An Open Letter to David Mulugheta

[DieHard 2,061]

Mr. Mulugheta wrote an open letter to fans. It was called "Open Letter from NFL Agent to NFL Fans". I could not copy and past it. Sorry.

 

It was not overtly condescending, but there was some carefully worded phrases indicating that he thought fans were out of touch. We are, there is no doubt, unapologetically biased towards our team. We are unjustifiably against refs, agents and the Commissioner alike. We are fanatically unrealistic in the standards we hold the aforementioned. I am not denying that. But...

 

I think there is a profound disconnect with what our motivations are as fans. Mr. Mulugheta makes a statement about how frustrating it is reading fans statements about contract negotiations. An observationn that I share as a fan and do not take issue with. Although there are several statements that made me squirm a little. Several statements that bothered me. It was his final summary that helped me understand the queasy felling I felt while reading the article.

 

"You never sided with Goliath over David before, why start now?"

 

Do these guys really think we are siding with owners over players? David? Von Miller is David? I don't speak for all of us fans, but I think most of us think this way. There is a salary cap. There is a minimum you can spend. This has nothing to do with owners.

 

Really check time. My team (which in my case is the Chiefs but it doesn't really matter) has a maximum amount they can spend. If they give a disproportionate amount of that money to a select group of players, I can live with that. That is what you have to do in this market. But...

 

What gives my city the best chance of winning a championship? Our team has to come up with 52 players that can compete at an NFL level. And they have to pay them all within a set annual budget. As a fan, a stud player is not taking money out of the owners pocket. They are taking away my team's ability to compete. If they are worth that investment, I am good with it. If they are worth losing solid lunch pale journimen who fight and scrap for every inch, then I am good with it.

 

But please, don't, for a second, pretend that a top 5 draft pick who was the best player on the team, supersedes four lunch pale journimen who bring it on every Sunday. This is not a choice of spending money or not spending money. It is a choice of whether one stud player is worth 3 or 4 good players.

 

The owner is not Goliath and the Super Star is definitely not David. Goliath is the player that wants to suck up 20 percent of the salary cap and David is the undrafted free agent trying to earn a living.

 

Von Miller is not David. He is Goliath. You would be wise to understand that Mr. Mulugheta. I mean, we are the customer. That does not make us right, but it would at least warrent an understanding of why we take the positions we do. Is that too much to ask?

 

The Fans