Player resentment for Goodell grows

[feltdizz]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

I never understood the hate for Goodell on this issue. He's a puppet, correct?

He gathers the paper and maybe organizes them and then asks the owner what he should say and do.

few realize he is just the face of the 32 owners... they need him to be a villain all by himself.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Locked-out players line up for cash loans

Special to FOX Sports The Daily

Updated May 17, 2011
By Chris Corbellini and Jason Schwartz


As the NFL work stoppage continues with no end in sight, some cash-strapped players are taking out high-risk, high-interest loans to get them through the lean times — some as big as $250,000 with interest rates as high as 30 percent.

Players make their entire salary during the regular season, and many rely on offseason workout bonuses to get them through the spring and summer. With opening day — and their next payday — uncertain, some are turning to lenders like AGR Sports Funding, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in lending to professional athletes.

Jason Yorker, owner of AGR, likes to think of himself as a lifeline for NFL players. When cash gets tight, they can turn to him to borrow, as he puts it, “a couple extra hundred thousand dollars here and there.”

To explain the 30 percent interest rate he charges, Yorker said that, unlike other lenders, he doesn’t care much about his clients’s credit scores or whether they have any assets to back up the loan. If he thinks a player’s good for it, he can get them the cash in just a couple of weeks. Since the beginning of the lockout March 12, Yorker said, business has been booming.

“You’d be surprised at some of the names of people that have been reaching out to us,” said Yorker — declining to name names — adding that they even include Pro Bowl players.

Over the past six weeks or so, according to Yorker, he’s issued 25 NFL players loans, ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. Last year at this time, he’d made just three loans. Of the current batch, 10 went to veterans and 15 to incoming rookies. The demand from just-drafted prospects left out in the cold by the lockout has been “off the charts,” he said.

Leon McKenzie, president of Sure Sports Lending, a Florida outfit, said the number of players coming to see him is increasing, as well.

“There does seem to be more people looking,” he said, adding that his interest rates typically run from six to 15 percent.

Considering that NFL players have yet to miss a game check, it’s somewhat curious that some veterans, as well as rookies, are looking for these loans. But Yorker said he’s been hearing from several players who’ve found themselves in need of quick cash after missing out on offseason workout bonuses.

“Believe it or not, some guys are dependent on that,” he said.

Chad Lewis, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end over a nine-year career in the NFL, indicated that many NFL players are notoriously free-spending and bad at managing their money.

“Most players aren’t making what a rock star makes,” Lewis said. “But if their lifestyle is gonna approach that of a rock star, then their money will run out very quickly.”

The minimum NFL salary is roughly $320,000, with the average approaching $2 million per season.

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told The Daily he tries to educate young players.

“One of the things I do is try to go back and grab these young guys and say, ‘Understand, there’s going to be a famine,’” Sanders said. “They say, ‘What do you mean by a famine?’”

Now, added Sanders, “Some of those guys are crying broke.”

“You tell these guys to manage their money better, but it doesn’t happen,” said agent Rick Smith of Priority Sports and Entertainment. “So they take out bridge loans to get them through it.”

The former union has opened a savings war chest, funded over the past two years by the players themselves, to help ease the monetary burden. The first payments began April 15, and according to NFL.com, up to $60,000 will be available per player. That’s close to what an average player would make during the offseason, but the concern is how to make those dollars stretch.

“That’s basically to cover their insurance,” Smith said. “It’s their own money being kicked back to them, to be able to pay for their health insurance.”

Another reason players are borrowing now — before even missing a major payday — is that they may be afraid credit will dry up if the lockout continues into the NFL season, said Darren Heitner, an agent and the author of sportsagentblog.com. After all, if interest rates are this high now, what will they be like when players start to miss game checks and lenders know they are even less likely to be repaid?

To financial planners, these high-interest loans represent a troubling trend.

“I get so frustrated when I hear stories like that,” said Ted Reid, a senior vice president and wealth adviser for Morgan Stanley, who’s been helping athletes invest their money for 25 years.

“I’ve heard ranges way above the 15 percent level, but even 15 percent, that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Reid said that if players need cash, they ought to be taking out home equity loans or other, asset-backed lines of credit, with interest rates from 2-4 percent. Or they should start selling things off: “If you’re borrowing at 30 percent, it’s time to start liquidating your assets,” he said.

But Yorker said he’s offering players a square deal. The interest is high because, more often than not, he’s not asking his clients to back their loans up with anything.

“You ask any of my clients if they’ve ever felt that I took advantage of them, they’ll tell you straight up, I’m a lifesaver. When nobody would give them any money, I gave them money,” Yorker said.

“They thank me and we’re friends. We continue to be friends after that. If they ever need money, they know they can come to me.”

[url="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-lockout-leads-to-players-taking-out-cash-loans-with-huge-interest-rates-051511"]http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl- ... tes-051511[/url]

[Oviedo]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Locked-out players line up for cash loans

Special to FOX Sports The Daily

Updated May 17, 2011
By Chris Corbellini and Jason Schwartz


As the NFL work stoppage continues with no end in sight, some cash-strapped players are taking out high-risk, high-interest loans to get them through the lean times — some as big as $250,000 with interest rates as high as 30 percent.

Players make their entire salary during the regular season, and many rely on offseason workout bonuses to get them through the spring and summer. With opening day — and their next payday — uncertain, some are turning to lenders like AGR Sports Funding, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in lending to professional athletes.

Jason Yorker, owner of AGR, likes to think of himself as a lifeline for NFL players. When cash gets tight, they can turn to him to borrow, as he puts it, “a couple extra hundred thousand dollars here and there.”

To explain the 30 percent interest rate he charges, Yorker said that, unlike other lenders, he doesn’t care much about his clients’s credit scores or whether they have any assets to back up the loan. If he thinks a player’s good for it, he can get them the cash in just a couple of weeks. Since the beginning of the lockout March 12, Yorker said, business has been booming.

“You’d be surprised at some of the names of people that have been reaching out to us,” said Yorker — declining to name names — adding that they even include Pro Bowl players.

Over the past six weeks or so, according to Yorker, he’s issued 25 NFL players loans, ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. Last year at this time, he’d made just three loans. Of the current batch, 10 went to veterans and 15 to incoming rookies. The demand from just-drafted prospects left out in the cold by the lockout has been “off the charts,” he said.

Leon McKenzie, president of Sure Sports Lending, a Florida outfit, said the number of players coming to see him is increasing, as well.

“There does seem to be more people looking,” he said, adding that his interest rates typically run from six to 15 percent.

Considering that NFL players have yet to miss a game check, it’s somewhat curious that some veterans, as well as rookies, are looking for these loans. But Yorker said he’s been hearing from several players who’ve found themselves in need of quick cash after missing out on offseason workout bonuses.

“Believe it or not, some guys are dependent on that,” he said.

Chad Lewis, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end over a nine-year career in the NFL, indicated that many NFL players are notoriously free-spending and bad at managing their money.

“Most players aren’t making what a rock star makes,” Lewis said. “But if their lifestyle is gonna approach that of a rock star, then their money will run out very quickly.”

The minimum NFL salary is roughly $320,000, with the average approaching $2 million per season.

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told The Daily he tries to educate young players.

“One of the things I do is try to go back and grab these young guys and say, ‘Understand, there’s going to be a famine,’” Sanders said. “They say, ‘What do you mean by a famine?’”

Now, added Sanders, “Some of those guys are crying broke.”

“You tell these guys to manage their money better, but it doesn’t happen,” said agent Rick Smith of Priority Sports and Entertainment. “So they take out bridge loans to get them through it.”

The former union has opened a savings war chest, funded over the past two years by the players themselves, to help ease the monetary burden. The first payments began April 15, and according to NFL.com, up to $60,000 will be available per player. That’s close to what an average player would make during the offseason, but the concern is how to make those dollars stretch.

“That’s basically to cover their insurance,” Smith said. “It’s their own money being kicked back to them, to be able to pay for their health insurance.”

Another reason players are borrowing now — before even missing a major payday — is that they may be afraid credit will dry up if the lockout continues into the NFL season, said Darren Heitner, an agent and the author of sportsagentblog.com. After all, if interest rates are this high now, what will they be like when players start to miss game checks and lenders know they are even less likely to be repaid?

To financial planners, these high-interest loans represent a troubling trend.

“I get so frustrated when I hear stories like that,” said Ted Reid, a senior vice president and wealth adviser for Morgan Stanley, who’s been helping athletes invest their money for 25 years.

“I’ve heard ranges way above the 15 percent level, but even 15 percent, that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Reid said that if players need cash, they ought to be taking out home equity loans or other, asset-backed lines of credit, with interest rates from 2-4 percent. Or they should start selling things off: “If you’re borrowing at 30 percent, it’s time to start liquidating your assets,” he said.

But Yorker said he’s offering players a square deal. The interest is high because, more often than not, he’s not asking his clients to back their loans up with anything.

“You ask any of my clients if they’ve ever felt that I took advantage of them, they’ll tell you straight up, I’m a lifesaver. When nobody would give them any money, I gave them money,” Yorker said.

“They thank me and we’re friends. We continue to be friends after that. If they ever need money, they know they can come to me.”

[url="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-lockout-leads-to-players-taking-out-cash-loans-with-huge-interest-rates-051511"]http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl- ... tes-051511[/url]

If the players are really "suffering" tell your "not really a union" negotiating team to agree to the owners latest offer and it's over. Facilities open, free agency goes on and the players get paid salaries far greater than the average fan who supports them. It is realy easy.

[ikestops85]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Locked-out players line up for cash loans

Special to FOX Sports The Daily

Updated May 17, 2011
By Chris Corbellini and Jason Schwartz


As the NFL work stoppage continues with no end in sight, some cash-strapped players are taking out high-risk, high-interest loans to get them through the lean times — some as big as $250,000 with interest rates as high as 30 percent.

[url="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-lockout-leads-to-players-taking-out-cash-loans-with-huge-interest-rates-051511"]http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl- ... tes-051511[/url]

I think the mob would give you better rates right now.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Deion Sanders is offering these kids advice about how to spend their money. Seriously?

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told The Daily he tries to educate young players.

“One of the things I do is try to go back and grab these young guys and say, ‘Understand, there’s going to be a famine,’” Sanders said. “They say, ‘What do you mean by a famine?’”

Now, added Sanders, “Some of those guys are crying broke.”

[feltdizz]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Deion Sanders is offering these kids advice about how to spend their money. Seriously?

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told The Daily he tries to educate young players.

“One of the things I do is try to go back and grab these young guys and say, ‘Understand, there’s going to be a famine,’” Sanders said. “They say, ‘What do you mean by a famine?’”

Now, added Sanders, “Some of those guys are crying broke.”

I still love Deion as a commentator.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

NFL coaches with players in lockout battle

By Associated Press
Thursday, May 26, 2011


MINNEAPOLIS — NFL coaches are teaming up with the players in their legal fight to end the owner-imposed lockout.

The NFL Coaches Association filed a brief with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday expressing support for the players and saying that the lockout is putting their jobs in jeopardy.

"Owners and fans increasingly demand immediate success, and coaches whose teams cannot fulfill such severe expectations face likely dismissal, which means the uprooting of families, economic dislocation, and a significantly less promising career path," lawyers for the NFLCA wrote.

No individual coaches were identified in the brief, which said that the eight new coaches hired this year face particularly daunting odds of success if the lockout is not lifted soon. The NFL grants new coaches two extra summer minicamps to get players familiar with the new staff, and the elimination of those camps puts them at a competitive disadvantage heading into the season.

"To meet management's expectations, coaches need adequate time in the offseason to prepare their players for the season ahead," the filing said. "The lockout has already interfered with the coaches' offseason plans for their players, and each day lost in preparing for the season further diminishes coaches' opportunities to prove themselves and advance their career."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was not surprised by the filing.

"The Coaches Association offices with the Players Association in Washington," Aiello wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "So this comes as no surprise."

The 8th Circuit has set a June 3 hearing to hear arguments on whether the lockout is legal. A federal judge in St. Paul, Minn., initially ruled that the lockout was illegal, but the 8th Circuit put a stay on that ruling pending the appeal.

Some coaches across the league are facing a reduction in wages and benefits during the lockout, including those employed by the Buffalo Bills, who have suspended pension payments and cut wages for all employees while the lockout is in effect.

"These income reductions are occurring amid the burdens of mortgage payments, tuition, and other life costs that do not wait for the NFL to end its lockout," the filing said.

Coaches have already lost several minicamps and the ability to institute their valued offseason workout programs, both of which get many players together starting in mid-May to prepare themselves physically and mentally for the upcoming season. Coaches rely on those programs to get on the same page with their players, institute new playbooks or tweaks to their existing schemes and make sure that players are ready for the rigors of training camp that await in August.

All of that has been put on hold during the labor dispute over how to divvy up $9 billion in revenue. Mediation has been unsuccessful while each side waits to be handed some kind of leverage through the courts, meaning no minicamps, organized team activities or group workouts in front of coaches.

"Preparation is a coach's currency, and coaches rely heavily on the offseason to prepare their players for the season," the NFLCA said. "If the NFL's lockout denies coaches the necessary time with players, coaches will be significantly more limited in their ability to prepare their teams and to prove their value as coaches."

The NFLCA said no amount of financial damages could compensate for the time lost this offseason, so they asked the 8th Circuit to uphold Judge Susan Richard Nelson's injunction of the lockout to allow the players and coaches to get back to work.

"Failure at an early stage of one's career, however, can falter career aspirations for many subsequent years," the filing said. "A lockout will significantly impinge on coaches' opportunities to prove themselves and will increase the likelihood that they will suffer failure they can neither avoid nor overcome."

[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_738987.html#ixzz1NTHNo7Vu"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... z1NTHNo7Vu[/url]

[grotonsteel]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Never mind the lock out. He has proven to me that he is an idiot in areas like the Europe love, the arbitrary and inconsistent fines, the wussification of the defense, the sweep under the carpet that the cheators got for their scam, the ignoring of the bad refing job, the change of the AFC and NFC trophies (and all that tradition), the moving of the Pro Bowl from Hawaii, the crap on NFLN, etc.

This guy is bad publicity for the NFL. If the ownership doesn't see that, they live in the worst kind of bubble possible.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Goodell says season-ticket holders want 18-game season

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 27, 2011


Although expanding the regular season to 18 games has faded into the background as NFL owners and players have found other issues to fight about, Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed that he still thinks that’s the direction the NFL should go in.

And Goodell says season-ticket holders agree with him.

“We do think it is attractive to season-ticket holders,” Goodell said on a conference call with Titans season-ticket holders. “I hear that all of the time from our season-ticket holders. We have not abandoned our position on that. We do think it is the right thing for the game. It improves the quality of what we do, and it improves the value for you as season-ticket holders. . . . We do think it is a benefit for everybody, but we want to do it the right way, and we want to do it responsibly. That includes the players’ perspective.’’

The players’ perspective is already clear: They don’t want an 18-game regular season. And polls have shown most fans don’t want an 18-game regular season.

Goodell may have more success, however, in appealing directly to season-ticket holders, who don’t like having to buy tickets to two meaningless games when they buy their tickets to eight meaningful games. In speaking to that particular segment of the NFL fan base, and in emphasizing the reduction in preseason games, Goodell may get a sympathetic ear.

Of course, even without expanding the regular season, the NFL is free to reduce the number of preseason games, and teams are free to stop forcing fans to buy preseason tickets with their season-ticket packages. That’s something fans could support.

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/27/goodell-says-season-ticket-holders-want-18-game-season/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... me-season/[/url]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Goodell says season-ticket holders want 18-game season

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 27, 2011


Although expanding the regular season to 18 games has faded into the background as NFL owners and players have found other issues to fight about, Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed that he still thinks that’s the direction the NFL should go in.

And Goodell says season-ticket holders agree with him.

“We do think it is attractive to season-ticket holders,” Goodell said on a conference call with Titans season-ticket holders. “I hear that all of the time from our season-ticket holders. We have not abandoned our position on that. We do think it is the right thing for the game. It improves the quality of what we do, and it improves the value for you as season-ticket holders. . . . We do think it is a benefit for everybody, but we want to do it the right way, and we want to do it responsibly. That includes the players’ perspective.’’

The players’ perspective is already clear: They don’t want an 18-game regular season. And polls have shown most fans don’t want an 18-game regular season.

Goodell may have more success, however, in appealing directly to season-ticket holders, who don’t like having to buy tickets to two meaningless games when they buy their tickets to eight meaningful games. In speaking to that particular segment of the NFL fan base, and in emphasizing the reduction in preseason games, Goodell may get a sympathetic ear.

Of course, even without expanding the regular season, the NFL is free to reduce the number of preseason games, and teams are free to stop forcing fans to buy preseason tickets with their season-ticket packages. That’s something fans could support.

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/27/goodell-says-season-ticket-holders-want-18-game-season/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... me-season/[/url]

It's not that we don't like having to buy two preseason tickets. It's that we don't like having to pay REGULAR SEASON PRICES for those games, you jackwagon. If they can RAISE PRICES for playoff games when the stakes are higher (the divisional playoff tickets are about $25 more than regular season tickets, and the AFC Championship tickets are about $45 more than regular season tickets, then they can LOWER PRICES for preseason games when stakes are lower.

The 4 preseason games help coaches to determine what players he will keep at the bottom of his roster (with only 2 preseason games to evaluate new talent, coaches may opt to hold onto more vets like Tyrone Carter instead of promising rookies like Stevenson Sylvester). Coaches know this, fans know this, how does the NFL offices not know this?

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Player resentment for Goodell grows

Ward says taking violence out of football an impossible task

NFL.com
Published: June 1, 2011



Hines Ward isn't taking the NFL's new rules on flagrant hits as personally as other Pittsburgh Steelers, but he said in a recent interview with WCNN-AM in Atlanta that the guidelines clash with the physical nature of the sport.

"I understand where they're coming from, but at the same time, you can't protect football," said the wide receiver, who has taken and doled out his fair share of hits during a decorated 13-year NFL career. "It's a violent sport. If you want to protect it, we need to play flag football.”

All 32 owners voted at last week's NFL Spring Meeting in Indianapolis to punish teams if their players commit multiple flagrant hits that result in fines.

The punishment will be financial, although league vice president Adolpho Birch said that he didn't rule out NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell applying further sanctions such as stripping teams of draft choices.

Citing the "notion of club accountability," Birch said details such as the amount of the fines against teams, or how many player fines would trigger punishment, haven't been determined.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison, whom the NFL fined $100,000 for flagrant hits last season, spoke out on the new guidelines that have become known around the league as the "Steelers Rule."

"I'm absolutely sure now after this last rule change that the people making the rules at the NFL are idiots," Harrison tweeted last Tuesday.

Ward wasn't nearly as incendiary in his comments, but he made it clear that he didn't agree with the rules, either.

"That's just something that the owners are going to have to deal with," Ward said. "It's still football. I mean, I understand they're trying to bring safety to the game, but you can't bring safety to a game that's a violent sport already."

Ward said it's impossible to truly protect players from the impacts of the game when you factor in the size and speed of the participants involved.

"When you have two grown men traveling at 20 mph on a head-on collision, guess what? Something in your body is going to hurt," he said. "So regardless of what you do, it's still a physical ballgame. But what are you going to do when a runner is continuing to try to run over a guy? Are you going to just wait until one guy can't tackle him before you go in there and assist somebody?"

[url="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8201f0ad/article/ward-says-taking-violence-out-of-football-an-impossible-task"]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... sible-task[/url]