...dilemma of negotiating or renegotiating their contracts and according to Alvin Grier, the director of the midwest operations for Elite Sports Agency, “don’t know anything about NFL negotiating strategies”. He strongly recommends that all pro athletes hire an agent or attorney to perform the tedious negotiations citing it is their money and their livelihood on the line. He compiled seven strategies to negotiating a contract that helps athletes maximize their salaries: (1) be careful of the incentive laden contract, (2) know exactly how much of the contract is deferred, (3) only the signing bonus is guaranteed, (4) attempt to get a large signing bonus, (5) front-load your salary, (6) get a roster bonus after the third contract year, and (7) put off guaranteed base-salary until the last years. His strategies seem to be common sense but the average professional athlete entering the professional ranks is only 20 years old and has had little to no college education. The foundation for many successful renegotiated contracts is the athlete’s past performance and the team’s “what have you done for me lately” attitude. A productive player currently on the team’s roster has a better chance of signing a lucrative deal than one who has yet to prove himself. Contradictory to this is the player(s) selected in the annual sporting draft. The players selected highest in the draft are in a better position to negotiate a great deal than those drafted in lower rounds. Given these circumstances, how does...
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