are nfl players overpaid ?

Araceli Reynoso Staff Writer @aracelireynoso_

“Blue 180, set, hike!”

The quarterback snaps the ball, and the play becomes alive with energy. The score is tied, with only a few seconds left on the clock. The play goes on to be the game-winning touchdown, and cheers fill the air.

For many of today’s young players, it has been their dream to play in the NFL. To grow up and be a successful quarterback such as the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning or to win seven Super Bowls like former New England Patriots’ Tom Brady.

Some of these young players are already having success, such as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who won Super Bowl LIV when he was just 24, Mahomes was going on in his third season in the league. Or there’s Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, who played in Super Bowl LVI just last year, during his second season. These players have made it a reality, and are now in the league with these superstars.

But whether the position is quarterback, wide receiver, or running back, for any of their dreams to happen, these young players must put in hours of hard work and dedication.

All of their hard work pays off the moment that their name is called on draft day, when they sign that first rookie contract. I know that it’s probably one of the best feelings out there, taking the pen and signing the paper.

Even though the world of the NFL to me is bright and wonderful, at the end of the day I often remember that it is all about money. Players do not get to choose where they want to go when they are traded or cut. And sometimes, contracts are just the very reason why a player doesn’t play.

When I see player interviews, they are often asked about whether or not a certain play was difficult or how other teammates being hurt has affected their team. It is not always easy for them to answer. In the comments, I’ll see people saying how ‘it must be so hard for the players to run around throwing a ball for three hours’, and that because they’re ‘getting paid so much money, they really don’t have anything to complain about. Some people say that these players are overpaid.

I think there’s definitely somewhere to draw the line on whether or not NFL players are overpaid.

One thing that I dislike is when a player wants a certain amount of money, and will not practice until they receive a word or some sort of notice that they will get the contract they want. I feel that this hurts the team because that player could be a big part of their stronger plays, and they are not practicing.

For example, in 2019, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott had one year left on his rookie contract. During this time, he chose to hold out on the season. Players eventually want to get paid, and at this point in his career, I believe that Ezekiel Elliott was deserving of his new contract, when the time came to be. In the 2019 season he had al- ready run for 1,357 yards with 12 touchdowns. So after his rookie contract was done, Elliott signed his new contract which was a six-year, $90 million dollar contract.

Now, three years later, I do not feel that he has lived up to the potential of his contract, which has also hurt the team in other ways, such as cap space. In 2022’s offseason, The Cowboys were limited when it came to signing new players. In the end, The Cowboys were only able to sign wide receiver James Washington, who used to be with The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dallas wanted to do more, because signing on more free agents during the 2022 offseason was a major goal for The Cowboys after struggling in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, and losing wide receiver Amari Cooper who was traded to The Cleveland Browns. Because of cap space, however, there was not enough room.

A similar situation could be seen with Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell was drafted in the 2013 NFL draft in the second round. In 2016, Bell ran for 1,884 yards in 12 regular season games and went on to rush for 170 yards in the playoffs. It was a great season.

But after not coming to terms with a long term deal that same season, Le’Veon Bell chose to skip training camp until he signed his franchise-tag deal before the 2017 season started. Going into the 2018 season, once again Bell and the team were unable to come to terms with a deal, and he did not return to The Steelers that season.

While Pittsburgh did not completely exclude the thought of Bell returning, and even offered him a five-year deal that would have made him the highest paid running back in the league during that time, Bell did not take the offer. To him there was a “lack of money.” Bell’s current salary at the time was less than what Pittsburgh was offering him. Le’Veon Bell later signed with the New York Jets in 2019.

The contract was a four-years, $52.5 million with $35 million guaranteed. During this time, it made Bell the second highest paid running back in the league.

Both situations are similar. Receiving large contracts that the player wants can have the effects of not playing as well, or leading to other outcomes such as not being able to sign other players that are needed to help the team improve. In other ways, there can also be outcomes when a player holds out. This then makes it hard for the team, especially if it’s an important starter. The team won’t know if they will have their starter ready to play until they get paid.

While I do know that NFL players work extremely hard to get where they are, it just doesn’t sit well with me when they holdout, or do not perform well under a large contract. It does not seem fair to the rest of the team.

And when it comes down to that final touchdown or field goal, their decision matters the most.

Coppell’s Radicic, Myers compete in prestigious All-American Bowl

It began with a phone call and ended with a whistle. Between picking up the phone last year and stepping onto the field on Jan. 7, plays were practiced, memories were made and brothers were bonded.

Coppell senior kicker Nicolas Radicic and cornerback Braxton Myers, who graduated in December and is now enrolled at Ole Miss, experienced a six-day event with two practices a day, hotel room shenanigans and lifelong bonds forged between brothers who had only met that week.

“Nobody really cared about what the result was, really it was about the whole weekend ahead of it,” Radicic said. “We traveled around San Antonio driving scooters and making memories, it was a fun experience. I’ve got guys who, even though I’ve just met them, I can call my brothers. When you’re around people who have a lot in common with you, who’ve all gone down their own paths and how we all got here, it was great.”

The All-American Bowl is an accolade given to high school football players for being the best, not just of their school or region, but across the country. With past attendees combining for 86 Super Bowl champions and 16 Heisman Trophy finalists, the invite is steeped in prestige and validation.

“It cements their legacy as high school football players,” Coppell football coach Antonio Wiley said. “They’ve been recognized as some of the top athletes in their class and the bowl gives them that last chance to compete on a high school level before getting to college. Once you’re there, with someone paying for your education, you have a job to do; the Bowl is that last chance to just be a kid and play the game for fun.”

Radicic got his shot off his leg, sending a 55-yard field goal through the uprights and a call to his inbox confirming his invitation to the game.

“I had to compete against 300 top kids in my class at a two-day camp. It came down to eight kids and the last man to miss a field goal,” Radicic said. “I kicked about 15, 50 plus-yard field goals and I finished with a 55 yarder. I heard about this game and got an invite to fly out to Las Vegas and compete for the spot. Once I [was] selected I knew I had to flip the switch, it was a dream to get that spot.”

Myers could not be reached for comment.

As their story concludes, Radicic and Myers are aware of the impact and legacy they’ve left behind as Coppell athletes and community members, and their coaches know it.

“For seniors, setting the bar is a big deal,” Wiley said. “When you walk out of a program, you set that bar as high as you can, and you make everybody chase it. I think we have a lot of young talent here and those guys should be chasing the guys like Nic Radicic and Braxton Myers, trying to outdo their accolades and be better. If you chase somebody, even if you fall short of what they’ve done, you’re still going to land in a re ally great place, but if you exceed what they’ve done, where’s that going to take you?”

The selection is a culmination of hard work, but not the end of their journey –Radicic will enroll at Indiana University and become a Hoosier this fall while My ers has already enrolled at Ole Miss as a current Landshark. The two aren’t only football players, rather using football as an avenue to develop themselves as hu man beings.

“There was no one thing that [Radicic and Myers] did, it was a cu mulative body of work, long hours on the football field practicing, mastering and perfecting their craft,” Wiley said. “It’s like play ing a video game: you’re work ing through stages. The All-Amer ican Bowl is that final stage in that high school era of athletics, but it’s also the door to that college era. The great ones are the ones who can handle that big transition – you’ve got to prove yourself again.”

Their chapter as Cowboys coming to a close, both young men seek to turn the page onto the new life they’re writ ing for themselves. You might find them spending hours on the gridiron or roll ing around the city on scooters, but rest assured that they’ll be working hard to set the bar ever higher for those that seek to follow in their footsteps.

“They’re free spirits out there, but we make sure we also build the young men, making sure that they’re always doing the right things, in the hallways as well as on the football field,” Coppell assistant Abu Conteh said. “I think that’s what we do a good job of: we let them be themselves, but we hold them accountable at the same time. They’ve bought in and they truly believe that they’re winners

Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community

Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community

Maya Palavali Staff Cartoonist @mvpalovalley

From being a group of people with no title, the co-founders molded it into a school club and a part of the coed Ultimate Frisbee team.

“When we started last year, there were five or six of us with no coach, playing for fun,” Horng said. “Then, we decided, ‘you know what? Let’s start a team.’”

Coppell senior Ethan Horng and Coppell 2022 alum Sharan Sethi co-founded the current Coppell Ultimate Frisbee team last year based on their mutual love for the game.

“Everybody’s throwing a Frisbee at some point,” Horng said. “But most people have never put the time into actually learning the proper way to play.”

Despite the COVID pandemic, students all over the country have maintained their dedication to the Ultimate Frisbee league, including students from Coppell High School.

“COVID killed almost every team in the state a couple of years ago,” Horng said. “We had to rebuild every team that wanted to play again.”

Unlike Horng and Sethi, most of the members had less experience playing. Instead of falling behind, the more experienced players helped anyone who needed it.

“I never played Ultimate Frisbee before joining the team,” Coppell senior co-head captain Nandhini Parthi pan said. “The [officers] and coaches were very sup portive and created a positive environment where we could develop our skills.”

CHS senior Kaveen Patel serves as a co-head cap tain. The team practices three times per week, in ad dition to competing in tournaments and scrimmages.

The field is always dotted with athletic shirts every practice, filled with dedicated team members com peting. Horng said 20 members is the ideal size for a frisbee team, as his Coppell team typically has about 14 players. Along with weekly practices, the team com petes across the state. The Coppell team plays many matches with organizations in the DFW area, including Plano, Flower Mound Marcus and Lake Highlands. The team participates in state and college tournaments.

“We recently played down in Waco tin,” Horng said.“The whole team three cars and everybody squeezed in there as we drove a couple hours.”

Despite being player officiated, the state competitions are organized by Texas Youth Ultimate and are bracket-style. The coach’s job is unconventional; rather than being an active teacher, Coppell 2016 alum Aaron facilitate this environment where the players can grow not just as athletes, but also as young adults.” Being on the team means more to the players than just having a good time. For most, it provides a special community.

“When I first joined, I was new to the U.S. and didn’t have many friends,” Coppell senior social media manager Vivek Ghadicherla said. “They were some of the first ones I made here.”

From throwing a disc in their backyard, Horng has been able to play with his younger brother as peers rather than siblings.

“This is the only time I’ve been on the same team as Ethan for a sport,” Coppell sophomore Jadon Horng said. “I’m glad I get to be able to do it with him before he leaves for college.”

The team is focusing on getting more upperclassmen and underclassmen to join for the last semesters, a time of many activities.

“We are starting our major recruiting push for the spring season,” Horng said. “The more people we can recruit, now we can train them to play at state.”

In addition to the push to recruit players, the team’s priority is to make sure the Coppell Ultimate Frisbee