To NFL Players "Gettin' Paid": Help the Country Out

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Reading the newspaper, watching the news broadcasts, and speaking to family and friends, you hear the same things all the time:

"The economy is slumping."

"We are in a recession."

Major brand-name stores are closing and people are losing their jobs, their homes, and even the shirts off their backs.

But NFL free agents? They're still looking to "get paid."

The top player in this year’s free agency just got a $100 million deal with $41 million guaranteed. What does a man playing a kid's game want with $100 million?

The bad part about an athlete getting so much money is that those who attend the games pay for his contract and will never see that kind of money. But worse than that, those people in the stands are struggling to survive and pay their bills.

With the economy in such a bad state, NFL players should show some compassion and a little patriotism and donate half of their paychecks (or at least take a pay cut) to show they care about their fans and the hard times we as a nation have fallen on.

Times are tough. I know the NFL’s motto is "Play to Win," but at this point, I think the NFL should change its slogan to "Play to Win, but Care About Our Fans As Well." Knowing that their supporters are struggling, NFL players and owners should donate towards helping this country get better.

Just recently, the NFL revealed that on Feb. 27, 2009, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s pay was reduced by 20 to 25 percent. I think the owners and players should follow this example and not contribute to the downfall by asking for more for themselves. 

I know that asking anyone to take a pay cut seems unfair, but in years past, airline pilots took pay cuts to save money for the companies they worked for. Just look at the US Airways Pilots Union: They proposed an average 26 percent pay cut (a savings of $328 million annually) to help the carrier return to profitability.

If upstanding citizens like those pilots can take pay cuts, why not NFL players?  If they don’t, the NFL may soon be in the same boat as the airlines were: struggling to exist.

I love the game of football, and in times like these, sports are sometimes all I have to look forward to. Working a seasonal job, I count the days until I am laid off, like many Americans.

The fear of losing their jobs is probably one of the biggest reasons those airline pilots opted for a salary decrease. The pro football players of this nation need to use current layoffs as an indicator; they must change their policy in regards to excessively high wages and save the NFL from meltdown.

Being proactive can and will save many future jobs in our country. Just think: Ten percent of that $100 million spent on one player could save hundreds of jobs around the United States.

An example that NFLers can look to would be Midwest Air Group, Inc. CEO Timothy Hoeksema will have his pay cut by 40 percent as part of a restructuring aimed at keeping the operator in business and out of bankruptcy.  

According to a recent survey by SHRM.com, in the last 12 months, 5 percent of businesses have reduced salaries. Other cost-cutting measures included reducing work hours or benefit offerings, early retirement options, and salary freezes.

One of the most recent freezes that I am aware of occurred in government agencies across the US. In Child Support Offices around the States, holds on pay increases were put into place, and if any of those agencies lost workers, they were not allowed to fill the empty spots. Yes, those left behind have to accomplish more work for less pay.

Doesn't sound like something the NFL players would ever agree to, huh?

I am not saying that these men of the gridiron have not worked hard enough for their dough. But I am saying that soon enough, reality will smack each and every one of them dead in the face with a wakeup call: America is no longer able to support such exorbitant salaries.

As I speak, America’s dollar is losing value and many other countries' currencies are becoming stronger. Just look at the yen: Its value has increased since the recession began.

Though the U.S. dollar holds firm at 91 yen, it is still slipping in value across the world. The U.S. Government is scheduled to release the non-farm payroll data for January soon, and market participants expect a decline of more than 500,000 jobs.

I am not the only one who thinks this way. A recent poll on the Washington Post

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