NFL Holdouts

 To the average fan, NFL players may come across just as greedy as other professional sports athletes, but looking deeper into the numbers, football players have much more reason to holdout than players in other sports.

Chris Johnson, the star running back for the Titans, is currently holding out for $30 to $40 million guaranteed over a long term deal, which on paper looks horrible. However, over a lifespan, Johnson would not have a luxurious lifestyle off his current salary at $550,000 a year. Even the best running backs are very lucky to last ten, years, but let's assume Johnson did with that salary. He would finish his career with $5.5 million to last him the next 30 to 40 years of his life, which which would mean an average salary of about $150,000 a year, which is by no means a small salary, but it is far from being able to spend and blow money like crazy the way some athletes do. That does not even take into account that Johnson would be in the top income tax bracket for his salary, despite it only lasting ten years, nor does it consider the medical bills he is sure to face after a long football career.

Johnson's salary, however, is not even close to the situation facing most NFL players. The average lifespan of an NFL player is three to four years, and the average salary is $770,000 according to the NFL players' association. That would mean the average NFL player makes around $3.5 million to last his entire life. Does a holdout for a long term deal with a big contract now still seem extremely greedy?

In comparison with the NFL, take a look at the average salaries and career lengths in basketball and baseball. The average length of an NBA player is not much longer than an NFL player, according to nba.com, but the average NBA salary is more than $5 million a year. Also, CBSSports and The New York Times reported that the average salary of an MLB player is $1.5 million over six years. NFL players also are likely to face many more long term health effects than other sports, although baseball players might catch up thanks to the steroid scandal.
 
That's my call on NFL contracts. What's yours? NFL Contracts Permalink