I approached him and asked how he was doing. I assumed he had been waived.
"They didn't cut me," he said. "I'm quitting."
It dawned on me at that moment that fighting and struggling to make an NFL roster is not for everyone. It is hard, stressful work.
Teams keep 53 of the 80 players who go to training camp. Probably 20 players in camp every year will never play in an NFL regular-season game - and never cash a game check.
Many of those players will try to keep the dream alive. They will continue to work out and remain in shape, in hopes they will get a break later. Some will give up and try to find work in another field. In this economy, this is not a great time to be entering the workforce.
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Question: If players get paid with game checks, how does a rookie free agent or draft pick have money to live on prior to the season if they do not get a signing bonus? (Dave C.)
Answer: Most rookies and first-year players on the 49ers have signed contracts that pay them $310,000 for the 2009 season. That is the minimum contract for a player who has yet to accrue an NFL season.
(A rookie is a player fresh out of college. A first-year player is a player who is a year or more out of college who has yet to be on an NFL roster during the regular season. There is no distinction between these players when it comes to an NFL minimum salary.)
Players only receive their salaries during the regular season. They receive 1/17th of their salaries every week during the regular season while they are on the roster.
Therefore, a player who is cut before the start of the regular season (and never gets on the roster during the course of the season) will not receive one penny of his scheduled salary. Any signing bonus, however, is theirs to keep.
Back in the day, many NFL players were forced to take other jobs in the offseason. Now, playing football is a year-round occupation. And players who take part in the offseason program and training camp get compensated above their signing bonuses or scheduled salaries.
During minicamps or training camp, players receive "per diems" that do not count against the team's salary cap but are considered benefits. Rookies receive $825 a week, while veterans get $1,225 for the 2009 season. The team can also put up players in a hotel during the offseason.
Players also receive money for taking part in the offseason program. Veterans receive $130 a day. In order to motivate players to come to the offseason program, the 49ers have made a practice of upping the ante. The 49ers generally negotiate bonuses in a new contract - from $25,000 to $500,000 if they show up for 90 percent of the offseason workouts. These bonuses count against the cap.
For example, veteran receiver Isaac Bruce had a $25,000 bonus written into the deal he signed in 2008. He will not receive it because he did not take part in the offseason program. Meanwhile, Nate Clements and Justin Smith will collect their $500,000 bonuses because of their regular attendance during the offseason.
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Hi Matt, Times have changed, I remember the NY Giants back in the late 50's giving $25 per sack to their defensive lineman. When there was a sack and several guys were around the qb they'd all raise their hands hoping they'd get the cash.
it must be nice to say to yourself "hrmm... i don't really feel like going out to Santa Clara to work out so I'm going to pass on that $25,000."
that's really interesting though. Are there ever any college players who leave early (before they graduate) and enter the draft and not get picked, and if so can they return to their respective universities and reclaim their scholarships? i would guess a guy who didn't get a degree that gets cut before the regular season would have a pretty hard time finding a job.
It is an NCAA rule that if you declared for the NFL draft you lose your eligibility thus scholarship. That's the way it is and more college players take that chance each year and lose than get drafted
In fact a career in the professional sports is just as likely to lead financial ruin then sucess with the reality many players declare bankruptcy after they leave the game five years. For some it is wealth and sucess, but for others it a dream that never pays off.
Matt, keep these questions coming, you should also do it during the regular season I love finding out about things I have never even thought about until I read it on here first.
I remember when a lot of players held second jobs. Particularly when players spent their entire careers playing for one team they were able to build successful second careers within the community in which they played. A number of 49ers used their names and ties to the community to become very successful entrepreneurs. Back in the 60's Mountain View H.S. employed several NFL players on the faculty. Two of my favorites were Tony Calvelli (49ers 1947) who headed up the PE Department and Paul Wiggin (an active All-Pro DE for Cleveland at the time) who was a substitute teacher. Note: Calvelli played C/G in 1939 & 1940 for Detroit and in 1947 for the 49ers at 5-10 and 189 lbs. That's a small db in today's game.
Was the quitter OL-DL Jason Tenner, out of Villanova? If so, here was an update of what he's done since:
http://www.svcn.com/archives/cupertinocourier/20051004/cu-sports2.shtml
Honestly, TE Sean Manuel was the one I vaguely remember most for leaving us in a lurch, except he was a draftee (not sure whether it occurred during the Stockton era).
No and no. I don't recall having any interaction with Tenner. But I closely followed the Manuel situation. Sean handed in his playbook to Dwight Clark after the 49ers waived his twin brother, Sam, a linebacker. Sean would have made the team that year. When Sean re-considered and asked to re-join the team, George Seifert said it was too late. --Matt M.
Apparently there was a coda to the Sean Manuel saga. Credit to Cecil Conley of the Contra Costa Times, who wrote on March 18, 2001:-
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Sean Manuel got a call last fall from his agent, who said the 49ers were interested in having him pay a visit for a workout because they were in need of a tight end.
Then three days later, Manuel got another call from his agent and was told the workout with the 49ers never would take place because he "was not welcomed back here."
Apparently someone in the 49ers organization remembered that Manuel had quit the team in 1997 even though he was likely to earn a roster spot ...