This here is one of the major issues with the current CBA
The Players union pissed on the undrafted free agent kids coming into the league, signing for comparative peanuts and having to earn their way onto a roster and into visibility. Not many make impacts, but for the ones that do and outplay their contracts, they have little leverage in securing a fair competitive salary. The Union decided to protect the ridiculous money that the high drafted players in exchange for trapping these blue collar players.
Personally, if I am Williams or Grant, I demand to get a fair contract paid.. not blockbusters but fair market value contracts.
People complain about the Grant contract, it is incentive loaded, so Grant has to perform to earn some of the lucrative numbers in that deal..
Personally, if you take care of these types of players, the ones that earn their payday first with performance, you will reap the benefits of players actually choosing GB over some of the other in the UDFA rookie market.. where some of the hidden NFL gems come from
"pack93z" wrote:
Thank you. When people debate about Thompson, one of the pros that always gets thrown out in response to a complaint that he's inactive in FA is "Hey, he's signing the guys who're already on the team - gotta keep that core talent!" Well, Tramon is the only young CB we have who's proven himself on the field - why the hell would we want to play hardball and lose him?
My work situation is nothing like his - the overwhelming odds are that I'll get home after a day at work completely unharmed, while he's risking his financial future every time he steps on the field. Damn right, he wants some security - any sane NFL player does.
I very much appreciate that Thompson has the team in a good spot in terms of the cap - he's managed it very well. But when we've got talented guys who have proven their worth on the field, we need to pay them and keep them. I'd love to have a couple seasons to mull it over, but the reality is that's a luxury that you can't afford.
Again, it's about the rules of the game - Ted doesn't have to like them, but if he sits on the sidelines refusing to play, he's not doing his job.
I'd like to see Williams get a fair contract offer - will we maybe have to over-pay a bit? Probably - everyone does. That's not a valid reason not to do it, though, IMO.