The Place for Football Education
The Football Educator recently addressed the elimination of option bonuses in rookie contracts and the effect this had on the upper selections of the first round in the annual NFL Draft. Option & roster bonuses provided loopholes to circumnavigate rookie pool restrictions on NFL Clubs as they signed their rookie class under the NFL Salary Cap for a given season. Contracts were constructed with nominal year one costs to abide by rookie … [Read more...]
The National Football League has gone through extensive changes over the past few seasons (on and off the field). The League’s front office and Competition Committee have taken progressive steps toward the safety of NFL players with extensive rule changes applied to techniques long thought to be just “part of the game”. The extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement ensured measures to guard the health and welfare of the NFL’s … [Read more...]
The 2013 NFL Draft was historic from an offensive tackle perspective. There have been years where two or three tackles were selected in the Top 10 of the first round (most recently in 2009), but perimeter OL’s at picks one, two, and four is unheard of. Traditionally this stratus is usually reserved for the “skilled” of the college player pool; quarterbacks, defensive corners, wide receivers. Sign of the times? A recent national post … [Read more...]
Here are 3 current stories covered by the NFL media that continue to bug the living #$%@& out of me. Just sayin'. NFL Head Coach Candidates I’m going to use a story I saw about San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman to illustrate a point. I’m not directly targeting Roman nor singling out his particular situation. The recent success of the 49ers has deservedly brought attention and the spotlight to both the … [Read more...]
How did we get here? The infatuation of the media and fan base with NFL player contract structure and negotiation? Seems every season during the free agency period there’s an intense debate about how much NFL players are paid and whether they’re worth it. The latest deliberation revolves around the extension of Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and so called the $108 million commitment made by “America’s Team”. Perception isn't … [Read more...]
I was never formally trained in the art of negotiation prior to becoming a general manager in the National Football League. There was really nothing in my professional background or experience that might lead you to believe that I would ever be successful in selling a roster opportunity in exchange for multi-millionaire dollar deal. Most might argue that this responsibility would be best left up to attorneys, wise in the ways of spinning … [Read more...]
Recent cases involving veteran NFL players have reinforced to me the importance of NFL ownership. Proprietary control of a professional football franchise is an elite club and one that many successful businessmen and women have aspired to. Only a small number ever get the opportunity to own an NFL franchise. Membership has been garnered through a number of avenues. Membership required Some teams have been handed down through generations … [Read more...]
It’s interesting to analyze the logistical strategy that was built into the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Player’s Union (NFLPA) and the National Football League (NFL). Since its inception the official start of the free agency period has coincided with the start of the new League Year. Traditionally that’s around the first week of March and with it, the feeding frenzy of NFL clubs looking for a quick fix to what ails … [Read more...]
The Football Educator's guest blogger Richard Hill introduces us to the concept of Sportfolio Management: Hedging. The Business of hedging Those familiar with finance will understanding the term "hedging" in the business sense, while others might know the phrase "to hedge a bet." A hedge is, essentially, a backstop in case of failure. For example, in finance, one might purchase a stock in a company with the hopes that the price will … [Read more...]
Last year I wrote a post on the importance of keeping an open mind when it came to what you watched, read, listened, and otherwise absorbed from the media covering the National Football League. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, here’s the link - NFL Articles. The more things change A year later nothing has changed. In fact at times it feels as if it’s getting worse, as many so-called “Insiders” have lost their competitive … [Read more...]
