The greatest recession in the United States is not appearing to have major effects on American professional sports teams. A year after the New York Yankees built the world’s most expensive sports facility Jerry Jones upped the anty with a $1.15 billion stadium where the Dallas Cowboys will play their home games. While Wall Street executives have taken huge cuts in bonuses, athletes have not.
This past summer Eli Manning became the NFL’s highest paid quarterback when he signed a contract extension that will pay him $106.9 million over the next seven years. But there is a reason Manning got so much money: he has proven himself to be an established super star in the NFL and the New York Giants think he is worth it.
Each year the NFL’s first round draft picks engage in contract negotiations with there new teams that often result in the rookies showing up late to training camp, and each year one negotiation stands out as the last battleground between a player and a team.
Through bad advice that usually comes in the form of a greedy sports agent, these rookies are missing valuable practice in training camp. Although they were super stars in college, the NFL is an entirely different level. By the time Raiders number one draft pick JaMarcus Russell signed his contract in 2007 the team was already a game into the regular season. Russell garnered a very advantageous payout structure by holding out, but the costs of holding out offset the benefits. He lost his chance at the starting quarterback position and has struggled ever since. Had Russell signed the original contract that he was offered by the Raiders not only would he have become a multi-millionaire overnight, but he would have likely been a starting quarterback in the NFL. If successful Russell would have the opportunity to sign a second contract several years later, a second contract that is usually the most important of an athlete’s career.
This year’s JaMarcus Russel is 49ers first round draft pick Michael Crabtree. Crabtree was a stand out wide receiver in college, but has yet to report to the 49ers camp and threatens to re-enter the NFL draft in 2010. The terms of the rookie’s contract offer from the 49ers are undisclosed, but they are likely similar to the contract signed by the player picked ahead of Crabtree, B.J. Raji. Raji, the 9th pick of the draft, signed a five-year deal worth $22.5 million, $17.7 of which is guaranteed. Those figures are more than a 14 percent increase from the contract terms of the 9th pick in the 2008 pick.
The United States GDP per capita is around $49 thousand dollars per year. Had Crabtree signed the contract offered by the 49ers, the rookie would likely be making around $4.5 million a year for the next five years. Given the extent of his natural talent, when that contract ran out Crabtree would potentially sign his second contract for even more money. Instead, Crabtree will probably not step on the football field to play the game that he supposedly loves this year because of money reasons. Not only is Crabtree setting a bad example for the nation’s youth and future NFL rookies, but he is downright greedy. Michael Crabtree, you are one of the world’s most talented athletes, but you should be ashamed of yourself.
