Gurley jealous of NBA contracts: 'I just want like $80M'
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley, who's due a base salary of $2.3 million this year, admitted Thursday that he and his colleagues are jealous of the rich, guaranteed deals NBA players are signing.
"Us NFL players, we're just mad about NBA contracts right now, that's all," Gurley said, according to Gary Klein of the L.A. Times. "I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 (million). It's crazy. It's insane."
Gurley, the runner-up in MVP voting a season ago, suggested recently that NFL players should force a work stoppage rather than continue to accept non-guaranteed contracts when the NFL and NFLPA negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement.
Not only have NBA players seen their contract values skyrocket in recent years due to the league's TV deal, but fully guaranteed contracts are also the norm. In the NFL, meanwhile, it took until March 2018 for quarterback Kirk Cousins to sign the first fully guaranteed contract in league history - he inked a three-year pact with the Minnesota Vikings.
And while 15 NBAers have salaries of at least $30 million, the only NFLer making such money is Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.