Let’s Rewind the Clock

It is insane to hear the numbers that are being discussed not just for specific contracts but for the league as a whole.

Case in point is the contract that Peyton Manning is expected to sign sometime this year. Jim Irsay has already made it known that he plans on ginving his QB the biggest contract in history. I’m happy for Peyton, that he is getting his just dessert for the quality of play and the honors that he has brought to the Colts. I’m also glad that Irsay is not just ditching the QB as he gets older, but is actually showing him the gratitude and respect that he deserves.

What those numbers are remain to be seen, but his last extension was for five years and close to $100 million; and the next one is going to be bigger. The crazy part is that Irsay can actually afford to do that as well as pay everyone else on the roster AND make a profit.

What makes it all even crazier is that the billionaire/ millionaire owners and the filthy rich players (even the league minimun guys get paid very well) are set to argue over money and possibly keep both sides from earning any. Are they really that stupid?

How can these guys not be satisfied with the status quo at least? They are all doing very well, yet there greed could possibly result in a strike. While these guys will still be sitting pretty with the moneythey have already made, the fans will be screwed with no football to watch.

I would love to see a return to the old days where guys played because they loved it. The guys in the old movie North Dallas Forty got paid crap yet still did everything they could to play the game, and play it well. For them it was all about heart, not the money. That was real football.

Today’s football has become corporate. Just like anything else corporate, the final product is getting diluted. But do these guys really care? Or is the millions they get what really matters to them?