NFL Contracts – Kam Chancellor. Kam Chancellor of the should-be Superbowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, who signed a contract extension for $28 million was unsatisfied. In fact, Chancellor, who is considered one of the best (if not the best) strong safeties in the NFL was so unsatisfied that he refused to suit up for the first two games of the NFL season. That decision cost him over $535,000 in salary and it cost the Seahawks two losses to begin the season.
After my post last week where I called out the NFL for charging the military to honor them, this debate saw its way to my inbox: (1) from an ethics perspective, should Chancellor renegotiate his contract? and (2) should the NFL allow him to renegotiate his contract? One buddy of mine argued that Kam signed a contract and therefore he should honor it, after all, nobody held a gun to his head when he agreed to get paid almost $30 million for playing the game. I suppose most people would argue similarly, including me if I weren’t a damn lawyer.
I see it like this…it’s the NFL’s fault. They allow players to renegotiate their contracts and in doing so they set a precedent. If the NFL is going to allow some NFL players to restructure their contracts, then they have to make it available to all the players. Knowing that other players have been successful in renegotiating their contracts, why shouldn’t Kam give it shot as well? So, from an ethics point of view, I don’t think it’s fair to judge Kam…he’s just doing what others have done before him, and successfully at that.
On the other hand, I feel the NFL has wrongly opened the door to renegotiation. If the consensus is that players should have to honor the contract they signed in good faith, then the NFL should simply disallow any renegotiation…period…no exceptions. One of my readers suggested there should be a clause in all NFL players’ contracts that if they fail to suit up, and in doing so are deemed in violation of their contract, that their contract be null and void with no further compensation. I think that’s a fine idea except it would probably be used as a tactic rather than accepted as a punishment. So, I will add this…if the contract is deemed null and void with no more compensation, then the player should also be unable to sign another contract with any NFL team for 24 consecutive regular season games, including any playoff games that fall in-between. That ought to do it, eh? Your thoughts?
I Am Gump. I stood up, paused, and took off. I ran for about 30 minutes and then decided since I’d run that far I might as well run some more. So, I ran another 30 minutes up the hill to the mountain and since I’d gone that far I decided to head towards the park. Then, rather than run across the country I decided to run home…that’s enough.
Darth Vader Dad. My wife has been in Israel on assignment for a week (and in NYC before that and in Florida before that … ahhh to be married to a 
Paris – Their NYC. I couldn’t not write something. Every football game yesterday acknowledged it and Facebook was all over it. Even though the death toll and number of injured was far less, comparisons to 911 were everywhere. And then I saw many posts about how this is just one terrorist attack and that we should be ashamed of ourselves for not reacting this way to the countless other massacres taking place all over the world. Well, maybe that’s true, but we react to the things that hit home…it’s human nature. I will not apologize for reacting to what happened in Paris.
It’s just hate – pure evil justified by distorted/twisted minds. It’s the Emperor in Star Wars – evil for evil’s sake. In my last year of law school I worked on a first-degree murder case…the accused was already in prison for killing his lawyer and was now being charged with killing his sister for insurance money. I got a sense of the depravity. It’s not something you can explain…it’s just warped…shaped by evil.
So what do you say? Uh…I don’t know? Uh…I can’t predict rates so it’s a crap-shoot? Uh…me donut know what going to happen to rate? 
Sometimes I absolutely hate human beings…and sometimes I absolutely love them. 
My consolation prize? The Minnesota Vikings crushed the San Diego Chargers. Now you’d think that living in San Diego for 15 years would turn me into a Chargers fan, and you’d be right. Unless they’re playing the Vikings. In that case I hope for the Vikings to humiliate them on the field and turn those 300+ football players into crying babies. Mission accomplished. That’s all I have to say about that.
The big news will be next week’s Jobs Report. After a fantastic week for bonds with rates dipping to lows not seen in 5 months, next week’s report will likely have a significant impact on pricing. A strong Jobs Report, which will tell traders the economy is stronger than expected, would spur investments into stocks. The result would likely be a sell-off of bonds and forcing rates/pricing worse. However, a weak Jobs Report, which will tell traders the economy is weaker than expected, would spur investments into safer bonds instead of stocks. The result would be improved rates/pricing. I’m really throwing some positive energy towards the latter scenario…if it happens bonds could really push much higher greatly improving pricing. More on this next week…
Blood Moon Up – Inflation Down – Bonds Up. For the first time in 33-years, a blood moon appeared the other night. What I imagined was how our ancestors thought about it. Even today it gives a sectarian feeling, theological, supernatural, or at a minimum, a general spiritual feeling. At the fear of sounding completely sappy, I found it inspiring.A “Blood Moon” happens when the Earth eclipses a full Moon, that is the direct sunlight is blocked. But the sun’s rays still light up the moon. Because this light has traveled through the Earth’s atmosphere, it causes reddish or brownish image. Depending on what time at night you witnessed it, the alluring image changed…each incredible…each inspiring. Here are some photos from the other night: 
You see, bonds hate inflation so when there is none, bonds appear attractive. Traders got that message and started investing in bonds and when that happens our rates/pricing improve – that is the direct correlation between bonds and our rates.
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