Zimmer looking for improvement on defense

there's a lot of generalizations in this statement, say i'll try to be brief...(yeah right)..

to say entertainers and football players are marketed differently is a little simplistic, I think. some entertainers are world famous. actors and famous musicians. like tom cruise and bono. but people in denmark probably aren't on first name basis with widespread panic or don cheadle. they're entertainers.

also, some football players are globally recognized. deion sanders. joe montana. if football is only marketed in north america primarily, why do we have a NFL Europe again?

furthermore, the idea of contracts are not honored in the NFL. this is common-knowledge. the eagles tore up mcnabb's contract to give him an extension. jerome bettis had his contract restructed several times. steve mcnair signed a contract that stipulated him to be paid upwards of $20 million this year. this is a contract he signed and the team agreed upon. yet they have no plans to pay him this and will probably release him...not honoring the contract. There is overwhelming evidence that contracts aren't holy documents that are never breached. This is just reality.

part of what ellis is asking is for more money (don't care what he says), more years, or to be traded or released. ellis i think would be satisfied if we released him, because he would get decent market value and he'd probably get to play in a system he'd fit in (just guessing, but he probably won't end up at McDonald's). the problem is, dallas doesn't want to LET HIM GO.  

also, if you believe, seriously, that owners market their teams to pay PLAYERS more money, as opposed to making themselves more money, there is some swampland I'd like to sell you. Cheap, affordable and perfect for condos.

also, if you believe, building a new stadium -- of which owners get ridiculous perks like being charged $1 rent for 100 years or getting $20 million upfront to put in their pockets -- is an investment back into their organization to help pay players big money, I must also tell you some other things: the earth is not flat, Elvis is dead, Jerry Jones did indeed have plastic surgery.

What are the players investing? How about their lives, their bodies, their well-being? Remember that Chicago game where Emmitt Smith was almost paralyzed trying to score a touchdown? Remember Troy Aikman forgetting who his fiance was after he got hit by Lavar Arrington? Remember Michael Irvin's neck-injury which could've potentially paralyzed him? Not to mention players who restructure their contracts to give their teams more cap space to sign players. Or the players who are involved in the labor union to make sure the players received a share of the revenue. Players not investing anything? WTF?!?!

Also, if you believe Washington D.C. is a small market, again, more swampland for sale. Cheap price!

To put this in prospective, greats like Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas and others, never received the type of money or salaries even Ellis receives. Yet back then, owners still made millions of dollars and ran that same line of investment. The reason players are paid what they are paid are through strikes, lawsuits, negotiation and forming their own union. The owners are not benevolent leaders. This isn't the Lion King. The owners fought tooth and nail to continue to hold these salaries down. They lost.

Any employee has a right to ask for more money or whatever. The employer can comply, negotiate, release him or say no. This is the way of the world.

But to act all self-righteous and indignant just because a player ASKS...as if making millions of dollars creates no-complaining covenant clause in your contract is just silly...