jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) (12/02/83)
One thing I've always wondered is why NFL players are always signed
to a series of n one-year contracts rather than one n-year contract.
This practice seems to be unique to the NFL.
Jeff Richardson
DCIEM, Torontolied@ihlts.UUCP (12/05/83)
Short contracts make it easier to bargain. However, it's not universal. One of the Green Bay receivers just signed a five-year contract. Bob "Closet Packer Fan" Lied ...ihnp4!ihlts!lied
petec@umcp-cs.UUCP (12/06/83)
There are several reasons for a series of contracts. One is that the
club and player don't have to haggle every year. Another is getting
a commitment; the club knows it has the player for n years, while the
player knows he has a job for n years if he performs well. However,
the real reason is that the club doesn't have to make too much of a
commitment; multi-year contracts are often guaranteed or at least
semi-guaranteed, whereas a player with a series of contracts has to
make the club in order for his future contracted years to translate
into any bucks. The player lives from year to year. Thus this is a good
way to deal, from the club's point of view, with your average, marginally-
talented player. This is a possible explaination to the comment that this
method seems unique to the NFL. The NFL employs at least 28*47 persons,
not including people on injured reserve and various other lists. This is
much more than any other sport, and the great talent spreads thin. The
majority of them fit into the average category, and most will likely
be replaced. The average career life-span in football is much less
than in baseball. There are more considerations along these lines,
such as the higher rate of injuries in football, but I've elaborated
enough already. (2 disclaimers: these are just my opinions, take them
as you will; when I speak of marginal talent, I am relatively speaking.
The worst player in the NFL is certainly better at football than I
could ever hope to be (but then I can program better than him ;-) )
--
Call-Me: Pete Cottrell, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Dept.
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