Players better fit more than just the salary cap.

[Tipster19]

I heard a caller on Sirius radio tonight and he stated that he met the Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and was thoroughly impressed with his character. According to the caller, Mr. Wilf is practicing what he is preaching, with the hiring of Coach Childress and what he wants implemented in his organization. The caller was discussing this thought with Moose Johnson and stated further that he thinks having high character players on a team helps increases the percentage of future success for the team and organization. He was basing his theory on the fact that there would be less jeopardy of having players having legal troubles, up and down performances and having team unity and contentment. Moose not only agreed with him but also went on and stated that there is more and more organizations thinking along these lines and mostly because of the salary cap. Johnson said that owners/organizations simply don't want to invest big dollars on players that they can't trust or rely on.

 

This made me believe all the more in what Marv & Co. are doing for the Bills' organization, not only for the present but more importantly, for the future.

[Pyrite Gal]

I think one of the other factors causing this may be the fact that there is now a partnership between the team owners and players reflected in the development of the CBA (in fact it is arguable that since the NFLPA and NFL agreed to give a substantial majority of the total revenue of the NFL to the players that they are in fact the majority partner).

 

Two side effwects of this are that:

 

1. The owners so thoroughly kicked the butt of the NFLPA in the mid-80s lockout that the NFLPA threatened to decertify itself which would have ended all the restraint of trade aggreements like the draft and forced owners to negotiate in a free market with individual players. Rather than operate in a true free market the owners agreed to the CBA forming the basis for this partnership. One effect i that the team owners can no longer simply tell an individual what to do. Thus negotiation and character are more important or an individual could pull a TO or an Eric Moulds and through various hissy fits simply go where they want to go.

 

Individual propriety and character are more important because the American way has won out and owners have lost their big sticl.

 

2. The players are now multi-millionaires and run their own conglomerates. Thus, you have players such as Buffalo Bill and NFLPA President Troy Vincent organizing players to take MBA courses at an Ivy League school. Not only has character become more important to an owner who must negotiate, but it also has become more important individually and as a group to their fellow peer players.

 

We are talking big bucks here and for all parties character has become more important or millions of dollars can be lost.