I used to watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on TV when I was growing up. Back when Regis Philbin hosted it and it was pretty damn cool. I liked answering the questions (if i could), and poking fun at contestants who couldn't.
However my favorite part was seeing how much money they won if they did well. One million dollars was such a crazy high amount of money to me at that point. If only I had been able to see what the current landscape of sports contracts would soon turn out like, I wouldn't have been so thrilled.
I first noticed a major issue when the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford at QB out of Georgia in 2009 as first overall pick, and guaranteed him a record high 41.7 million dollars over a 6 year contract. The moment he signed the contract, Stafford became 42 million dollars richer without even playing a down for the Lions. That is madness, people.
But wait, there's more. The very next year, Sam Bradford signed for 50 million guaranteed before playing a single snap. Now, Stafford has become a very good quarterback for the Lions. Bradford for the Rams, err, not so much. However, neither team is getting rid of either of them anytime soon, because they are currently so inundated with the massive contracts these players have them on the hook for, they can't afford to cut their losses and go with a different player.
This trend, while proceeding rapidly in the NFL, has it's reaches in every professional sport. Hockey has always been good about spacing these high numbers out over long contracts, 9, 10 or even 12 year contracts, but the other leagues throw money at players like it is nothing, and in doing so, they have dug themselves into a major hole. The trend cannot be reversed with the current sports culture. Players will continue to expect such high guaranteed money, and agents will continue to fight until they get it. When it comes to sports contracts, the team ownership has truly not done themselves any favors.
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