Former Bears star would like to see more effort worthy of today’s salaries
By Kevin Freeman, Staff
(Lancaster, Pa.) Intelligencer Journal
Published: May 09, 2007 12:10 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - A little bell usually goes off in my head the minute I hear former athletes talk about how good present-day athletes have it these days.
"Back in my day, … " you know the routine.
The message always seems to turn to money, and, as we know, the athletes didn't make as much years ago as they do now.
Credence, though, is granted when it comes to Gale Sayers.
Prior to Lancaster Catholic High School's Athletic Department dinner Tuesday night at the Eden Resort Inn, the NFL Hall of Fame running back talked about the conduct of today's NFL players, particularly in light of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's recent upgrade of the league's conduct policy.
Sayers' opinion deserves weight because while he was arguably one of the best open-field running backs in NFL history — he was described as magic in motion — he carried himself with grace while he played and has done the same since he retired in 1971.
And, the little bell stopped ringing when Sayers said that he didn't begrudge today's players anything, particularly when it came to their salaries.
"But give me effort," Sayers said. "Some players don't give an effort."
In the NFL, effort comes with having received a gift. That gift is being able to play in the NFL.
Some players don't see it that way. Players like Adam "Pacman" Jones and Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry. Those two were the poster boys for current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revision of the league's conduct policy.
Jones has been arrested five times and involved in police investigations 10 times since entering the league. Goodell suspended him for the 2007 season.
There have been others. Henry (eight-game suspension) was the worst case in a bad news banner year for the Cincinnati Bengals, who had multiple players in brushes with the law. Then there was Chicago's Tank Johnson, who pleaded guilty to a felony weapons charge.
"They should have come out with those rules 10 years ago," Sayers told a visitor. "(Former commissioner) Paul Tagliabue said he was going to make some stricter rules but never did."
Goodell turned to suspensions — taking away a player's stage — because fines just weren't enough of a deterrent.
"Players think they can buy their way out of every problem," Sayers said.
Taking away playing time can chisel away at a player's prime. He won't get that time back. He may never be the player he was at the start of the suspension.
"Some players get old overnight," he said. "I've seen it happen. The average career in the NFL is 3½ years. That's it. A guy like "Pacman" Jones, he could be through. You never know."
The question is, will the suspensions of Jones and Henry be enough of a deterrent for other players? Will this year's draft picks know that, if they pick up that gun, they're jeopardizing a life that others only dream about?
"You hope that high school and college coaches will tell these young men, you have a great chance to make an impact on a game and a great living for yourself and your family," Sayers said. "All you have to do is keep your name clean."
Gale Sayers' era — he played from 1965-71 before knee injuries cut short his career — wasn't without its troublemakers. Instead of guns and drugs, it was gambling that got Green Bay's Paul Hornung and Detroit's Alex Karras in trouble.
"There wasn't a lot of things happening back then," said Sayers, who will be 64 next month. "There were less ways to get in trouble. But also, you didn't have investigative reporters. Back then, if a reporter saw something, he might have turned his back. Today, that stuff is in the paper."
In the end, though, the privilege of playing in the NFL got a little lost. Now, some players think they are owed careers in the NFL.
"In my whole career, I made $255,000," Sayers said. "Today, long snappers make $800,000 a year. So, I couldn't afford to get into trouble."
Nowadays, the NFL hopes taking away games will make players realize what a gift they have earned. A gift Sayers never took for granted.
By Kevin Freeman, Staff
(Lancaster, Pa.) Intelligencer Journal
Published: May 09, 2007 12:10 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - A little bell usually goes off in my head the minute I hear former athletes talk about how good present-day athletes have it these days.
"Back in my day, … " you know the routine.
The message always seems to turn to money, and, as we know, the athletes didn't make as much years ago as they do now.
Credence, though, is granted when it comes to Gale Sayers.
Prior to Lancaster Catholic High School's Athletic Department dinner Tuesday night at the Eden Resort Inn, the NFL Hall of Fame running back talked about the conduct of today's NFL players, particularly in light of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's recent upgrade of the league's conduct policy.
Sayers' opinion deserves weight because while he was arguably one of the best open-field running backs in NFL history — he was described as magic in motion — he carried himself with grace while he played and has done the same since he retired in 1971.
And, the little bell stopped ringing when Sayers said that he didn't begrudge today's players anything, particularly when it came to their salaries.
"But give me effort," Sayers said. "Some players don't give an effort."
In the NFL, effort comes with having received a gift. That gift is being able to play in the NFL.
Some players don't see it that way. Players like Adam "Pacman" Jones and Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry. Those two were the poster boys for current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revision of the league's conduct policy.
Jones has been arrested five times and involved in police investigations 10 times since entering the league. Goodell suspended him for the 2007 season.
There have been others. Henry (eight-game suspension) was the worst case in a bad news banner year for the Cincinnati Bengals, who had multiple players in brushes with the law. Then there was Chicago's Tank Johnson, who pleaded guilty to a felony weapons charge.
"They should have come out with those rules 10 years ago," Sayers told a visitor. "(Former commissioner) Paul Tagliabue said he was going to make some stricter rules but never did."
Goodell turned to suspensions — taking away a player's stage — because fines just weren't enough of a deterrent.
"Players think they can buy their way out of every problem," Sayers said.
Taking away playing time can chisel away at a player's prime. He won't get that time back. He may never be the player he was at the start of the suspension.
"Some players get old overnight," he said. "I've seen it happen. The average career in the NFL is 3½ years. That's it. A guy like "Pacman" Jones, he could be through. You never know."
The question is, will the suspensions of Jones and Henry be enough of a deterrent for other players? Will this year's draft picks know that, if they pick up that gun, they're jeopardizing a life that others only dream about?
"You hope that high school and college coaches will tell these young men, you have a great chance to make an impact on a game and a great living for yourself and your family," Sayers said. "All you have to do is keep your name clean."
Gale Sayers' era — he played from 1965-71 before knee injuries cut short his career — wasn't without its troublemakers. Instead of guns and drugs, it was gambling that got Green Bay's Paul Hornung and Detroit's Alex Karras in trouble.
"There wasn't a lot of things happening back then," said Sayers, who will be 64 next month. "There were less ways to get in trouble. But also, you didn't have investigative reporters. Back then, if a reporter saw something, he might have turned his back. Today, that stuff is in the paper."
In the end, though, the privilege of playing in the NFL got a little lost. Now, some players think they are owed careers in the NFL.
"In my whole career, I made $255,000," Sayers said. "Today, long snappers make $800,000 a year. So, I couldn't afford to get into trouble."
Nowadays, the NFL hopes taking away games will make players realize what a gift they have earned. A gift Sayers never took for granted.
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