Andre Roberts Talks Potential NFL Players Strike Due to Lack of Guaranteed Money

Washington Redskins wide receiver Andre Roberts is ready to take a stand against the NFL. He even believes it may be time for the players to strike in order to make a statement about how contracts are handled throughout the league.   

He posted his thoughts after Sunday night's thrilling Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks (h/t Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post):

In Roberts' mind, the biggest issue is guaranteed money. Other leagues, like the NBA and MLB, have a system where the money laid out in a contract is definitely secured once the deal is signed. That's not the case in the NFL.

Mathias Kiwanuka is an example from this past offseason. The New York Giants defensive end was scheduled to make more than $4 million in 2014 before accepting a pay cut to $1.5 million. Of course, the question is why he would do that.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reported that the defender knew the alternative was likely getting cut and being without a team completely:

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Kiwanuka said he went along with the Giants' request to take a pay cut in large part because his wife had a baby in April and he didn't want to uproot his family this offseason, but he doesn't appreciate the fact that NFL teams can cut a player at any time.

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Once a team has paid the guaranteed portion of a contract, it can cut a player before paying the rest.

The question is whether there would ever be enough support among the players to take a serious united stand against the NFL. The long-term health impact of playing football is also part of the debate since a player's chance for income is limited to a short period of time.

For now, Roberts' comments fall into the interesting category but any type action doesn't seem imminent at this time. It's definitely something worth monitoring moving forward, however, because there's a lot of money at stake given the cash-cow nature of professional football in the United States.

Whether any players are willing to join his lead is a mystery at this stage.