Retired NFL Players Awarded $28.1 Million

A federal jury has ordered the NFLPA to pay $7.1 million in actual damages and $21 million in punitive damages to retired players for failing to properly market the retired player's images. More on the story can be found here.

The retired players were claiming that their likenesses and career information was used by EA in their video games without proper payment. There was some evidence that the NFLPA intentionally negotiated a lower than market value price for the retired players as a favor to EA. A good breakdown of the situation can be found here.

The Impact Of Wilfork's DVD On Future Disipline Matters.

A DVD has apparently saved Vince Wilfork from at least a week's suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell met with Wilfork recently regarding a hit to the head on Denver Broncos QB Jay Cutler. It was reported that during this meeting Wilfork's wife Bianca gave Goodell a DVD of an alternate angle of the hit on Cutler that showed the hit might not have been to Cutler's head.

A league official has stated that the DVD was not clear enough to decide whether Wilfork hit Cutler in the head. However, the fact remains that, at least to the public eye, it looks as though Goodell's mind was changed because of a video angle that was discovered by Wilfork himself.

So what does this mean for the NFL going forward? They will surely contend that the DVD had nothing to do with Goodell's decision not to suspend Wilfork. However, players being suspended or fines will surely be searching all available angles to find the one that puts their hits or actions in the best light. Has Goodell now set the precedent that he will consider every possible angle that a player brings to him? Also, will Goodell decide the issue using the angle that is most favorable to the offending player or will he use another angle that is more clear or will he use all of the angles together in forming his decision?

Another question that is brought up is past discipline that may be based on angles that did not show what really happened. Will disciplined players be looking in the film room for tape that shows their hits were less severe? Also, is there any steps in place to ensure that the tapes have not been changed or doctored?

I believe that these are just some of the questions that Goodell will have to answer if the practice of looking at outside angles to decide discipline matter continues.

How much loyalty does a coach owe to a school when recruiting?

Normally a coach’s loyalty is not in question when recruiting player to a program. Recruiting is of course one of the key job requirements for a college coach. However, problems might arise when a coach knows he is on his way out of the door.

Such a situation has apparently happened with Houston Nutt and his staff. Nutt, the current head football coach at Ole Miss and former head football coach at Arkansas, is certainly not one new to controversy. Last month The Kansas City Star published a story chronicling first year Kansas QB Kale Pick. While Pick eventually chose Kansas, he was at one point committed to Arkansas.

The Star indicated that:

In late October, Nutt’s staff indicated to Pick that they didn’t expect to be at Arkansas after last season. On Oct. 22, with KU 7-0 and moving up the polls, Pick decommitted from Arkansas and immediately gave his pledge to the Jayhawks.

So were Nutt and his staff acting ethically when they told Pick that they did not expect to be at Arkansas more than a month before Nutt resigned? Should they have put the athlete they were recruiting before their employers in telling Pick of their expectations? Could this be construed as a way of making sure Arkansas was in a worse position talent wise once Nutt and staff were gone? These are just some questions that are brought up by this situation.