James Surowiecki Quotes

Award trophies, as opposed to letting the players define and claim their own. Ultimately, pay them to play so that their activity not only resembles work but is work.

I guess when you get paid over 100 million dollars by one team, it's kind of easy to point the finger at other guys and try to hate on them for trying to get another contract.

The NFL is the only sport where you can be on a team five years, and your contract's not guaranteed. You can go through the whole process of training camp, and then as soon as it's the season, it's a week-to-week job, and they can cut you at any moment, or you can get hurt at any moment. It's not like that in other sports.

This is the business of football and nothing is guaranteed to you as a player, coach or anybody else. They don't have to give you the money. They don't have to give you a longterm contract.

The people who run the game, they are the ones who want to change it and make people believe that it's different somehow. It's not different, the only difference is that some ballplayers today have a chance for a four- or five-year contract and they can make big money.

Some of the money going to the rookies can now be spent on people who have proved their worth. After all, the average playing life of a pro football player is about eight years and it is only fitting that the veterans get something for their efforts.

Money and salary is not a particularly good motivator in the long term.

All the evidence shows very clearly that if you are a member of a trade union you are likely to get better pay, more equal pay, better health and safety, more chance to get training, more chance to have conditions of work that help if you have caring responsibilities... the list goes on!

Players today are concerned about the money, but the large dollars only go to those players who are the best.

You don't hear a film director saying 'Money mustn't go out of the industry' to actors. You don't hear a concert promoter saying 'We must make sure that money doesn't go out of our industry' to Elton John. Some people in football seem to think, 'Never mind the players, let's get on with the game.'

In the NFL a lot of times everyone gets caught up in the business side of things. For them it's all about money and it really leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Union members not only earn higher median wages; they are more likely to have paid sick leave, short-term disability, and employer-provided child care. Giving people a voice at work - the ability to organize and negotiate for their fair share of the value they helped create - is absolutely essential to a growing, vibrant middle class.

And my rookie contract, my first rookie contract was for $5,000.

The difference between the National Football League and college is this: In college, you are a broke college student.

The thing about the max is, you're worth whatever somebody is willing to pay you, in my mind.

I'm always hesitant to make any serious moves because you never know how the N.F.L. will treat you, you know?

Like bankers, top footballers are massively overpaid, but at least you comprehend what they're doing for the money.

In WCW, your future was determined by the time you signed the contract. I was the lowest-paid guy in the company at $75,000.

I'd never worked for anyone else until I got to the NFL, and this will be my last time working for someone else.

That's what counts for you as a player if you are on a high salary and you are earning, let's say, enough money, which you normally can't spend in your lifetime. It's something you should really think about - where you play, what level you play, the audience.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I know how good I have it. You can't find a much better job than this. There are only 300 players in this league, so I feel very fortunate and proud to be one of those players.

The most important aspect of my signing with the WFL was not to demean or undermine the National Football League, but rather to make professional football a form of employment where management recognizes its workers as individuals capable of communicating on an intelligent level.

Depending on where you're at or the ownership you're working for, some of the college jobs may be better than some in the NFL.

If the NFL can keep getting away with forcing players to wait three years out of high school before they're drafted - three! - the NCAA should be made to do away with its rules against paying players beyond room, board and tuition. I'm not talking about some token, $2,000-a-year 'spending money' stipend for every player.

The NFL is a very fortunate business. The players are very fortunate.