Introduction
General
Being an NFL player offers considerable advantages to a person. However, at the same time it is connected with certain challenges and problems. People who want to become NFL players have to go through a lot of trainings and preparations that will make them ready for the NFL career physically and, what is of not less importance, psychologically. The career in the NFL is connected with a lot of physical pressure that can be experienced during games and trainings, and the emotional stressing that happens every time when a young player has to face the audience of about 50, 000 people who came to the arena to watch the game (NFL Web Site, 2008).
Publicity
Besides, the career of an NFL player is a rather public position and this fact presupposes many public activities for players. These activities can range from being present at various charity events carried out by the player’s team or NFL to filming in ads for TV and being present in different TV shows and programs. The employer, of course, expects a maximum of use from the player to his team. This use is counted by the player’s activities during games, as well as the popularity of the player in public, which brings additional profit to the team. Sometimes, these additional profits from this or that player’s being in a team are bigger that his playing characteristics can bring (Raiders Website, 2008).
Preparations for NFL Career
Initial Stages
When one wants to become an NFL player a considerable preparation is necessary to achieve the standards that are appropriate in this league. Every one starts his career at school while playing for the school team, then the career develops to the college of the university, although many people give up their attempts to become famous already after school. But even if a person goes through it and becomes one of the prominent players in his college or university team, there is no guarantee that the person will become a professional player. To achieve this, every beginning player has to possess certain qualities that are typical not of all people.
Draft
Physical and emotional endurance are very important for NFL players and people who want to become ones must take special trainings beyond their college sporting activities. Only this way, people can get the physical conditions appropriate for playing in the NFL, but this is not all that is needed. Teams are often ruled by their own interests while choosing the players at drafts, so the person who wants to be drafted has to possess certain personal qualities or even to have charisma so that to persuade team’s officials to draft him (Ross, 1999).
Analysis
Longevity and Further Perspectives
Due to all the preparations and training that players have to take up to become physically and emotionally fit for their NFL careers, their longevity in the game can vary considerably. Average longevity for NFL players is about 10 – 15 years but there also cases when some players stayed in the game for 20 and more years. Of course, these cases were typical of early era of NFL when physical pressure was not so hard and people did not spend so much energy while developing their careers.
Trainings and games did not demand so much endurance because the speed of game was lower. Nowadays, the situation has changed and the speed became much higher, so the longevity of careers decreases. At the same time, players tend to change their positions in the field with their aging and choose the positions that demand less amount of energy – backs, punters, etc. Finally, the retired NFL players have good perspectives for jobs, as they can become coaches of NFL teams. Those who do not want to connect their future with NFL, can become teachers of physical training or take up other careers connected with sports. There are also possibilities for them to take up business or commerce (NFL, 2007).
Salaries and Benefits
NFL players earn high salaries during their careers and the rates of the salaries are dependant on the efficiency in the game and the benefits their playing and outside activities bring to the team. Nowadays, the salaries of NFL players are various but the fact is that they earn much more than other sportsmen with possible exceptions of soccer, basketball and professional boxing. Here is the table of salaries growth in Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders and New York Giants (Giants Web Site, 2008).
It shows that over the past few years teams started to pay more to their players. This table also allows making conclusions about the total benefits of the teams and about their total expenditures. The table covers the last 4 years in the development of NFL and demonstrates the growing popularity and profitability of this league for both players and team owners (NFL, 2007):
Job Expectations
Besides all the expenses for players’ salaries, teams have to insure the work environment for the players that would guarantee their best playing. This is achieved by presenting accommodations and personal cars to players who come from other cities. Also financial aids are given to the new players in teams so that they could live without any trouble about food or clothes and were concentrated exclusively on playing.
Players also are supplied with all the necessary equipment for training and recovery after injuries they get during games. Locale of the team is also important so the teams, in order to attract the most skillful players, try to build their training camps in prestigious areas. All this shows that people who want to be NFL players are striving not only for fame and success, but for money and wealth as well, because being an NFL player is rather advantageous for a person (NFL Web Site, 2008).
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that NFL is a rather profitable organization that becomes more and more popular in the USA and abroad. People who want to be NFL players have to go through considerable training and tests, but if they get drafted by some NFL team they get chances for wealthy living and being famous. NFL players benefit not only from their salaries but also from advertising contracts that are offered to them by various companies that want their goods to be promoted by famous people.
Moreover, NFL players have nice perspectives after ending their career as their professional qualities and fame provide them with employment opportunities and chances to launch their own businesses. An NFL player is a person that earns a lot of money for doing the job that he likes – playing football and winning cups and prizes.
References
Charles K. Ross (1999). Outside the Lines: African Americans and the Integration of the National Football League. New York University Press.
Editors at the NFL (2007). 2007 NFL Record & Fact Book (Official National Football League Record and Fact Book). NFL.
Oakland Raiders official web site. Web.
New York Giants official web site. Web.
The NFL Official Website. Web.