Football Schefter :Colin Kaepernick can't cash in - Page 4

**Tribal Warfare** · 01-26-2013, 01:17 AM

Colin Kaepernick can't cash in

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has found holes in opposing defenses and the CBA.

Thanks to the collective bargaining agreement that the NFL and NFLPA negotiated in July 2011, what San Francisco is paying Kaepernick to take the team to Super Bowl XLVII is a steal. And the Seattle Seahawks are paying even less to quarterback Russell Wilson, who took the team to the divisional playoff round and set up the franchise for the next decade.

There might not be two athletes in any sport as underpaid as Kaepernick and Wilson, two NFC West quarterbacks who figure to square off for years to come. It's off-the-charts ridiculousness, their salaries. It's thievery, nearly criminal.

Sixty minutes from a world championship, Kaepernick is finishing up Year Two of a four-year, $5.12 million deal that is worth more than $3 million less in full than what Mark Sanchez will make from the New York Jets next season.

Yet Kaepernick has no out. He is locked into the deal until after the 2013 season.

Wilson's deal is even more glaringly incongruous. He signed a four-year, $2.99 million deal that is worth $6 million less in full than what Kevin Kolb is scheduled to make from Seattle's division rival Arizona Cardinals next season.

Like Kaepernick, Wilson has no way out. He is stuck with the deal until after the 2014 season, despite being added to the Pro Bowl this week and looking like he could go for years to come.

These two deals expose one of the biggest weaknesses in the CBA for the players and one of the biggest strengths for owners. Young NFL players have no choice but to suck it up for three years, even if they play at the level Kaepernick and Wilson have. Meanwhile, NFL owners get to build cheaply through the draft and own players' rights for five to six years, without the threat of arbitration that Major League Baseball has.

This is why good scouting and draft picks really are more valuable than ever before. The NFL never has seen good labor this cheap for this long.

How the league got here is easy enough to understand. During the most recent CBA negotiations, we saw an extreme backlash against the outlandish deals given to top draft picks in previous years, when a player such as former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell walked away with $32 million in guaranteed money. So much attention was given to the issue that standout rookies in the new 10-year CBA now are being punished for it. In part because of Russell, Kaepernick and Wilson are underpaid.

There is no reprieve, no chance to be paid until a player has given a team three seasons. By then, some running backs, such as an Alfred Morris, will have plenty of wear on their tires. And as everyone prepares for Super Bowl XLVII, the storylines that follow it will be different than in the past.

[+] Enlarge
Ric Tapia/Icon SMI/CORBIS
The Seahawks get to hang onto Russell Wilson at his current bargain price for two more seasons.
Young players such as Kaepernick who help lead their team to the Super Bowl cannot demand new deals the way they seemed to regularly in the past. It used to be like this: Player helps team to Super Bowl, player demands new deal, team rewards player for helping team, new deal gets done.

But that was old-school. New-school is the ultimate form of detention for standout young players. The CBA locks up their contracts for three years and throws away the key, with no chance of parole.

It would be much more equitable if certain allowances were made for extreme examples, players who glaringly outplay expectations. It would be hard to define what that level of play is, but suffice it to say that everyone would know. Any player who helps lead his team to the Super Bowl in his second year, as Kaepernick has done, or goes to the Pro Bowl in his first year, the way Wilson has, deserves to be rewarded, at least more than his existing rookie deal does.

Until the rules are adjusted, the players will continue to be wronged. And after watching Kaepernick and Wilson this season and seeing what they will earn in future seasons, one truth is self-evident: The holes in the CBA are a lot bigger than any they find in opposing defenses.

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:27 PM

I think it's a gross injustice in all honesty...especially for a guy like Alfred Morris. I think players should be able to renegotiate their contracts whenever they want, you know, since NFL teams can cut them whenever they want

**Rausch** · 01-26-2013, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

I think it's a gross injustice in all honesty...especially for a guy like Alfred Morris. I think players should be able to renegotiate their contracts whenever they want, you know, since NFL teams can cut them whenever they want

ONLY with great penalty...

Pasta Little Brioni · 01-26-2013, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

I think it's a gross injustice in all honesty...especially for a guy like Alfred Morris. I think players should be able to renegotiate their contracts whenever they want, you know, since NFL teams can cut them whenever they want

Again, if he sucks the next year is he going to then give the money back?

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

ONLY with great penalty...

Cutting a 2nd rounder comes with great penalty? Uhm, no.

mnchiefsguy · 01-26-2013, 12:38 PM

meh.....Wilson and Kapernick will both get endorsement deals that will probably pay them more than their contracts... I am not going to lose any sleep over this.

Pasta Little Brioni · 01-26-2013, 12:40 PM

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the travesty of paying these clowns as much as they were previously getting. Make them earn it.

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGM

Again, if he sucks the next year is he going to then give the money back?

Not the point. Wilson and Kaepernick will eventually get mega contracts but it's unfair they play the PRESTIGE position and play it an elite level and their salaries have barely made them millionaires...they should be able to renegotiate whenever they please.

The real injustice is the Alfred Morris' of the NFL...that dude has a 3-5 year shelf life so he'll basically never earn what he deserves after the year he just had.

It's always going to be a flawed system...hopefully the agents of Wilson and Kaep can land them some high paying endorsements in the meantime

**Rausch** · 01-26-2013, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

Cutting a 2nd rounder comes with great penalty? Uhm, no.

Not now.

Your first year out of college should someone be forced to pay you guaranteed money to hire you?

That happen anywhere else?

The NFL has realized the absurdity in it as well...

Pasta Little Brioni · 01-26-2013, 12:43 PM

Don't care. One season (or half season) does not a career make. Morris will get paid if he keeps it up. If he doesn't, he'll be out of a job like anyone else that doesn't perform in their field.

If they don't like it, they can buy a Papa Johns or some shit.

Deberg_1990 · 01-26-2013, 12:44 PM

For every 1 or 2 Kaepernicks and Wilsons, there are about 100 rookie washouts or players performing at average contract level.

NFL is doing it right.

**Rausch** · 01-26-2013, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGM

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the travesty of paying these clowns as much as they were previously getting. Make them earn it.

This.

And you better believe that if you're a top 5 guy you WILL be compensated when your contract his up...

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGM

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the travesty of paying these clowns as much as they were previously getting. Make them earn it.

You're off on this...

I agree, the pay scale for the first 10 picks is awesome but this wouldn't have ever applied to Wilson or Kaep because they weren't "lottery" picks...

At least in the old CBA these guys who are gems that grossly outplay their contracts could at least get paid and that's their right as professionals

Pasta Little Brioni · 01-26-2013, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

You're off on this...

I agree, the pay scale for the first 10 picks is awesome but this wouldn't have ever applied to Wilson or Kaep because they weren't "lottery" picks...

At least in the old CBA these guys who are gems that grossly outplay their contracts could at least get paid and that's their right as professionals

If they keep it up, they'll get paid. Simple as that. Right now they don't deserve a mega deal.

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGM

If they keep it up, they'll get paid. Simple as that. Right now they don't deserve a mega deal.

Wilson and Kaepernick don't deserve a mega deal?

That's ridiculous.

Hootie · 01-26-2013, 12:53 PM

3rd - 7th round picks are the lowest paid players in the NFL because they are EXPECTED to be "washouts" with very little success rates of being star caliber or even starting caliber.

The ones that do hit (like Wilson) should be able to rework his contract JUST LIKE the NFL can simply cut guys like Pat White after 1 season with very little impact...

look, the wage scale for the first 15 picks was ABSOLUTELY necessary...paying Sam Bradford $60M guaranteed had to stop. They have this right now. The fact they get paid like quality players and are fully guaranteed makes total, 100% sense.

That's not the argument.

And I'm sure the agents for Kaep and Wilson can make them a lot of $$$ in endorsements, so whatever. They'll live.

The real injustice is for a guy like Alfred Wilson. He has, at best, a 5 year window to make enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. This is his JOB, his PROFESSION, and unlike you and me he can't work for 50 years in this profession.

If he's outplaying other backs who make MILLIONS, he should be able to request a better contract after a year he had this year. Instead he's locked in for $300K per year for his first 3 years and if he wants to rework his contract after 3 years his team still has ALL of the leverage so odds are he's going to have to settle for $0.50 on the $1 even when he gets to finally rework his deal anyways.

It's a bullshit flaw in the CBA. Players should be able to rework their deals whenever they want...us fans think holdouts suck and are annoying but that doesn't matter, this is their LIVELIHOOD. If our jobs aren't paying us enough we put in resumes for other jobs and look for better pay and more security...you guys saying NFL players shouldn't have that luxury is ignorant.

01-26-2013, 01:17 AM
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $962813	Schefter :Colin Kaepernick can't cash in Colin Kaepernick can't cash in San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has found holes in opposing defenses and the CBA. Thanks to the collective bargaining agreement that the NFL and NFLPA negotiated in July 2011, what San Francisco is paying Kaepernick to take the team to Super Bowl XLVII is a steal. And the Seattle Seahawks are paying even less to quarterback Russell Wilson, who took the team to the divisional playoff round and set up the franchise for the next decade. There might not be two athletes in any sport as underpaid as Kaepernick and Wilson, two NFC West quarterbacks who figure to square off for years to come. It's off-the-charts ridiculousness, their salaries. It's thievery, nearly criminal. Sixty minutes from a world championship, Kaepernick is finishing up Year Two of a four-year, $5.12 million deal that is worth more than $3 million less in full than what Mark Sanchez will make from the New York Jets next season. Yet Kaepernick has no out. He is locked into the deal until after the 2013 season. Wilson's deal is even more glaringly incongruous. He signed a four-year, $2.99 million deal that is worth $6 million less in full than what Kevin Kolb is scheduled to make from Seattle's division rival Arizona Cardinals next season. Like Kaepernick, Wilson has no way out. He is stuck with the deal until after the 2014 season, despite being added to the Pro Bowl this week and looking like he could go for years to come. These two deals expose one of the biggest weaknesses in the CBA for the players and one of the biggest strengths for owners. Young NFL players have no choice but to suck it up for three years, even if they play at the level Kaepernick and Wilson have. Meanwhile, NFL owners get to build cheaply through the draft and own players' rights for five to six years, without the threat of arbitration that Major League Baseball has. This is why good scouting and draft picks really are more valuable than ever before. The NFL never has seen good labor this cheap for this long. How the league got here is easy enough to understand. During the most recent CBA negotiations, we saw an extreme backlash against the outlandish deals given to top draft picks in previous years, when a player such as former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell walked away with $32 million in guaranteed money. So much attention was given to the issue that standout rookies in the new 10-year CBA now are being punished for it. In part because of Russell, Kaepernick and Wilson are underpaid. There is no reprieve, no chance to be paid until a player has given a team three seasons. By then, some running backs, such as an Alfred Morris, will have plenty of wear on their tires. And as everyone prepares for Super Bowl XLVII, the storylines that follow it will be different than in the past. [+] Enlarge Ric Tapia/Icon SMI/CORBIS The Seahawks get to hang onto Russell Wilson at his current bargain price for two more seasons. Young players such as Kaepernick who help lead their team to the Super Bowl cannot demand new deals the way they seemed to regularly in the past. It used to be like this: Player helps team to Super Bowl, player demands new deal, team rewards player for helping team, new deal gets done. But that was old-school. New-school is the ultimate form of detention for standout young players. The CBA locks up their contracts for three years and throws away the key, with no chance of parole. It would be much more equitable if certain allowances were made for extreme examples, players who glaringly outplay expectations. It would be hard to define what that level of play is, but suffice it to say that everyone would know. Any player who helps lead his team to the Super Bowl in his second year, as Kaepernick has done, or goes to the Pro Bowl in his first year, the way Wilson has, deserves to be rewarded, at least more than his existing rookie deal does. Until the rules are adjusted, the players will continue to be wronged. And after watching Kaepernick and Wilson this season and seeing what they will earn in future seasons, one truth is self-evident: The holes in the CBA are a lot bigger than any they find in opposing defenses.
Posts: 42,030

01-26-2013, 12:27 PM	#46
Hootie Banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Casino cash: $10004900	I think it's a gross injustice in all honesty...especially for a guy like Alfred Morris. I think players should be able to renegotiate their contracts whenever they want, you know, since NFL teams can cut them whenever they want
Posts: 56,356

01-26-2013, 12:38 PM	#50
mnchiefsguy MVP Join Date: Dec 2003 Casino cash: $3546206	meh.....Wilson and Kapernick will both get endorsement deals that will probably pay them more than their contracts... I am not going to lose any sleep over this. __________________
Posts: 10,121

01-26-2013, 12:40 PM	#51
Pasta Little Brioni Consuming CP souls Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: U.S.A. Casino cash: $4028880	Soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the travesty of paying these clowns as much as they were previously getting. Make them earn it. __________________ **Official TFWdemB Trivia Commisioner**
Posts: 68,365

01-26-2013, 12:43 PM	#54
Pasta Little Brioni Consuming CP souls Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: U.S.A. Casino cash: $4028880	Don't care. One season (or half season) does not a career make. Morris will get paid if he keeps it up. If he doesn't, he'll be out of a job like anyone else that doesn't perform in their field. If they don't like it, they can buy a Papa Johns or some shit. __________________ **Official TFWdemB Trivia Commisioner**
Posts: 68,365

01-26-2013, 12:44 PM	#55
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	For every 1 or 2 Kaepernicks and Wilsons, there are about 100 rookie washouts or players performing at average contract level. NFL is doing it right. __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
Posts: 66,914

01-26-2013, 12:53 PM	#60
Hootie Banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Casino cash: $10004900	3rd - 7th round picks are the lowest paid players in the NFL because they are EXPECTED to be "washouts" with very little success rates of being star caliber or even starting caliber. The ones that do hit (like Wilson) should be able to rework his contract JUST LIKE the NFL can simply cut guys like Pat White after 1 season with very little impact... look, the wage scale for the first 15 picks was ABSOLUTELY necessary...paying Sam Bradford $60M guaranteed had to stop. They have this right now. The fact they get paid like quality players and are fully guaranteed makes total, 100% sense. That's not the argument. And I'm sure the agents for Kaep and Wilson can make them a lot of $$$ in endorsements, so whatever. They'll live. The real injustice is for a guy like Alfred Wilson. He has, at best, a 5 year window to make enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. This is his JOB, his PROFESSION, and unlike you and me he can't work for 50 years in this profession. If he's outplaying other backs who make MILLIONS, he should be able to request a better contract after a year he had this year. Instead he's locked in for $300K per year for his first 3 years and if he wants to rework his contract after 3 years his team still has ALL of the leverage so odds are he's going to have to settle for $0.50 on the $1 even when he gets to finally rework his deal anyways. It's a bullshit flaw in the CBA. Players should be able to rework their deals whenever they want...us fans think holdouts suck and are annoying but that doesn't matter, this is their LIVELIHOOD. If our jobs aren't paying us enough we put in resumes for other jobs and look for better pay and more security...you guys saying NFL players shouldn't have that luxury is ignorant.
Posts: 56,356