Too many players today stop performing at the same level once they get that big contract and big signing bonus in hand.  That is true across the board in the NFL, and seems alarmingly persistent with out franchise here in Jax.  So...

 

Why don't the owners push more towards contracts based more on incentives?  Sales departments do it, consultants do it; hell, restaurant servers and other service workers do it.  Even other major sports like golf and tennis do it. Don't make the cut?  Go home unhappy.  Bounced in the first round?  So sorry.  Instead, we reward football players for past performance with the hope that they will duplicate that same performance in the future.  On average, human nature doesnt necessarily work that way.  Football, baseball, basketball and hockey are almost like government entities now as far as fans are concerned; except instead of getting reamed with higher taxes and no product, fans get higher ticket prices and no product. 

 

The answer?  contracts where 70 to 90% of the pay is based on incentives.  My guess is that those same players would play under a contract like that since they are just playing a game that a lot of us played for nothing growing up.  Maybe if their salaries were based on production the results would be different.  Of course, this will never happen with the current unions and CBA's in place, but it would be nice to see what that sort of a system would produce.

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