Post by wahl35 on Mar 2, 2020 15:14:22 GMT -5
from Peter King talking to Nate Solder:
New York Giants player rep Nate Solder has made $71 million in his nine seasons; if he finishes this season with the Giants at his current pay, that will rise to $84 million. He is one of the few big-money guys to vocally support the CBA proposal, and he will vote yes on the deal. “This is a great deal for the core players,” Solder told me Saturday. “Minimum salaries would go up significantly, with bumped-up benefits for current players and retired players. We’d increase the practice squad [from 10 to 14 by 2022]. Work rules would improve. I don’t think it’s perfect, but we’re making incremental gains on player health and safety. Some players have fallen victim to the thought if we turn this down, we’ll get something better. We might, but we might not. You have a couple of guys on Twitter who have millions of followers criticizing the deal. Other guys who support it might have 5,000 followers. Their voices aren’t loud. In some ways, I’m trying to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Solder says he’s talked to some of the minimum-salary players on the Giants, the players who, if they stayed at the league minimum under the new deal, would see salaries rise by $90,000 in 2020 and $175,000 in 2021. “I’ve asked at least 15 guys on our team, mostly minimum-salary guys or close to that, this question: ‘If you were able to make more money and get better benefits in exchange for a 17th game, would you do it?’ Everyone said yes.” Solder said he would abide by the majority vote. “I respect democracy, and I respect the process. The reps are passionate about doing the best for the players. A lot of guys have a fighter’s mentality to get the best deal for the most players. I respect that. But I would rather take the deal that’s presented here than put everyone in danger of not getting a deal.”