The NFLPA Admits They Are Responsible for This Lamar Mess

[KidRock20]

Correct. And for this one-time baseball addict I watched almost zero this year. Guaranteed contracts and no cap ruined the game for me. The big market teams have a ridiculous advantage over the small markets.

The NFL has avoided that because they share most of the revenue and have an agreement with the players on how much will go to player's salaries. It keeps all of the teams competitive, except the moronic ones who consistently lose and are the outliers on contracts like fully guaranteed ones.

I could not agree more with this. Baseball has been ruined by this ridiculousness and lack of salary cap/floor. Chris Davis getting 160m to provide negative value. A few big teams out spending the rest. Small market teams on endless rebuilds. Baseball has gotten so foolish.

I love the non gtd contracts in football. The Ravens are offering Lamar 133m, with team options essentially over a 5 year period. Argue that 133m is too much or too little, sure. But I dont want to lock someone into a 5 year gtd contract in a full contact sport that HAS A SALARY CAP.

[StalkRavenMad]

LOL because the NFL lower and middle class has 3-5 year careers, TOPS.

You can't sacrifice 1-2 years of that career and be OK with it.


I just noted in another thread, the NFLPA elite didn't want the last CBA ratified. The rank and file DID ratify because they got good advice. That CBA offered incremental change. The elites like Aaron Rodgers wanted more radical changes because A A Ron doesn't have to worry about where his next check comes from.

I mean, just look at that dummy sign a 50mil/per contract and screw the packers over, and now he's going to mull retirement. what a joke.

Wait he's a dummy because someone paid him $50m per year? Sign me up to be that dummy everyday of the week.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

I’m sure it’s great for a team to be negotiating contracts with the players union….smh.

Nobody is giving up anything close to Watson’s contract.

[YorkRavensFan]

But here's why I'm not emotional about it. Neither side is compromising. The Ravens are KNOWN for having a number in mind, and sticking to that number. And if you don't agree with that number, they welcome you to go seek a better one elsewhere. They are not going to go up from 133 fully guaranteed to 160m fully guaranteed. So let's not act like all the negotiating in the world will get them to.

Usually, yeah, I agree it's a take it or leave it, or pretty close to it. I think they might come up a bit though if Lamar is willing to back off the fully guaranteed thing and work out a reasonable deal for both him and the team. 160m is probably the higher end from the team's perspective but could still be in the realm of possibility. I could see something in the 140-150m range with some incentive clauses that could bump it up a bit higher.

[The Excellector]

Let's be realistic here. The entire league, sans the Ravens, did not see him as a passer coming into the league hence the fact that most teams wanted to see him in WR and RB drills at the combine. Yes, the Ravens drafted him to play QB, but do you honestly think they drafted him to be a passer? I don't think that has ever been the case in the front office or coach's minds. The team drafted, in their minds, a RB who can throw, not a QB who can run which has dictated the offensive philosophy. Sure, better personnel and better scheme would likely bring better results. We all have opinions about whether he can thrive in a pass first offense or not and that's all been put out there in other threads and doesn't need to derail this one. The simple fact is, Lamar has never been in a pass first offense. He has always been in a run to set up the pass offense. When teams have been able to actually shut down the run and dared Lamar to beat them with his arm, he has rarely done so. And yes, there are various arguments as to why, but unlike most threads on here that are either one extreme or the other, reality is the issue is all of the above including WRs, scheme, and Lamar. There is no guarantee even now that any other team believes in him as a passer either so we're just going to have to wait and see what happens wherever he ends up. I do agree with you that some team is going to be willing to overspend for him.

Just because they did not see him as a first round pick, does not mean the Ravens were the only team who saw him as a passer and frankly, they don't see him as a passer anyway. They see him as a RB who can play QB. Not a legit QB passer. He was not going to fall out of the second round. This narrative is absurd. Especially, when you consider how little the Ravens care about passing and how little they've done to build a full WR corps and passing scheme around him.

[Greg]

Maybe the NFLPA believes if they drive up the contracts of superstars, that will force the leage to raise the total cap #.

That said, I would be behind the NFLPA if they wanted to cap the top salaries and raise the minimum.

Well it's a dumb way to do it. Simply negotiate the cap upwards as a percentage of revenue then. The owners aren't going to budge on the cap amounts unless you actually negotiate on that. Otherwise they are perfectly happy to just spread the money however because they are guaranteed profits.

Responsible teams trying to stay competitive are managing the cap in ways they think make sense. Irresponsible ones sign big, stupid, guaranteed deals to get the less informed fans to get all excited about a Watson or whoever.

You can't keep complaining about a lack of WR resources when you on another post are for guaranteeing ridiculous amounts to one player.

[The Excellector]

Usually, yeah, I agree it's a take it or leave it, or pretty close to it. I think they might come up a bit though if Lamar is willing to back off the fully guaranteed thing and work out a reasonable deal for both him and the team. 160m is probably the higher end from the team's perspective but could still be in the realm of possibility. I could see something in the 140-150m range with some incentive clauses that could bump it up a bit higher.

Why should he? They've surrounded him with the worst WRs in the league when for the first four years of his career, his cap number was under 10m. We hadn't made the playoffs for 3 years until he arrived and we scored 13 PPG in the five regular season games he didn't start. That'd be the worst PPG in over a decade in the entire league. So now, he's supposed to compromise and think that you're suddenly going to put in a pass first offense with legit WRs?

[Shas]

Correct. And for this one-time baseball addict I watched almost zero this year. Guaranteed contracts and no cap ruined the game for me. The big market teams have a ridiculous advantage over the small markets.

The NFL has avoided that because they share most of the revenue and have an agreement with the players on how much will go to player's salaries. It keeps all of the teams competitive, except the moronic ones who consistently lose and are the outliers on contracts like fully guaranteed ones.

I'm with you. Fans of 90% NFL teams think this could be "their year" come each March. That is what makes the NFL superior, outside the lines. Revenue sharing and a salary cap are the big differentiators. The counterbalancing effects of free agency for 25 year olds, with incentive bonuses and voidable-contract-hammers help keep it all afloat.

But I'll tell you what, this entire Lamar saga has made it difficult to stay in love with the sport and the team. Never have I been so unenthused to follow my team's playoff game.

[YorkRavensFan]

Ive never seen it mentioned here but maybe the Running Dual Threat QB knows he might only get one big contract due to the nature of the beast, maybe he agrees with many posters here that once the wheels fall off he might be done for so this contract would be his last big one unlike the statue guys.

Regardless of why he wants more money, if he does than he wont be a raven. Thats just how it goes. Sword is right. Theres no morale reason for either side to meet in the middle

This is a good point. After 3 years of being injured for part of the season, he may see the writing on the wall.

[YorkRavensFan]

Just because they did not see him as a first round pick, does not mean the Ravens were the only team who saw him as a passer and frankly, they don't see him as a passer anyway. They see him as a RB who can play QB. Not a legit QB passer. He was not going to fall out of the second round. This narrative is absurd. Especially, when you consider how little the Ravens care about passing and how little they've done to build a full WR corps and passing scheme around him.

You literally just restated exactly what I said while at the same time saying it's absurd. I literally said the team drafted what they saw as a RB who can throw and not the other way around. I agree he may not have dropped past the 2nd round, but other teams had the same thoughts about him.

[ravensfan55]

I've been saying for months and months that Lamar is getting bad advice. We've seen him go from a happy go lucky guy to someone who looks absolutely miserable. The players union essentially has turned him against the team by painting us as a team who doesn't value him because we won't do a guaranteed contract. He's only seeing one side of this and the union has done a great brainwashing job Lamar, painting him as the super hero for all players moving forward.

Truth is, they don't have his best interest at heart in any way. Lamar, stop the madness --- get a fuc$#ng agent!!! The Ravens believed in you so much they designed an offense around you. They want you here long term but you you're gonna have to be able to compromise a little. But if you wanna be elsewhere where you think the grass is greener --- go for it --- demand a trade.

[The Excellector]

This is a good point. After 3 years of being injured for part of the season, he may see the writing on the wall.

The fact that he was even willing to play this season, and not hold out until a deal was done, when he knew we were going to run him into the ground, honestly benefitted us way more than him. Now, he's fed up.