Adalius Thomas rips schedule plan
April 4 Boston Herald
"Adalius Thomas slammed the NFL as well as its owners yesterday, taking them on for considering the addition of more regular-season games, especially if it doesn't come with commensurate pay for the players.
The Patriots linebacker also wasn't too pleased with some of the rules changes just passed by the league, especially the so-called "Brady rule," as well as several other past policy items.
Thomas' ire was especially stoked by discussion of the proposed expansion of the 16-game regular season to 17 or 18 games, and converting one or two of the current preseason games into regular-season contests.
"My idea of it? It (stinks)," Thomas said.
He didn't want to hear about the added revenue coming with more games, and the bigger pot to draw from for all parties involved.
"For me, the money thing, stop. Just stop. If you want to cry about money, then open your books up to an independent audit to really show how much money you're making," Thomas said. "If you really want to cry about money, open your books up, put what you really make in the paper like you have put our salary in the paper every year so the fans can say, 'They're making this much money. Why aren't they doing this?' "
The linebacker, who was the player rep during four of his seven seasons with the Ravens, also wasn't buying commissioner Roger Goodell's contention that players already are compensated for playing a 20-game season.
"No, we do not," said Thomas, who claimed Goodell wasn't being totally truthful with that claim. "You get paid (in the) preseason totally different than you do in the regular season."
Players receive 17 checks during the regular season, which includes one during the bye week. During the preseason, NFL players are paid on a per diem basis. The NFL Players Association confirmed that veteran players will earn $1,225 per week during the 2009 preseason, with an additional $200 for each of the four preseason games. Rookies earn $825 per week.
"So you're telling me, Tom Brady is going to play a regular-season game, that would have been a preseason game, for $1,200?" Thomas said. "You got four preseason games that you're paying people, and you got a set salary from somebody that would make their normal salary. If you made $5 million that year, you're almost making $1 million a month based off the football season, so instead of getting paid your regular check you're going to get paid ($1,225), and you're telling me I'm getting paid?
"Your ticket prices don't change for preseason, so why does our paycheck? That doesn't make any sense to me: We already get paid. No, you already get paid. Don't give me that B.S. I've been around too long for that. That's crazy."
Goodell was asked at a recent meeting of league owners if he expected push-back from the players. He then offered his take on the compensatory aspect of an expanded season.
"They are being paid for the preseason games," Goodell said. "It's all part of our total gross revenue, and it's calculated up and they get a percentage of that. They might not get a check cut during that week, but that is how they're paid and those revenues are part of that. That's something that they have to understand, and I've said that to players directly and it's something we'll continue to reinforce it with them."
Thomas still didn't concede, and said if he wasn't going to be paid like a regular-season game for the additional games, he was simply going to take them off.
"So you're telling me you're going to add a week, but you're going to pay me like the preseason? We're not doing that," Thomas said. "Well, you can mark me down on the injured list for two weeks. You can put that in your books. You done lost your mind."
As far as the "Brady rule," which now prohibits a prone defensive player from lunging or diving at the lower leg of a quarterback, Thomas didn't sound like a fan."
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