[Tomcat68]

I disagree. In my opinion he signed a contract to play for the Bengals for the next few years, and he should honor that contract. If he didn't want to play in Cincinnati, he shouldn't have signed that contract extension.

This is not the same as people like us wanting to change jobs because we're unhappy. The difference is that most regular people who work don't have a signed contract binding them to work for the same boss for a set time. We can leave the job or we can be fired, both with appropriate notice. Professional athletes instead sign multiyear contracts in order to give teams the stability they desire, and in return the athletes get a big fat paycheck. Not a bad deal.

It's funny, you hear all the time about athletes complaining that they are underpaid and wanting to break or renegotiate their contract. Would any of these guys ever offer to give back some of their pay if they have an off-year? No, because they signed the contract and expect the team to honor its end of the deal.

In all honesty, it might be better for the team to trade him anyway, because he may end up being a disruption to the rest of the team all season, and they don't need that. But part of me wishes that they refuse to let him go, if only because of the principle of the matter.

The problem with most of this statement is that NFL contracts are very unique in the fact that they are very seldom taken to their completion. Also, a team can cut/release a player at any time, even if they're under contract, and they don't have to pay a penny of the remaining seasons on the contract. The only money that matters in a contract is the signing bonus. Everything from there on out is agreed to be on a "year to year basis" for renewal on which both sides must agree to pay/receive the specified amount for that particular year designated within the contract. If the team wants to get rid of the player, then it's just fine. No strings attached. If the player wants to go to a different team and/or renegotiate his contract, he must hold out and hope that the team will eventually cave to get them on the field, receive the franchise tag (and still possibly holdout), get traded, or crawl back with their tail tucked between legs and play for the money in the contract.

Contracts are extremely slanted in favor of teams in the NFL as opposed to players. They hold all the power over a player. While I think it is silly in most cases for a professional athlete to clamor for more money while they're making millions, Chad's situation isn't about money. He wants to see his team go out and make an effort to get better and improve their chances of winning. That's the purpose of the game to a player.