Around the NFL: NFL Offseason

[Scalper]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

I don't think the cap is a joke, it's just that teams probably already know the players that can be released to give them cap relief AND/OR players that are likely to restructure their contracts.

This is why I laugh when fans say that "players should honor their contracts." Because most of the time it is teams that do not honor a contract. And I get it, it is a business decision, but still.

There are times when holding out may be defensible, especially if you have massively outplayed your contract and it is nearing end. In the first year of a $156M contract less than a year old that made you the highest paid player in league history at the time it was signed is not that time.

Give the NFL owners credit for being smart. They brought in scabs for a year to maintain control of the league and would do so again in a heartbeat. The owners wield most of the power, love it or hate it. The bottom line is that NFL careers are so short only the superstars could afford to hold out the 2-3 years it would take to get a player-friendly labor deal, and not even then. In baseball or basketball, players regularly play decade or more so can stare at 2-3 years no pay and still feel like they'll make a pile. Not the NFL.