Each year, right around the Fourth of July, a debate occurs: Should NFL players receive greater compensation in the form of larger and fully guaranteed contracts? No one will say that $5 million to $10 million per year is a small sum of money, but when mid-level NBA players are making more than double the salaries of some NFL stars, questions are asked. NBA free agency this year, in conjunction with the potential of an NFL lockout in 2021, led Todd Gurley to come out and say players deserve fully guaranteed contracts. Kirk Cousins received one this offseason from the Minnesota Vikings – three years, $84 million – but that’s out of the ordinary in pro football. Gurley suggested players should strike in order to get what they want, hinting at a lockout in three years. While at a youth football camp this week, Gurley expanded on his comments, telling the Los Angeles Times that he’s just unhappy with the amount of money NBA players are receiving. “Us NFL players, we’re just mad about NBA contracts right now, that’s all,” he said. “I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [million]. It’s crazy. It’s insane.” “Insane” is a good way to describe some of the contracts NBA players are signing. Four players signed contracts worth more than $136 million, all earning over $29 million per year. In the NFL, one player makes more than $29 million annually: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan ($30 million per year). In the NBA, 15 players are making more than $30 million per year. That’s a big difference, and it’s part of the reason Gurley and others want fully guaranteed contracts in football, too. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to happen. The owners are unlikely to budge on that position when the CBA is renegotiated in three years.<doc-sep>During an interview with TMZ Sports earlier this month, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley spoke about how NFL players want all of the money in their contracts to be guaranteed, and how the players might have to go on strike in order to get their point across. When asked what could be done to get contracts like NBA and MLB players, Gurley added, "Lockout in a couple years." In light of Gurley's remarks, The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein recently asked the 23-year old running back about NFL contracts, to which he responded, "Us NFL players, we're just mad about NBA contracts right now, that's all. I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [million]. It's crazy. It's insane." According to Spotrac, Gurley has two years remaining on his current deal before free agency, and he'll earn just over $2.3 million next season before making jumping to $9.6 million in the 2019 campaign. Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman currently has the biggest contract for a running back in league history at five years, $41.25 million. Gurley's comments fall in line with several other NFL players including Eric Winston, who says they're ready to call for a work stoppage if NFL deals don't start looking more like the contracts of NBA and MLB players. Veteran offensive lineman Russell Okung added, "Considering football’s level of brute, immanent physicality, high turnover as well as the short life cycle of its participants, it would seem to me that NFL players are in the most need of fully guaranteed contracts."<doc-sep>When you watch the NBA offseason, some of the top players are landing contracts worth $150 million to north of $200 million. As an elite NFL player, former Georgia RB Todd Gurley II will make only $2.3 million for the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 (and $9.6 million in 2019). Recently, Gurley told the Los Angeles Times that he and other NFL players notice all the money being thrown at NBA players and are jealous: “Us NFL players, we’re just mad about NBA contracts right now, that’s all,” he said. “I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [million]. It’s crazy. It’s insane.” Of course, it’s worth noting that NFL rosters are much larger than NBA rosters, so there are more players who need to be paid under the salary cap. However, the NFL makes more money than the NBA, so Gurley has a point, and major changes could be coming to NFL contracts in the coming years.<doc-sep>If you've been paying attention to NBA free agency this offseason, you may have noticed that some of the contracts handed out by teams contain some astronomical dollar amounts. Some of the best available free agents signed for a ton of money: Chris Paul got a four-year deal worth nearly $160 million from the Houston Rockets; LeBron James got four years and $154 million from the Lakers; Nikola Jokic received $148 million over five years from the Nuggets; and Paul George was handed $137 million over for years by the Thunder. These massive dollar figures are being thrown around because maximum contracts in the NBA are tied to a percentage of the salary cap, which keeps going up, but that's not stopping NFL players from getting jealous of the sums of money being awarded to their NBA counterparts. Count Rams running back Todd Gurley among those who are noticing the disparity and are none too pleased about it. "Us NFL players, we're just mad about NBA contracts right now, that's all," Gurley said, per the Los Angeles Times. "I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [million]. It's crazy. It's insane." Gurley is one of the NFL's best running backs, but he still has one more year left on his rookie contract, plus a fifth-year option that the Rams will surely pick up. In total, his rookie deal will pay $23,453,183 over the course of his age-20 through age-24 seasons. He should still have a few years' worth of top-level play left in him once that contract expires, but the likelihood of Gurley even approaching $80 million seems fairly low, given how the NFL values running backs these days. The largest running back contract in the NFL right now is the five-year, $41.25 million deal signed by the Falcons' Devonta Freeman last offseason. That deal carries an average annual value of $8.25 million, which is the highest figure for any running back other than Le'Veon Bell, who is operating on the franchise tag. Even if we assume that Gurley surpasses Freeman's contract in average annual value (a reasonable assumption), he'd probably need something like an eight- or nine-year contract in order to approach $80 million over the life of the deal. That would mean keeping him under contract through his early-to-mid-30s, which is just not happening. There are CBA and salary-cap reasons behind the fact that the best NBA players make more than their NFL brethren, but that doesn't mean NFL players have to be thrilled about it. It probably doesn't help matters that Gurley plays a position which is becoming increasingly devalued in the modern NFL. If he were a quarterback, he'd have a chance of topping the money made by even the best NBA players.<doc-sep>
Michael Owen Baker/Associated Press Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley suggested Thursday that NFL players are somewhat envious of the massive contracts NBA players are landing. When asked about the disparity by Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times, Gurley said the following: "Us NFL players, we're just mad about NBA contracts right now, that's all. I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [million]. It's crazy. It's insane." The question about contracts was posed to Gurley due to comments he made in a recent interview with TMZ Sports. Gurley responded affirmatively when asked if NFL players should have guaranteed contracts. He was then asked what could be done to make it a reality, which led to him saying, "Lockout in a couple years." The NFL's collective bargaining agreement expires in 2021, and it stands to reason that guaranteed contracts could be among the biggest talking points. Gurley has two years remaining on his current deal before free agency. He will earn just over $2.3 million in 2018 before making the leap to $9.6 million in 2019, per Spotrac. The biggest current contract in the NFL is the five-year, $150 million deal with $94.5 million guaranteed that was signed by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in May, according to Spotrac. Video Play Button Videos you might like By comparison, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is playing under a five-year deal worth $205 million. Since the richest contracts in the NFL are reserved for quarterbacks, Gurley is even further from NBA money than many. Falcons running back Devonta Freeman's five-year, $41.25 million contract is the biggest for a running back in the NFL currently. There's a good chance Gurley will surpass that if he remains healthy considering he finished second in the NFL MVP voting last season, but it may not even be enough to get him a quarter of the way to the salaries of the NBA's biggest stars.