At a time when NFL players don’t know how soon their next paycheck will come, there seem to be two groups of players: Those who were so irresponsible with their money that they’re now taking out loans just to get through the offseason, and those who managed their money responsibly and are doing just fine.
Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is in the latter camp. And he doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for those in the former camp.
“We knew that the lockout was coming for two years now. Everyone was instructed to prepare. Those guys that didn’t do that are going to get hurt, like they are. I have a good financial team and we’ve been preparing for this for a while. It’s not hitting me like it is a lot of other guys. I’m pretty comfortable in my living right now,” Briggs said on WSCR in Chicago.
Briggs is obviously right that every player should have prepared, but one of the biggest questions facing the players’ side in the ongoing labor battle is whether the players like Briggs who did prepare are in the majority. If they are, the players will be able to hold firm and drive a hard bargain with the owners. But if the majority of players are already struggling financially now, it’s going to be tough to keep them united when the threat of losing regular-season paychecks gets closer.