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There should be one word on the minds of every NFL player and the union that represents them.Guaranteed.It’s way past time for those who play America’s most popular — and physically demanding — sport to be paid what they’re worth. The most obvious starting point would be to ensure their contracts work like pretty much every other professional league on the planet.The NFL’s standard practice of only guaranteeing part of a contract Shareef Miller Jersey , even for the biggest stars, seems grossly inadequate when one considers that players have a shorter shelf life than any other sport and often face a lifetime of debilitating health problems because of the sheer brutality they put their bodies through.A first-of-its-kind analysis from The Associated Press only strengthens the argument that players are getting a raw deal. Since 2005, the AP found, the average amount of playing experience for athletes on the NFL’s opening-day rosters has shrunk from 4.6 to 4.3 years.Essentially, a 53-man roster is comprised of a few star millionaires — most notably, the quarterback — and a bevy of young players earning close to the minimum salary. Older players, especially those at positions considered more easily replaced, are being forced out of the game or left with take-it-or-leave-it contracts that are great for teams but do little to ensure an athlete’s long-term financial health.Just look what happened to Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas.Heading into the final year of his contract, Thomas held out through the preseason in hopes of landing a new long-term contract, one with plenty of up-front money that he could put in the bank before he stepped on the field again. Essentially, he wanted an insurance policy in case of serious injury. Holding out was the only way to get it under the league’s current structure.The Seahawks refused to budge for the ninth-year player, insisting that Thomas — a six-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion and last remaining member of the “Legion of Boom” that will go down as one of the greatest defenses in NFL history — fulfill his expiring deal. And what happened? In the fourth game of the season, Thomas went down with a broken leg.As he was carted off their field, Thomas flashed an obscene gesture toward his own bench. He might as well have made it to the entire league and the union that represents him.In all likelihood, Thomas’ last chance to earn another big payday has gone up in smoke.Thomas could have stuck to his demands http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/zach-brown-jersey-authentic , like Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. Problem is, that would have meant sitting out the entire season — a huge sacrifice in a sport that already is a short-term career for most.Coming off two straight 1,200-yard rushing seasons, Bell had every right to demand a long-term deal that would ease the financial pain of a serious injury. Considering what happened to Thomas, the sixth-year running back probably made the right move by sitting out when the Steelers wouldn’t meet his demands. But he’s now lost a year in the prime of his career, and it’s likely that he’ll have to take less money on the open market after a season on the sideline.Amazingly enough, NFL Players Association President Eric Winston says guaranteed contracts aren’t a panacea when it comes to ensuring players getting a bigger piece of the league’s windfall.“We can’t forget the cause and effect to all this,” he said. “The more guaranteed money you get, maybe the shorter your contract should be. We live in this world where we think, ‘If we had guaranteed contracts, I’d get six years and $120 million guaranteed.’ No. It would probably be three and 60. It’s just one of those things where I think there’s a give and a take.”The problem is, the NFL owners have been taking for far too long — and the players, through a union that is almost certainly the weakest of all the major sports, has been more than willing to give.The NFLPA has often appeared to be little more than a subsidiary of the league, repeating many of the league’s talking points and not bothering to put up much of a fight whenever it was time to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.Over a two-decade period beginning in 1968, there were five strikes or lockouts as the players tried to flex their collective muscle. But the last of those http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-isaiah-johnson-jersey , in 1987, was a devastating defeat for the union. Some players refused to take part in the strike or quickly broke ranks. The owners assembled teams of replacement players to keep the games going for three weeks. The walkout lasted a mere 24 days.Since then, there’s been only one NFL lockout, which occurred largely during the 2011 offseason. The dispute was settled without any regular-season games being missed.While no one wants to see games lost, it’s rather amazing that the owners have been able to largely maintain labor peace for more than three decades, all while bolstering their own wealth enormously through new stadium deals and continually rising franchise values — and still getting the players to work for non-guaranteed contracts and burying for years the enormous health problems caused by head injuries.The players must stand up for themselves when the current labor agreement expires after the 2020 season. That means putting aside a nice little nest egg each month to prepare for the very real likelihood that the owners won’t be very amenable to their demands. They’ll likely have to go on strike, perhaps for a very long time, but they shouldn’t budge on two key issues: guaranteed contracts and a bigger piece of the pie.There are other issues worth talking about, of course. Player safety. Long-term health care. Some additional tweaking to the contract structure (perhaps something more in line with the NBA, which puts restrictions on what the top players can make but creates more opportunities for players in the middle of the pack). Limits on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s broad disciplinary powers. The right to peacefully protest (and some sort of settlement and compensation for the blatant blackballing of Colin Kaepernick).Winston said creating a quicker route to free agency is best way to improve the players’ lot.“What’s the union’s role in that?” he asked. “How do we help players overcome certain barriers to get to free agency as quickly as possible? We want it coming out of college. Owners want it never. Where does that bargain begin?”Indeed, it’s going to be a tough road. But the players need to make one thing clear: If the owners won’t agree to some very reasonable demands, they won’t have anyone to play the games.Guaranteed. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Trent Murphy acknowledges he was fooling himself for scoffing at how long doctors and friends projected it would take to recuperate from a severe left knee injury.Though the Buffalo Bills defensive end learned he doesn’t possess super-human healing powers, Murphy says the challenges and setbacks he experienced attempting to cut his rehabilitation from 18 months to 12 upon signing with the Bills a year ago were worth it.“A lot of people gave me that feedback, players who have been through it called me and said, ‘Man take it easy. Take it easy Devin Bush Jersey ,'” Murphy said, recalling the advice he received shortly after tearing both knee ligaments in a preseason game with Washington in August 2017.“Yeah, that wasn’t an option for me. I’m not waiting to get better next year. It was today, today. Now,” he added. “It was tough for sure, but I’m happy I fought through it.”On the brighter side, next year has finally arrived.The muscle pulls, groin strains and various tweaks — byproducts of Murphy compensating for his surgically repaired knee — that limited his practice and playing time last season are in the past. Upon completing a voluntary practice session this week, Murphy happily declared himself as injury-free.“To be able to contrast that process and be where I’m at now, I’ve got a different attitude, I’m a different dude, I feel way better,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s like night and day.”And that puts Murphy in position to finally begin proving the career-best numbers he posted in 2016, his third NFL season, weren’t a fluke.Selected by Washington in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Stanford, Murphy combined for six sacks http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-authentic , 16 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss in 31 games over his first two seasons. His production made a significant jump in 2016, when he had nine sacks, 24 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss in 16 games.Rather than get an opportunity to build on those numbers, Murphy’s career was sidetracked with a season-ending injury while also entering the final year of his contract.The Bills thought enough of Murphy by signing him to a three-year, $21 million contract.Playing through the pain, and despite missing a majority of the offseason, Murphy was still able to put up respectable numbers: four sacks, nine quarterback hits and five tackles for loss in 13 games, including 10 starts.And yet, the ever-driven Murphy — he drove through a snowstorm to get to Buffalo to sign his contract — knows he could’ve done better.“Every time I walked off the field, I know there was more I could’ve done,” he said.The Bills weren’t disappointed in his production by having already factored in the time Murphy would require to bounce back from such a devastating injury.“Oh, absolutely,” defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “Coming off that type of injury that he had, it takes time not only from a physical standpoint, but mental Justin Layne Jersey , where you gain the confidence to be able to do some of the things you did before.”And Frazier sees the payoff by noting a new jump in Murphy’s step this spring.“We’re seeing the fruits of that because he works extremely hard,” Frazier said. “He’s a different-looking player today than he was a year ago at this time.”The plan is no different from last year, with Murphy pegged to start on the left side opposite Jerry Hughes. Buffalo is also hoping to improve its pass rush season with first-round draft pick defensive tackle Ed Oliver, taking over for the since-retired Kyle Williams.Led by Hughes’ seven sacks, Buffalo finished with 36 to rank 26th overall.Murphy said he began feeling like his old self once he began working out this offseason.“I had a couple of wounds to lick, and after I had a little down time, I was like, ‘All right. You know what, I got this,'” Murphy said. “The fact that there’s that much left in the tank, I’m as motivated as ever.”