So if I am to understand this correctly, the players in the NFL have chosen to decertify their union so that the individuals players can sue the owners, but so what. Am I missing something, it is my understanding that the purpose of an union is to protect their members from unfair working conditions, fight for fair pay for their members, and make sure the members are taken care of when they retire. I believe that the NFL Players Association was trying to do that, so why am I “I don’t care” about this. It’s simple, you hire an agent to negotiate your contract. It is their job to get you the best possible compensation, why do you feel you should get more? Because the league negotiated their contracts with TV and you are not getting a part of that, maybe you should have negotiated that and put it in your contract then. You feel that you are allowed to see the records of your employers, good luck in getting that in the real world if you are working for a private company – which the NFL is.
Are the players the product, sure they are. Should they be compensated for the work that they do, absolutely. But you are the person, or the person you hired, that negotiated that contract and you signed it. I hear that the contracts are not guaranteed, and although this is wrong(cause they can cut a player and not pay him the contract that the club signed – I think this is wrong also) maybe you should get better as a player and consider getting a better agent.
So here is a viable solution. If you want to have a union, it’s time to get rid of the individual contracts, you can’t have it both ways. You have 53 players on a roster (not including the practice squad), it time to put them on a tier system. Each team will be required to have 10 lower tiered, 30 mid-level and 10 high profile players. The union will negotiate the range that each level gets paid, retirement, medical – everything that a normal union is to do. The players will then be paid based upon where they fall and they would have to try and work their way up the ladder. They are still going to make millions of dollars, and we will still have the best players on the field.
Just my thoughts.
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