NFLPA on Richard Sherman strike comments: ‘What he said’

Richard Sherman made headlines nationally when he said the NFL players must be willing to miss game checks in a strike to make big money.

Of course, this is in reference to the monster contracts being pulled in recently by the NBA’s elite, not to mention its bottom feeders.

“Oh, 100 percent,” Sherman said about what needs to happen in order for NFL players to make that kind of cash. “If we want as the NFL, as a union, to get anything done, players have to be willing to strike. That’s the thing that guys need to 100 percent realize.”

Interestingly, the NFLPA had a little something to say about that.

That’s not an insignificant comment.

The NFLPA has a number of big-ticket items on its agenda as it pertains to the next CBA negotiations with the NFL. Among them are things like the removal of marijuana as a banned substance, concussions, how much authority the commissioner has when it comes to player discipline and obviously money issues.

Right now, NFL contracts don’t include the kind of guarantees that professional athletes in others sports see. Granted, football is a violent sport in which many players suffer career-ending injuries. So some form of protection needs to be there for NFL teams.

But right now it’s clearly lopsided in favor of owners in terms of who has the power.

The NFLPA has been warning its players to save money for an eventual strike in 2021. However, most of the players in the league don’t have a ton of security, and it seems unlikely the majority of players will be willing to make the kind of sacrifice necessary to get what they all want.

There are likely more players who are earning less than a million per year than there are guys pulling in $15-plus million per year, let alone the kind of cash Stephen Curry is now hauling in on his new deal.

This is a fascinating, ever-evolving story that we’ll be following with interest in the next few years. Stay tuned.