Since the NCAA Football thread was started, I thought I'd start a NFL thread for this year. There is the Fantasy Football thread, but this is just a general NFL thread

GO PACK! 3-0 with a win over a "Kam Chancellor-less" Seattle team! (I got to watch that game )

Speaking of Kam Chancellor, why do athletes with YEARS left on their contract, a contract THEY signed, decide it is OK to break that contract and "hold out" for more money? Do they have some kind of special dispensation that allows to knowingly breech that contract and not have legal action taken? Are these contracts written so poorly that they have a clause that allows the to do this?

When "star athletes" are making multiple millions of dollars, it is nigh impossible for me to have any empathy/sympathy for their supposed "plight." Kam went down a whole bunch of notches in my estimation of his character. It is not just him, but any athlete that behaves this way loses in my eyes. How about you?

Who do you see as powerhouses this year? Psyched for your personal team this year?

I heartily disagree with your take on stud athletes wanting more money. I agree it was silly in Kam's case (because he wasn't even near the end of the contract), but in general, the only way these NFL players (content generators) can renegotiate is by holding out. NFL teams can shred contracts on a whim but players don't have that power. Think about the asymmetry in that. Any player can sign for market value and if he svcks the team can rip up his deal and not owe him anything (except the guaranteed money, which in most players cases is not even approaching half the value of the contract). On the other hand, if that player signs the deal and his performance exceeds the market value of that deal, he has no recourse except to hold out. It's a broken system, and it looks bad, but that's how these entertainers can get their market value. Other leagues offer fully guaranteed contracts; the NFL does not.

And the NFLs confusing contracts aside and speaking broadly about super-payed athletes in general, I'm all for these guys getting what the market is telling them they deserve. I consume the product, spend money on the product, watch the sponsors etc, because the players entertain me. People have a right to demand whatever price they can get from the industry that employs them.

I will lose respect for players, however, if it becomes clear that their desire to get maximum value ($$$) appears greater than their desire to win. If anything I lost respect for Kam because he made the Seahawks bad, not because he wanted to get paid fairly for his services.

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I don't see a team beating the Patriots this year.

I agree that players should paid what they can get. What I dislike is fulfillment of their contract. If they under-perform, they could renegotiate. But they don't. The only action left for teams is to let them go. They can be picked up by another team, more than likely for less than they were getting.

What a player who signs a long term contract seeks is security. If they sign it, then have a stellar season, they think, "I am screwed!" Yes, they are. Next time, go for a short term contract that does not tie one down. Have you ever seen a player take a cut because of poor performance? Sterling Sharpe pulled that crap back in the early 90's(?) with Green Bay. He had signed a lucrative 7 or 11 year contract. Then he had a stellar year. Now he was pissed and wanted more money. I liked him before he pulled that crap. Afterwards, I lost all respect for him.

Yes, Kam fully showed his pockets are more important to him than another Super Bowl ring. I have heard of some star players that have taken a pay cut in order for a team to keep other players for the betterment of the team. I think Jerry Rice did this in San Fransisco. But these are few and far between

I fully believe that athletes should get paid for their performance and ability, BOTH good and bad, on a game by game basis. But contracts secure them against injury. They still get paid as they recover. I'd kill for a job like that

Not that my endorsemant means anything, but I'm with you on Green Bay this year to win it all.

On the flip side, other than the Patriots, every team in the AFC so far has shown flashes of ineptitude, stretches of awfulness, succumbed to injuries or otherwise displayed signs that "This Is Not Out Year." I mean, the Raiders look like a playoff team to this point. Nuff said.