homegame

Ted Johnson

An NFL player contract is a contract in more than one sense of the term. Its status as a binding legal document is be the less important definition, too.

In essence, when a pro football player signs on the dotted line, he takes on a contract as Tony Soprano might use the word. By accepting money to participate in the NFL, the player becomes a highly-paid participant in a conspiracy to ruin his own long-term health and shorten his own life. That is, said player takes out a hit on himself, taking but a small share of the bounty in return.

That's the fundamental dilemma of America's most popular sport. It eats people. That those people make millions to get eaten doesn't change the moral dilemma for those of us who enjoy watching the meal. It only means whatever lawsuit Johnson winds up filing against his former employer the Patriots will be nastily damaging to both parties and that Johnson won't win. I feel terrible for Ted, who's always seemed like a decent chap to me, but that's the reality. The law wasn't built to deal with this type of conspiracy.

What is there to do about this infinitely sad situation? I have no idea. I do know, however, the persons making the most money off the conspiracy don't seem to be spending too much energy thinking about possible solutions. Shame on them.

posted by Michael Gee @ 8:43 AM