Fansided
Fansided

NFL players and pundits seem salty about NBA contracts

By Sayre Bedinger

Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws a pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws a pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) during mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

NFL players and analysts had some fun coming up with a variety of ways to throw shade at all the NBA contracts that were handed out Friday…

Andrew Luck just signed the richest contract in NFL history at six years, $140 million with $87 million guaranteed. It’s a whale of a contract and a boatload of money, but that didn’t prevent NFL players and analysts across the Twitter-sphere from brewing up hot takes and making jokes about how they should have played basketball…

It’s not difficult to see why NFL players are getting less money than NBA players, even though to the football universe it seems like a complete joke. NBA players play 82 games, and although I’ve never experienced the grind of either, I would say NBA players are much less at risk for a shortened career due to injury than NFL players, who play just 16 games.

There are also 30 teams in the NBA, each team with a 15-player roster. In the NFL, there are obviously 32 teams with 53 players on a roster. There’s a much bigger slice of the pie to go around for NBA free agents than for NFL players.

More from NFL Mocks

Perhaps the most interesting factor here is that in the NBA and even Major League Baseball, contracts are fully guaranteed. That’s not the case in the NFL, where Luck may never see 100 percent of his $140 million contract.

Mar 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons (25) makes a three point shot against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons (25) makes a three point shot against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

This is the reason so many are throwing shade at NBA players like Chandler Parsons, who will make $93 million guaranteed over the next four years — between $22 and 25 million per season.

Wowza.

Of course, with the drastic salary cap increase in the NBA and the fact that each team rosters only 15 players, these teams can afford those types of contracts. NFL owners and players agreed to the structure of free agency and how teams can find ways to keep themselves under the salary cap. With 53 players on every roster, you have to figure out ways to get creative.

All of this does seem backwards, in a way. NFL players put their bodies through more trauma than any other pro athletes in my opinion, so their league should be the one that offers out the most guaranteed money to players, or at a minimum, the contracts they sign should be fully guaranteed.

The problem is, there are 53 players, so you’d have to be creative about finding ways to make that happen for these guys. Short of taking up baseball or basketball, these NFL players are just going to have to deal with their reality unless they hold out for the most guaranteed cash they can get from teams.

Perhaps seeing all of these average NBA players make more money than them will cause a difference in how they approach contract negotiations with teams. Perhaps Andrew Luck shattering the NFL’s guaranteed money record on a new contract will lead to more players getting higher percentages of their contracts guaranteed.

Home/NFL Hot Takes