Briggs deserves better

By Anthony Bialy  |   Friday, March 23, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Chicago Bears
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Say you work at Burger King, and you're tops at your job. You work hard no matter how menial the task, show up on time, and smile genuinely at customers as opposed to flipping them off and assigning them cruel nicknames the second they leave the restaurant.

It would then certainly be unfortunate if the manager decided that, while you would be paid the average top salary workers get at Wendy's, Subway, Taco Bell, and KFC, you couldn't work for any of those companies, meaning you'd be stuck bagging Whoppers for the next year. Thankfully, only the NFL and not the fast-food industry has a franchise player tag.

The pay scale doesn't matter. The guy making $7 million has every right to try to make $70 million just as the fellow pulling down $7 per hour has every right to try to get $7.25. Opposing this right is jealousy: Class warfare is when you decide someone who makes more than you makes too much. I'm not exactly independently wealthy myself; my favorite restaurant is anyone I have a coupon for in the Entertainment Book. But I don't begrudge anyone who figures out how to make his or her self valuable.

You may believe sports salaries are fantastically high, but never forget that purchasing NFL tickets and merchandise is voluntary. If enough people think it costs too much and they quit buying, that's when salaries will drop. In the meantime, it's an understatement to point out there's enough money out there for the league's stars.

That brings us to Lance Briggs. He is somewhere between valuable and invaluable to the Chicago Bears, but they get to basically decide to keep him, while lesser players can sign with their current team or 31 others hassle free.

Briggs -- a star linebacker -- has pleaded his case well in every interview I've seen, noting that he's played under the terms of his first contract without whining and that he wants a long-term deal just like most other veterans get the opportunity to negotiate. But he needs to be investing some serious time convincing his union rep to get the franchise tag off the table, too. Unfortunately, this may take a bit, or eternity, as the way the NFL union gets pushed around like Mike "Baby Huey" Williams is embarrassing; it must make Major League Baseball's Donald Fehr giggle.

Of course, every one of the 22 men on the field makes anywhere from a decent to extraordinary fortune, but that's because the league generates a much larger fortune. Briggs should get to sign where he wants for as long as he can instead of being punished for being too good. If football represents our values such as determination, grit and toughness, then being well-compensated needs to be in there, too.

Lance Briggs will make more this season than I will before I pass (barring a fortunate Powerball combination), and he should be able to add a zero to the end of that figure if he can get it.

Or, he could have played less hard last year so that he never got tagged.

Original NFL coverage, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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About Anthony Bialy

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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
steven		07:55 AM
03/24/2007
The argument you make is good. But in the end, it is a business - both ways I might add, and LB knew going into last season how...
No.2
Larry		12:49 PM
07/13/2007
Wow, what a cogent argument. Comparing a minimum-wage burger flipper to an NFL player, while stating that you must believe the...
No.3
brian		12:57 PM
07/16/2007
I think L.B. is greedy thats all.He acts like he is an awsome LB when I would say he is just good.I truly believe he will be half...
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