Clint Oldenburg: Five Things I've Learned From The Lockout

By: Clint Oldenburg | Posted: June 10, 2011

#1 The Importance of Fighting For Our Rights

I know fans hate the lockout, but I now have a deeper understanding of its purpose.  The negotiations have been slow and lacking progress, but it's crucial to understand why this deal must be done right.  We, as players are in no hurry to accept a bad deal.  We were fine with the previous CBA, but the owners backed out and wanted some back.  That is why we’re in the current labor situation.  I, for one, am extremely pleased that we have taken a hard stance against the league; we will not be pushed around and treated merely as property any longer.  And it isn't just going to benefit the current players - this is something that will pay dividends for future generations of NFL players, which is something previous players have not had the unity to perform.

#2 Those of Us Not Named Brady or Brees Are Likely To Take a Financial Hit

The young players and league-minimum guys stand to get hurt the most. The owners’ best proposals so far have been lackluster to say the least, but let's say for a moment we decided to accept one of them.  We all know there's certain guys in the league who are going to get their salary regardless of the cap - Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, to name an obvious few.  So where does the majority of the money the owners seek come from?  The other 70-80% of the rosters who are playing for league minimum. If this actually happened, we would start to see an even more dramatic disparity in pay between the league's elite and everybody else.

#3 Being an NFL Player: A Job Like No Other

Everybody must stop comparing the lockout and the NFL with other jobs.  I was even guilty of this early in the lockout, but it really is apples and oranges. Pro football players have a very small window to make an income with what we do best, which is play football.  Yes, our salaries are very good in comparison to the average American, but our earning potential is 3-5 years on average. While you hear the names of the guys who make millions and play for 12 years, most of us are not even close to being millionaires and when our careers end, we must fallback to our SECOND best skill-set. 

#4 We are the Real Risk Takers

Who's taking the risk? I've heard many arguments about how the owners are taking all the risk in investing their money in men who get hurt so often or who may not perform to their contract.  I'm on the opposite side of that spectrum.  Players take ALL the risk.  It's proven that pro football takes years off your life along with the many day-to-day ailments that come with playing the game.  And that's not a complaint, it’s a fact. We love what we do and want to play for as long as we can, but to say it’s a risk to sign a player to a three-year contract in case he has a LIFE-altering injury is a mistake.  In addition, don't forget all the risk we are taking right now during the lockout.  If we get hurt at a player-led camp or while working out, we have no protection outside of our personal, out-of-pocket insurance policies.  It’s pretty much a guarantee that once the doors open, if you're injured, you're headed to the always cozy NFI List (Non-Football Injury - which results in forfeiture of salary).

#5 Don't Link the Player-Led Workouts to Regular Season Success

 Player-led mini-camps will not factor into season-success, but they will create unity. The Redskins have had two of these already with a probable third on the way.  They are great for getting together with teammates, going through some drill work, and reviewing the playbook and terminology.  However, don't expect the team with the most off-season camps or the most players having showed up to necessarily win the Super Bowl. Every week I hear of another team's camp and every week the number of bodies grows. When the first one was held, the media was all over talking about having 20-30 guys at one of these things, and now, in June, I'm hearing of workouts consisting of 50-60 guys.  That's great and it shows a lot of commitment for us to hold these workouts, but there's still a lot missing, including pads and helmets, coaches, and most importantly, the film camera in the back - which is the most significant tool players have towards self-improvement.  

Clint Oldenburg is an offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins.  For more musings from Clint, check out his Player’s Perspective blog and be sure to follow him on Twitter.

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Anonymous
Posts: 1

Re: Clint Oldenburg: Five Things I've Learned From The Lockout
Reply #1 on : Thu July 07, 2011, 11:47:17

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The 'Skins have been using film GO 'SKINS