October 8, 2009, at 12:14 am
I have a teacher who is one of those “things were better when I was young” guy. He loves to tell stories about how sports have all gone to hell and how all the NFL and other leagues do is steal money out of everyone’s pocket. The scary part is that there are a lot of people that really feel this.
The first thing that all of these people mention is how much players get paid. I hate this argument. It’s capitalism at it’s best. These players have skills that are in demand and the supply of them isn’t very high. That combination of things drives up the price of these players. I think that anyone that questions athletes salaries should have to sign a form saying that if they are ever offered too much money to do a job, they will turn it down.
Well, all of those people should be happy today as Michael Crabtree finally ended his absurd holdout and signed with the 49ers. For those who don’t know the situation, Crabtree was trying to buck the trend of “slotting” of NFL rookies. Basically, he was picked 10th, so he is normally paid something inbetween what the 9th and 11th pick made.
Crabtree wasn’t interested in that. He felt he was the best receiver in the draft, and thus wanted to be paid more than the first receiver taken in the draft, Darius Heyward-Bey of the Raiders, who was selected 7th. While’s its only three spots, it represents millions of dollars.
The 49ers weren’t playing that. They insisted that their slotted offer was fair. Crabtree and his people (which included a bail bondsman, Deion Sanders, One of the NFL’s most notorious agents, and MC Hammer) pushed him to hold out for more cash.
They didn’t beleive the Niners would start the season without their number one draft pick. They did. They went 3-1, and are a Brett Favre miracle away from being undefeated. They showed that they didn’t really need Crabtree to win. Rather than being a key piece to the 49er puzzle, he was the icing on the cake.
Without any leverage, Crabtree came to San Francisco with his tail between his legs. He signed a deal that looks huge, but in reality is pretty much a slot deal with a lot of monopoly money at the end of it that Crabtree will never see.
I applaud the 49ers for the way they handled this. This was more than just one player holding out. This was a player attempting to change the system. He thought that he was so good that the whole league would change the format of the whole draft just for him. What happens if the Niners cave and give in to his demands? Does the next player who wants to be paid more holdout until midseason? Does the slotting system go out the window?
So, well done Niners. Way to get your man and stand up for a system that works.
Related posts:
Tags: 
Leave a reply