Friday, September 10, 2010

A Little Labor Solidarity in Your Football

Last night before the Vikings pissed away a game to the Saints in which there was obviously some rust from the guy who didn't bother showing up to camp until he was begged and prodded with more money, also featured players from both teams showing a brief moment of labor solidarity on the field before the game began.

Even though I'm always a bit biased toward labor in any dispute, as this potential/likely lock up heats up and gets more intense, it's important to remember that most NFL players don't make millions of dollars. The average NFL career lasts 4 years and those players tend to make the league minimum, which granted, is in the mid 6 figures, but that does not set you for life. It's also very important to remember that the average life expectancy for NFL players is 50 years, and few get any form of health insurance from the league despite the myriad of on-going injuries nearly all of them have.

So remember that the majority of NFL players trade a third of their life for a couple years of good money, and then are saddled with crippling lingering injuries that often burn through that money incredibly quickly. Not that you should feel too bad for NFL players, but only a select few get the fame and millions of those on the commercials...

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