With football season upon us and training camps wrapping up, it seemed timely to consider the nature of contracts between owners and players. More particularly, how much leverage does a player have when “holding out” for more money?

NFL contracts are similar to other contracts. In order to have a valid contract, there has to be an offer, acceptance of that offer, and consideration exchanged between the parties. In the context of an NFL contract, owners pay players money, and players agree to give their best efforts in exchange for that money. A breach of a contract occurs when there is a valid contract between parties, one party performs under the contract, one party does not perform the contract, and the performing party is damaged. How does this relate to an NFL contract?

First, most NFL contracts provide that the team can cut the player at any time if his performance is lacking as compared to other players, the player engages in off the field conduct which is detrimental to the team, or for salary cap reasons. Therefore, when a player is cut by a team, even if he has a contract for that particular season, the team is not breaching the contract. This may seem harsh, but it is the way the contract is structured.

By comparison, short of injury or death, there is no real way out of a contract for an NFL player. Most NFL contracts provide that if a player refuses to play, the contract terms are “tolled,” meaning that when the player does come back, his contract continues. For example, if Lance Briggs sat out this entire season, his contract would be extended an additional year to account for the year he sat out. In sum, and as opposed to the contract rights granted a team, individual players have no way to terminate their contracts.

So what leverage does an NFL player have to force a team to renegotiate his contract? In essence, none. While an NFL contract can be renegotiated, this is usually done at the discretion of the team in order to lock a prized player up. Accordingly, players that are in the last year of their contract do have some leverage in trying to negotiate a better deal as this will keep them off the open market once the season ends. However, for players in the middle of a contract, trade demands and threats to hold out will probably not be enough leverage to force a team to renegotiate.

At the end of the day, an NFL contract is like any other. It is negotiated, can be renegotiated, and its terms are binding on the parties to the contract. While these contracts appear to be more advantageous to the teams, the player has to agree to the terms. And, as with any contract, if you sign on the dotted line, the expectation is that you will adhere to the terms of the contract, for better or worse.