Jerry Maguire?


Ken Schneyer 

-----Original Message-----
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gershuny, Pam
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 9:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Illusory Contract?

Thanks Mark for the info!
 
Does anyone know of any movies with sports related contracts issues
appropriate for a contracts class?
 
Pam Gershuny
 
 
(I have 2 entertainment related flicks for contract law. 1) Pamela
Anderson  2) Joan Collins  A sports flick would be great!)
 

________________________________

From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk on behalf of Mark
Conrad
Sent: Mon 11/7/2005 4:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Illusory Contract?


Rick is quite right.
 
1. The NFL contract is made with requisite consideration in that the
signing bonus is guaranteed money -- that cannot be taken away unless it
is for certain stipulated causes. 
 
2. Collective Bargaining Agreement mandates that teams can cut players
for just about any reason. If the player is injured, he is paid for that
season, but could be cut for future seasons. 
 
3. Clearly, much has been written about the "weakness" of the NFLPA as
opposed to other players' unions. But note that not every baseball
player's contract is guaranteed. Many are not, but the major players
are. In the NBA, most contracts are.
 
4. For a copy of a standard players contract, check out the NFLPA web
site. It contains the entire CBA and one of the appendices is a standard
players contract. You may want to compare it with the standard
agreements in the other sports. You will be surprised how much of the
contract language is similar.
 
 
Mark Conrad
Associate Professor, Legal and Ethical Studies
Schools of Business
Fordham University
212/636-7975
[log in to unmask]
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Kunkel <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 15:52:11 -0600
Subject: Re: Illusory Contract?


I believe that under collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and
Players Assn.  the standard contact is not guaranteed, and the club can
drop the player for reasons of injury, poor performance, or for salary
cap compliance, or other reasons.  The players get their "guarantee" up
front in the form of a signing bonus, but after that check is cashed,
the clubs hold all the cards.  Thus, the signing bonus is the
consideration that keeps the contract from being illusory.  The club's
position is a condition subsequent - at their discretion, they can
terminate their performance any time after the signing bonus is paid.

There recently was a story about this in Sports Illustrated in which NFL
non-guaranteed contracts were compared to the guaranteed contracts in
other sports.  If I recall factors include the size of the rosters, the
relative impact of one player on a 47-person roster, the degree and
frequency of injuries, the low strength of the NFL union, the absence of
foreign leagues (can't play in Europe) etc.  Arguments for the
non-guaranteed contract included salary flexibility and salary cap
issues ( star player gets hurt, but with guaranteed contract uses up
critical salary cap room.  Entire team is hamstrung by financial
commitments to players not playing)  It is a high risk, high reward
contract - stay healthy and play well, get rich.  Play poorly or get
hurt, you are cut, unpaid, and looking for a job.

Rick Kunkel


On 11/7/05 3:11 PM, "Levin, Murray S" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



	I'm not familiar with the NFL contract, but my guess would be
that the team is obligated for some period of time (e.g. the first
season) or some sum of money if they cut a player, in which case it is
not an illusory promise (the team does incur an obligation that serves
as consideration for the player's promise). This is how many
cancellation clauses in other contracts are justified. There would be an
illusory promise if, for example, the team could cancel the deal before
the player ever set foot on the field or ever would be entitled to some
compensation. 
	
	Murray Levin 
	University of Kansas 
	[log in to unmask] 
	
	
	________________________________ 
	
	From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk on behalf
of [log in to unmask] 
	Sent: Mon 11/7/2005 2:43 PM 
	To: [log in to unmask] 
	Subject: Illusory Contract? 
	
	
	
	Hello all.  This has really been bugging me and I must be
missing something. 
	
	In the National Football League, players sign multi-year
contracts and while the player is bound by the contract, the teams are
not.  Take for example the situation in Philadelphia. Terrell Owens
signed a seven year contract and in his second year wants it
renegotiated.  The team's stance is that he signed a contract so he
should be bound by its terms.  One of Owen's stances is that it's unfair
because the team can cut him at literally any time and thereby void any
remaining portions of the contract.  In essence, the player is bound by
the agreement but the team is not.  Why isn't this an illusory contract
and if so, why haven't agents simply voided contracts on behalf of their
clients and renegotiated with other teams?  Since they haven't, there
must be a reason and it is eluding me.  Might it be a labor negotiation
union contract exception? 
	
	Does anyone have access to a blank NFL player's contract?
(Don't we have a professional referee in our membership?)  I'd love to
see one and possibly use it in class.   
	
	Speaking as a Giants fan, I hope that Owens stands up for his
rights and creates as much disruption as he can.   
	
	Mike 
	
	Michael A. Katz, J.D. 
	Delaware State University 
	Department of Accounting and Finance 
	1200 North DuPont Highway 
	MBNA America Building, Rm 206 D 
	Dover, DE 19901 
	(302) 857-6918 
	(302) 857-6924 (fax) 
	<[log in to unmask]> 
	
	



--