NBA free agents are currently raking in massive, fully guaranteed contracts now that free agency is in full swing.
No doubt, this gets under the skin of some NFL stars, many of whom have signed big deals but have nowhere near the kind of financial security as NBA players, due to the fact their contracts contain far less guarantees.
One such player has opened up about his thoughts on the matter. Russell Okung, who has been his own agent in the NFL since 2015, took to Twitter Tuesday in a lengthy thread passionately advocating that NFL players deserve guaranteed deals.
Here are some of the highlights.
Considering football’s level of brute, immanent physicality, high turnover as well as the short life cycle of its participants, it would seem to me that NFL players are in the most need of fully guaranteed contracts.
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
It’s up to us, the players, to decide if we want league ownership to finally respect us as partners. Truth is, there is NOTHING preventing agents from negotiating a fully guaranteed salary for an NFL player (see Kirk Cousins deal).
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
As Okung notes, Kirk Cousins did land a fully guaranteed contract this past year. But that deal was utterly groundbreaking, and he’s a special case as a quarterback in a league that treats his position differently than all others.
Okung goes on to advocate for a brand new CBA that doesn’t rely on antiquated revenue accounting and noted that salary caps don’t help players. Then he elaborated on how the salary cap hurts players.
Historically, the league has done a masterful job inserting language into the CBA to justify getting out of a “guarantee” or contract. Most headlines on the first day NFL free agency are misleading, even for players who are household names.
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
It’s only fair that a player sign a contract and expect the other side to honor that, right? What ever happened to “Show me the money?” pic.twitter.com/rkLDXiQKvM
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
at the time of signing, thus limiting the amount teams are willing to guarantee. The “funding rule” gives management the flexibility to tell a player they are SOL.
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
With all that said, there are additional judgments to make regarding plenty of legal language in the CBA that works toward the detriment of players and in favor of multi-billionaire owners. If players want change, demand it. 💯💯
— OKUNG 🐆 (@RussellOkung) July 3, 2018
All in all, Okung makes very salient points here. The big question we don’t yet have the answer to is whether his peers and the NFLPA have the conviction and determination to accept a potential loss of revenue in the short term (due to a strike) in order to affect real change on this front.
Based on what some other high-profile players have said in the recent past, there’s at least a reasonable percentage of like-minded players who would be on board with such a move.