From a financial perspective, NFL players are technically among the most powerless professional athletes of any of the major American sports.
Haason Reddick may have just changed everything for the better.
On Tuesday morning, after an extended contract holdout where Reddick never even made a single New York Jets practice appearance, the team granted the disgruntled pass-rusher permission to seek a trade and potentially leave Gang Green within a short 12-hour window.
The news comes on the heels of Reddick refusing to give the Jets what they want after they traded for him without giving him the massive contract extension he’s seeking and without giving him any indication they would compensate him how he wanted in the immediate future.
Needless to say, Reddick’s steadfast refusal to even be around the Jets being rewarded with a potential trade should be seen as a massive victory for any unhappy NFL stars who find themselves backed into a corner.
It might change how future similar situations like this are handled altogether:
The Jets have given Haason Reddick and his reps a short window to seek a trade, per sources. His new representation, Drew Rosenhaus, has been reaching out to teams over the last 12 hours to gauge interest.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 15, 2024
At the risk of beating a dead horse, everyone knows that pro football is a brutal game. Players’ careers and lives can be shifted on a whim.
One unlucky slip on the turf.
One routine hit taken in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A leg planted in the ground being pushed in the direction it isn’t supposed to go.
As such, there’s a reason most NFL contracts aren’t fully guaranteed. Most front-office people around the league include this fail-safe for their franchise players just in case the worst-case scenario happens. From a team perspective, it would be an outright disaster to be financially committed long-term to an unhealthy superstar who was a shell of himself … right?
But let’s not pretend this setup is player-friendly. It never has been. Let’s not pretend that difference-making NFL players — the people who actually bring money in for the league as the motivating factor for fans to watch in the first place — don’t deserve their fair share of the pot. And should an NFL star prove trustworthy, there are so many different clauses, like the draconian franchise tag, that sometimes make it impossible for some guys to make what they’re worth and have complete professional mobility during the peak earning years of their careers.
Or, in Reddick’s case, he had to eat millions of dollars in fines just because he wouldn’t give the Jets what they wanted. Never mind that they wouldn’t give him what he wanted — the NFL at large does not care about what players want.
Their concerns have almost always come second … unless they force the issue like Reddick.
So, let’s not get this twisted. Over the last few months, I saw a lot of overarching statements about how Reddick was only hurting himself with his “stupid” or “foolish” holdout. His own agency fired him for his apparent stubbornness. The common idea was that Reddick should stop being foolish, wave the white towel, be a team player, and hope the Jets, eventually, reward his patience. It was the definition of anti-player sentiment, and it made me feel even worse for guys like him.
Never mind that Reddick is 30 and likely awaiting the last major payday of his playing career. A payday that might not come if he gets injured. (His concerns don’t matter, remember?) Good for Reddick for getting the Jets to relent because it sets a new precedent.
Of course, not everyone will be able to replicate Reddick’s strategy.
An already wealthy two-time Pro Bowler, Reddick could afford to take a significant hit to his wallet in the name of a larger overall contract. Plus, he had to be patient and indignant enough to ignore the Jets any time they tried to win the battle of public pressure. Reddick’s strategy took a good mix of established security and steadfast audacity at the same time.
But it worked. That’s what’s most important here. Reddick found a hint of whatever leverage he could muster, and he squeezed it relentlessly until the Jets were forced to say “uncle.” There’s taking advantage of a desperate team, and there’s finding an opening at all costs. Reddick managed to do both.
Let his ordeal be an excellent lesson to any irritated NFL stars seeking well-deserved compensation now and in the future.
You’re not as powerless as you think if you’re literally willing to put in the time.
