Ttite changes for Bengals Personnel leaders

[SunsetBengal]

(9 hours ago)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: That's not my point.

My point is Jamarcus Russell, Sam Bradford, and Matthew Stafford all got to engage in a semi-free market (in at least they could negotiate for their contracts even if they got their rights drafted away).

Cam Newton got to neither choose where he was going, AND his ability to earn was artificially deflated. So you can't just compare it to a job or an entertainer. These are people who have rare traits, skills, and abilities that generate a >$20b market.

Imagine being the best plumber in the world to graduate from trade school that year (and that trade school made billions off you working there for 3 years too and you weren't allowed to get paid for your work for the longest time), and you're told "you're going to have to move to Y city and work at X company for just 5-20% of what you could have made on the open market for the next 5 years or you can retire from as a plumber". THAT is why it's silly to compare NFL players to normal jobs. Every step of the way has been artificially created to reduce their earning potential, so THEY don't need to be told it's a job.

I understand your point, and you make it very well. What I'm saying is that rookie contract slotting came about for a reason, and that reason is that too many high picks were turning up busts and negatively impacting franchises ability to recover and move forward. 

Further, the league only exists because it is a popular form of entertainment and generates a massive amount of revenue from public interest in spectating. If it weren't for the league's popularity the pool of revenue for these contracts would be much less. The owners still have the most invested in the league, therefore they should be entitled to make a profit. Paying massive contracts to rookies that could very well turn out to be busts just does not align with profit from the ownership perspective. I think that the rookie contract slotting idea was a good one, as if funneled money back to proven veterans of the sport. No matter what trade/industry/profession one chooses, there is always a period of "proving" oneself that needs to happen in order for huge money to be warranted.