Urlacher: Don’t Do What I did

Brian Urlacher signed a big money 9 year contract in 2003 but now he regrets it. How do we know? He told us after he signed a one year $18 million extension. The extension ads one year and one million dollars per year to Urlacher’s current contract.

Teams Can Cut Players, Why Can’t They Hold Out?

    Urlacher warned other players not to sign such long contracts because they may “outplay” their contract. We all know that if they don’t live up to expectations NFL players will be cut, so Urlacher has a point. If a player outperforms their contract their currently little they can do other than hold out and hope management gives in and gives them a better deal.

What Signing Bonus?

    On the other hand, when players think they are underpaid they often overlook the bonus money they received up front and focus on the annual salary. Instead of looking at a 5 year $25 million dollar contract with $10 million up front they only see $3 million a year, when the contract was actually a $5 million a year deal.

    Players should follow Urlacher’s advice; there is no need to sign a 9 year contract in the NFL. Most likely they will under or over perform and a long contract will only lead to an ugly divorce.