NFL contracts Russell Gage, Damar Hamlin MNF accidents

When Tampa Bay large receiver Russell Gage went down late within the fourth quarter of the Buccaneers’ Wild Card matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, all people within the stadium and everybody watching on tv held their breaths — once more. For the second consecutive broadcast, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have been calling a Monday Evening Soccer recreation through which a participant needed to be taken off the sector — reminding us, as soon as once more, simply how harmful soccer has at all times been, and can at all times be.

Fourteen days after hundreds of thousands watched Damar Hamlin go away the turf at Paycor Stadium, they got here again to the identical broadcast to look at Gage be strapped on a stretcher. That is completely an American story.

As an alternative, individuals are speaking about Tom Brady and Brett Maher

Tuesday morning and afternoon sports activities reveals, on-line sports activities publications, and newspapers throughout the nation can be full of tales about Brett Maher making historical past after lacking 4 PATs, how horrible the Bucs’ protection performed, how spectacular Dak Prescott seemed, and whether or not or not we simply noticed Tom Brady play his final recreation for Tampa — or in his profession. However for the individuals who aren’t obsessive about fantasy soccer or what the over/underneath was on the ultimate rating, the story of the evening was Gage’s damage.

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The instantaneous fear and worry, the thoughts of “oh no, not again,” and the immediate “prayer tweets” that hit Twitter’s timeline were typical for fans that had just watched the unthinkable happen just two weeks earlier. “I called one of my colleagues and said ‘did we watch somebody die?” Bomani Jones informed CNN when discussing the incident. However but, we’re in the identical place, hoping that the end result can be much less extreme.

“After struggling a neck damage and concussion through the fourth quarter of final evening’s recreation, Russell was taken to a neighborhood hospital the place he remained in a single day for added testing and remark. Russell has had motion in all extremities and can proceed to endure further testing immediately. We are going to present further info because it turns into obtainable,” the group launched in a press release on Tuesday morning.

Hopefully, Gage can be OK, as Hamlin cheered his teammates on from dwelling as he continues to recuperate after the Payments defeated the Miami Dolphins 34-31 on Sunday. However, what isn’t OK is that we would have liked incidents like these on consecutive broadcasts of Monday Evening Soccer to remind us simply how insane it’s that NFL contracts aren’t totally assured.

When do salaries develop into assured?

“You recognize what the NFL will inform you? Effectively, what, ‘we’ll look out for the individuals like him.’ No, you gained’t… The Payments proprietor Terry Pegula [is] value $6.7 billion,” mentioned Garrett Bush from The Final Cleveland Sports activities Present a couple of weeks in the past. “My query to you is, ‘NFL, when do salaries develop into assured, if these younger males are going on the market, they usually may die on that soccer area?”

Earlier this month, we discovered that NFL video games accounted for 82 of the 100 most-watched U.S. broadcasts in 2022 — which was seven greater than the 2021 mark that was 75 out of 100. People have confirmed that it doesn’t matter what atrocities happen on a soccer area, they’re nonetheless going to tune in. In March 2030, the NFL’s collective bargaining settlement will expire. That signifies that gamers and their counsel have seven years to unify and give you a plan to pressure homeowners to agree on assured contracts.

It needs to be recognized that each time the gamers and the homeowners battle/negotiate over labor points, the homeowners sometimes get what they need — regardless of the gamers having all the ability. In seven years we’ll know if what occurred to Damar Hamlin and Russell Gage helped save, and alter, the NFL. However, if it doesn’t, then all of these “ideas and prayers” have been only a waste of God’s time.