couple of other thoughts:
- The NFL might need more comprehensive revenue sharing in order to prevent the rich from getting richer.
- Should the NFL players and owners devote a portion of this $ to help those old-timers that gave their bodies in exchange for comparable chump change and without whom todays success wouldn't have been possible?

[JMU DJ]

Player salaries as a % of revenue
NFL 19.07%


I would be intersted in seeing where the remainder of the revenue goes on average for each league.

Exactly... I heard someone say how it is financially stupid to own a sports franchise... but you go 81% of revenue not going to the people who bring in the revenue. That's $171,191,048.80 in revenue... now considering your highest paid employees are the players... how much does it cost to maintain the team, field, stadium, pay game day employees etc? Also, what about the revenue the owner of the stadium gets when other sports teams or musicians/shows want to use their stadium? Just look at all the issues going on with the NBA and WNBA with venue scheduling conflicts.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

Thanks! Couple other calculations that help your argument:

Average total player salary expense:
NFL $40,810,000
MLB $81,500,000
NHL $43,700,000
NBA $80,700,000

Player salaries as a % of revenue
NFL 19.07%
MLB 47.94%
NHL 47.50%
NBA 63.05%

I would be intersted in seeing where the remainder of the revenue goes on average for each league.

Couple of other thoughts:
- The NFL might need more comprehensive revenue sharing in order to prevent the rich from getting richer.
- Should the NFL players and owners devote a portion of this $ to help those old-timers that gave their bodies in exchange for comparable chump change and without whom todays success wouldn't have been possible?

great find

and i think the Players Assn needs to make taking care of the old timers a priority in the next CBA

[SuperHornet]

[
so - if we divide 214 mil over 53 players - we get just over 4 million/year
if we divide 170 mil over 25 players - we get 6.8 million/year
if we divide 92 million over 23 players - we get 4 million/year
if we divide 128 million over 15 players we get 8.5 million/year

obviously - this is very "back of the napkin" but if you combine that the average player accounts for 4 million a year in revenue (and yes... i recognize all the flaws in that logic... but bear with me) his salary of 770k/year is a significant drop off of 3.25 million whereas a baseball player accounting for 6.8 million ends up at a drop of 3.5 million (this surprises me) the NHL has a drop of 2.1 million and the NBA has a drop of 3.1 million...


this is why I'm saying the NFL players get the hose - while there are more of them in the league - the NFL draws huge revenues - the physical risks are much greater than the other three sports - there is no guarantee - and careers are quite a bit shorter on average as well

You're forgetting something in all this woe-is-me player support. There are more team employees than just the players. If the NFL compensates players at the rate the other leagues do (which itself is ludicrous), then there will be no logistical support because all the admin, travel support, concessions, and, yes, even the CHEERLEADERS will be GONE. The team will fall apart.

Athletes are well enough off, thank you very much. How they do it when Joe Fan is priced out of the market is beyond me.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

[
so - if we divide 214 mil over 53 players - we get just over 4 million/year
if we divide 170 mil over 25 players - we get 6.8 million/year
if we divide 92 million over 23 players - we get 4 million/year
if we divide 128 million over 15 players we get 8.5 million/year

obviously - this is very "back of the napkin" but if you combine that the average player accounts for 4 million a year in revenue (and yes... i recognize all the flaws in that logic... but bear with me) his salary of 770k/year is a significant drop off of 3.25 million whereas a baseball player accounting for 6.8 million ends up at a drop of 3.5 million (this surprises me) the NHL has a drop of 2.1 million and the NBA has a drop of 3.1 million...


this is why I'm saying the NFL players get the hose - while there are more of them in the league - the NFL draws huge revenues - the physical risks are much greater than the other three sports - there is no guarantee - and careers are quite a bit shorter on average as well

You're forgetting something in all this woe-is-me player support. There are more team employees than just the players. If the NFL compensates players at the rate the other leagues do (which itself is ludicrous), then there will be no logistical support because all the admin, travel support, concessions, and, yes, even the CHEERLEADERS will be GONE. The team will fall apart.

Athletes are well enough off, thank you very much. How they do it when Joe Fan is priced out of the market is beyond me.

this isn't "woe-is-me" i'm just looking at this from the perspective of an NFL player - your franchises make the most money and you are basically killing yourself for less than half of the MLB average contract... while the league makes obscene profits... If I were in their shoes - I'd play hardball come CBA time... they make millions for their owners and get surprisingly little relative to the other leagues...