Free Agency and Non-Guaranteed Contracts are Ruining the NFL

Tags: nfl

Free Agency and Non-Guaranteed Contracts a...

Expires: 17-Mar-2007 11:08

Wolverine

4 Votes
57%

I simply can't keep up with all the re-jiggering that is happening every year in the NFL. The percentage of any given team's roster that changes over each year must be something like 30%. Just as I start to get to know and like the players on my favorite team, they get cut or move on in free agency. This is bad news for the future of the league and does not instill the type of fan loyalty that is so important, IMHO. If not for Fantasy Football and gambling, the NFL would be in trouble.

PatsFan

3 Votes
42%

Despite the fact that I miss the days of players for life who embody the franchise...I disagree.

Free agency (how it's managed) and player liquidity are a couple of the things that make the NFL great.

Any given season, anyone can win. Your team can make some moves and have a chance - think 49ers this off season. Big difference from other sports where that is more difficult on multiple levels.

Also, how is this any different than college? Those players are gone in 2-3 years. And yet people still care about the team.

Finally, smart teams do hold on to players that make the franchise (Favre, Brady, Manning).

ReadComments

Wolverine (voted for Wolverine)

12-Mar-07 12:02

PatsFan.....who cares if in any given season anyone can win. That's not why I watch sports. I watch because I like rivalry and tradition, neither of which benefit from the carousel-like personnel situation in the NFL. The hayday of the NFL was from the Pittsburg/Dallas era or possibly the 49ers dominant run, the NBA was Lakers/Celtics/Sixers, the NHL was the Edmonton Oilers era of domination. Baseball has managed to keep more of this rivalry aspect alive because teams are a bit more stable.

TheColonel (voted for Wolverine)

12-Mar-07 13:02

Yeah, Fantasy Football is the only thing keeping most people interested before the playoffs. To much parity and too much change. Think about the Steelers and Cowboys of the 70's. I'd love to go back to that, and we never can with today's rules.

Cheesehead (voted for Wolverine)

12-Mar-07 21:01

It's hard to begrudge players like Ahman Green or Reuben Droughns for going out and getting what the more-or-less free market will pay them. The money in sports is sick, and the players need to get their piece of the action. But I have to side with Wolverine -- it erodes fan-dom.

Bucky (voted for PatsFan)

15-Mar-07 08:42

I like the NFL's free agency. I think its great to be able to say that we sucked this year but the potential exists for us to reach the Super Bowl in two years. Look at the NO Saints this past year. Any team can, with the right moves, be two years away from an NFL Championship. The flip side of the old NFL dynasties are the perrenial losers that have to endure a decade or more of humiliation because of a couple of bad drafts. Parity increases the fan base and with the NFL's revenue sharing and salary cap the playing field is level.