NFL players like Damar Hamlin aren’t paid enough, given the danger of football

The NFL playoffs is always an exciting time.

When the Eagles make the cut, the postseason has the potential to be euphoric — like in 2017-2018, when we won it all. However, after the life-threatening injury to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin earlier this month, it’s been a bit harder for me to enjoy football.

I know that injuries are part of the game, and this rationale has desensitized many of us to the violence of those injuries. It’s so that we can remain entertained — in some cases employed — without inner conflict.

What happened to Hamlin was a horrific reminder of how violent football really is.

Yes, the game is violent, but that’s why players are paid the big bucks, I often hear. But a closer look shows that, for many players, the compensation is not nearly enough.

“For many players, the compensation is not nearly enough.”

No other American sport is as violent as football. I believe many NFL players should be paid more — certainly better than other professional athletes — with better protections if they become hurt or disabled.

Take Hamlin, for instance. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year agreement with the Bills for $3.64 million. That sounds like a lot, right? But there is some fine print.

The contract includes a standard clause that, if he is injured and placed on the injured reserve list, his salary would be cut by 50%. (Thankfully, the Bills paid Hamlin fully this season, despite missing play due to his near-fatal injury.) As for his salary next year, that is yet to be determined; he still has to make the roster next season.

A four-year contract sounds great, but if you only play less than two years and are disabled for life (which hopefully isn’t the case for Hamlin), it looks considerably less impressive.

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NFL players who become disabled are entitled to disability payments from the league — which the NFL fights to avoid paying out. Consider Mike Cloud, a running back for six years, who recently sued the NFL for failing to pay. According to Fortune, out of thousands of ex-players who have filed applications for disability benefits from the NFL, only 37 have received the top level of compensation ($265,000 per year).

Hopefully, Hamlin will make the team next season. If so, he’ll make somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000 per game (his yearly salary of $825,000 divided by 18 weeks). That certainly seems like a lot of money for what appears to be three hours of work, but when you consider practices and training, it’s a lot more than three hours. And when you consider that one hit in an NFL game can feel like getting hit by a car — and each player will take part in many hits during a game — $45,000 starts to sound like a lot less. And probably not worth putting one’s life at risk.

Every NFL player isn’t making salaries like AJ Brown ($100 million for four years), Lane Johnson ($72 million for four years), or Darius Slay ($50 million for three years). The average NFL career is only three years, while making less than the average NHL, MLB, and NBA player. So they push their bodies to the brink to stay on the field to make the money that’s available to them on a week-to-week basis … and we call them warriors.

But they shouldn’t have to be.

I get that the players “signed up for this.” But that’s what we tell ourselves as fans to be entertained from week to week. We tell ourselves that so we aren’t faced with the truth that we’re asking them to play a game where cardiac arrest is as real a danger as developing long-term brain damage.

Games are supposed to be fun, not potentially lethal.

I am not advocating that football fans march to NFL front offices. But when the next collective bargaining agreement comes around, stand with the players, who bring so much joy to so many.

Consider that in 2021, the NFL made $18 billion. Less than half of that goes to players.

Given that the conditions of football aren’t going to change anytime soon, we can demand that the payout for players does, especially if they are injured during the game. If #HamlinStrong is important to you, his wallet should be, too.

Rann Miller is an educator and freelance writer based in southern New Jersey. His “Urban Education Mixtape” blog supports urban educators and parents of children attending urban schools. Rann is also the author of the forthcoming book, Resistance Stories from Black History for Kids, with an anticipated release of March 7, 2023, which is currently available for pre-order. @UrbanEdDJ