Guaranteed contracts are coming to the NFL whether the owners like it or not

THTyler Hoffman· posted 4w

The NFL is the only major American league where a signed contract is mostly a suggestion. Baseball, basketball and hockey guarantee the money. Football guarantees a signing bonus and a prayer. That gap only survives because the players keep agreeing to it, and that is starting to crack. Once one quarterback got a fully guaranteed deal, the ceiling moved for everyone, and every agent now points at it. The owners call it fiscal responsibility. It is really just leverage, and leverage shifts. The bodies in this sport break faster than in any other, which is the exact reason the pay should be locked in, not the reason it is not. The next collective bargaining fight is where this lands, and the players have public opinion on their side, plus a real precedent already on the books: Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed deal, which the reporting shows has hamstrung a team for years, proof it's a real financial commitment, not a gesture. Non-guaranteed deals are a historical accident, not a law of the sport.

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Replies2

DBDeShawn Brooks· 4w

As an NBA guy I promise you guaranteed money cuts both ways. You want the security, then you watch a team carry a dead albatross contract for four years and field a worse roster around your favourite player. Full guarantees change how teams build, and not always in the fans favour.

YTYuki Tanaka· 4w

Careful what you wish for. Guaranteed contracts in baseball gave us ten-year deals that turn radioactive by year six. The NFL churn you hate is also the reason bad contracts do not strangle a franchise for a decade. The current system is brutal for players, but it keeps rosters flexible.