The recently decided case concerning the classification of Jimmy Graham as a tight end or a wide receiver has brought the matter of discrepancies in the pay scale for differing NFL player positions in the league into public attention.
Jimmy Graham didn’t really care too much what people called him, or what position the program had him listed at. It was all about the money all along. As well it should be. The difference in pay between the two positions is obviously out of line. Wide receivers bring home practically double the guy playing tight end next to him.
The ruling by arbitrator Stephen Burbank that Jimmy Graham is really a tight end came as a surprise to no one, even to Graham himself. But he had to go through the process with the NFLPA and file the motion anyway as one more step in his negotiations with the New Orleans Saints for a long term deal, which is probably what both sides wanted to happen all along.
Graham actually plays a hybrid position with the Saints that is as yet undefined in the NFL’s classification of positions. The league is sticking with the traditional eleven positions that have been used ever since football began, way back when.
The Saints have offered Graham a nice $9,500,000 deal which just about splits the difference in the two positions down the middle. It’s an extra $2.5 million for Graham this year, not what he was shooting for but… still not too bad a deal. Long term negotiations between Graham and the Saints are still underway.
Given Grahams’ success in New Orleans and his close ties to quarterback Drew Brees, it seems very unlikely that Jimmy will be seeking employment elsewhere in the near future.
Professional football is the only major team sport that categorizes players by position. It’s all set down in black and white. Linebackers, no matter how good they are, will not be making the money that defensive ends bring down. Offensive tackles make more money than offensive guards do. Who figured that all out?
In Major League Baseball or professional basketball, a player gets paid based on production. Points scored, points blocked, rebounds, extra points that sort of thing. Not so in the NFL. Some writers jest that the league is behind the times but what it really boils down to is plain unabashed discrimination against certain positions.
Everyone agrees that these inequities exist. Now it’s up to Roger Goodell and the NFL staff to do something about them.
