In Reply to: I'm not against all multi-years posted by TJJ on May 01, 2025 at 13:55:50
I think 2 years will likely become the standard for anyone that has more than one year of eligibility remaining. I am not aware of anyone actually involved in the decision-making process suggesting that there should be exorbitant buyout clauses involved. Buyout clauses have never really been a part of athlete contracts. Once an athlete is under contract they are expected to playout the length of the contract or forfeit compensation for any non-guaranteed money left on the contract that they don't remain with the organization, and if they unilaterally breach the contract, then they may be required to pay back a predetermined portion of any signing bonuses received. But there are no buyout, if a pro-athlete doesn't want to play for the organization, they can leave, they just aren't free to sign with anyone else unless the organization chooses to release them from the contract, which in most cases they ultimately do once they determine the most cost effective manner for cutting their losses. From what I have heard, the mention of buyouts involved with NIL deals has been something of a misnomer, as rather than an actual buyout, the parties are seeking a return of money paid upfront for services that were not fulfilled. And as for preventing player mobility, these contracts are unlikely to even attempt to address or hinder that. At the end of day, no coach wants someone in the locker room that doesn't want to be there. In almost every case, organizations eventually relent, cut their losses and move discontents.
And where contract buyouts have traditionally been involved (with coaches), the terms have almost always favored the coaches over management - particularly in college sports where coaches have routinely been allowed to leave posts for a pittance of what it would have cost the university to fire them. The NFL is different in that head coaches are viewed much the same as athletes, who's rights to work are controlled by the franchise. If another organization wants a coach under contract, they need to negotiate a trade much like they would for an athlete, and just as with the athletes, the organization has the prerogative to state that the coach is not available for trade. The coach can then choose not to coach, in which case he'd forfeit all future payments and possibly have to return a percentage of whatever signing bonus he may have received, and also be prevented from taking a job elsewhere. If the guy wants out, most likely the organization comes to terms with whoever wants them rather than having someone leading the team who doesn't want to be there.