- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 34,569
- Reaction score
- 38,558
- Points
- 113
- Location
- between $2 short & ten buck two
Don’t forget the cheating, not just video but all aspects of the game.
Salute the nation
Watt gets paid
- Thread starter KentuckySteeler
- Start date
Don’t forget the cheating, not just video but all aspects of the game.
Salute the nation
Could have 75 coaches, but if they're not good coaches, or if the HC just over rules and micro manages them, which is the case here, it won't matter. Tomlin doesn't want anyone that may be smarter than him or someone that may question him.
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 15,199
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Lebanon, OH (Near Kings Island)
First off they didn’t have to put everything in escrow back then. Pretty sure that wasn’t a thing in Cowhers era either but I could be wrong. It is not about not having the money it is simply not having it in liquid assets to be able to put it in escrow and untouchable. It is a huge issue for the Bengals and Mike and Katy Brown. It is a big part of the reason they are having a hard time with signing Trey after tying up so much capital with the Burrow and the WR’s.
What teams are you referring to specifically? Im going to go out on a limb and say throws across the middle are generally low amongst all teams relative to other types of pass routes. I would think its just a far less success rate due to elevated risk. I just dont think it's as prevalent as you make it out to be and is more predicated on a game to game basis depending on weakness of CBs and Lbs and defensive schemes
Typically you have to have immaculate timing and great scheming/creativity to get guys open going across the middle. I just dont think the Steelers have had a whole lot of confidence in QB personnel to get the job done and with good reason and we know what their OC situation has been.
There's a biblical quote that says
2 Cor 10:12
they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Steelers aren't like most teams and most teams aren't like them. Whether it's personnel, coaching etc each team is limited, but youre especially limited if you dont think your QBs can make the throws. It's much safer to play to your strengths then to put your team behind the 8 ball trying to be like other teams when you dont have the luxury those other teams may have.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 4,556
- Reaction score
- 9,105
- Points
- 113
Let's look at the NFL Champs, the Eagles, coaching staff and we'll treat that coaching staff as the gold standard at the moment. The main difference in coaching staffs when lined up with the Steelers, is that their coaches are more specialized like having a passing game coordinator and running game coordinator. What do they do?
Passing Game Coordinator
- Designs and coordinates the passing offense, focusing on play concepts, route combinations, and strategy for passing situations such as third down, red zone, two-minute drills, and specific down-and-distance scenarios.
- Works closely with the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach to install and refine pass plays, often leading game plan development for the aerial attack.
- Prepares situational plans for passing downs, helping to break down opponent pass defenses, and suggesting in-game adjustments for maximum effectiveness.
- May also participate in teaching and overseeing position groups, often quarterbacks or wide receivers.
Running Game Coordinator
- Designs and coordinates the running attack, developing the team's run schemes, blocking assignments, and overall run game philosophy.
- Collaborates with the offensive line and running backs coaches to implement run plays and ensure cohesive execution in both zone and gap schemes.
- Breaks down opposing run defenses to identify vulnerabilities, then proposes game plan adjustments to exploit them.
- Oversees run-focused segments of practices and film study, emphasizing technique and decision-making in the run game.
So in addition to all of this, Arthur has to fulfill his Offensive Coordinator duties as well. Can you imagine how much more time Arthur Smith would have if these tasks were delegated to competent coaches? Yeah, that's partly why the Eagles were 8th in the league in yards per game compared to the Steelers at 23rd. That, and a veteran OL and Saquon freak'n Barkley.
Do you honestly see Tomlin allowing any guys like that do anything like that here?
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 4,556
- Reaction score
- 9,105
- Points
- 113
**** NO!!! That's the whole point of this god foresaken thread. Eagles' fans are toppling streetlamps, setting fire to parked cars, and punching police horses celebrating another championship while we suffer yet another drought in playoff wins. This organization has gone from a team who waged war on opposing teams to a complete and utter joke where teams are publicly laughing at the Pittsburgh Steelers in the press. THE Pittsburgh STEELERS. **** does that piss me off.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
Bingo, wether it’s Tomlin not wanting a modern, complete staff or Rooney not seeing the value of it/wanting to pay for it, the game has passed this organization by, the only question is there any self relfection, humility, or willingness to evolve among Rooney or Tomlin to do something about it
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
Still waiting for you to provide some evidence you know anything about the finances/revenue/bottom line of the Steelers organization or the Rooney family to support your claim they don’t have the financial resources to pay for a full coaching staff
Until then this is just more excuse making from you for the suck fest of the past 8 season per your usual narrative
Oh, uncinch your panties. You are fighting where there is none, because I conceded, in my first response to you, that you may be right. I don't see it that way, but I am old school. Maybe a bigger staff is the way to go today. But my first and foremost concern is getting quality coaches. Getting quality coaches is more important to me than amount of coaches.
I guess it has been reported the Steelers have the smallest staff in the league. Let's say that is true, 31 other teams have bigger staffs. So the teams that finish better than the Steelers...it's due to those larger staffs? How the hell do explain those teams that do worse? Quality comes first, after that I don't give a shiit how big or small it is. If they have 80 good coaches on staff, great!
The Eagles had those things in 2023, lost 6 of their last 7 games and were out in the 1st round of the playoffs. Sirianni and the Eagles, unlike Tomlin and the Steelers, fired some guys and got better coaches. They may be a shining example of what I am saying. After '22, the Eagles lost Gannon to the Cardinals and the guy to the Colts. They just promoted, and it didn't go well. The size wasn't different, but they made the wrong hires. They fixed that in '24 and won a SB. At the end of the day, they got better coaches. And Barkley.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
Ok professor: How about not winning a playoff game in 8 years as maybe a reason to change what you’re doing and modernize your coaching staff like adding a passing and running coordinator as has been talked about in this thread? Because the team has been so awesome at passing the past 8 years??
You’re a pretentious, know it all *** hat and it bleeds into all of your arguments. You don’t know anything more about football than anyone else here, I bet you have some crappy advanced liberal arts degree collecting dust on a wall, as do I. The difference is I don’t talk down to people like a elitist prick
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 34,569
- Reaction score
- 38,558
- Points
- 113
- Location
- between $2 short & ten buck two
My point is it’s the coast of doing business, yet it’s another excuse for the poor coaching staff Tomlin has retained.
Not buying it as an excuse, all other teams have to comply, like it or not.
The poultry amount of wages to increase the coaching staff is similar to droplets to a pond.
All tax deductible as well.
Salute the nation
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 34,569
- Reaction score
- 38,558
- Points
- 113
- Location
- between $2 short & ten buck two
One would think Tomlin would've looked into those things after getting embarrassed by Tebow and Bortles, but his ego will not allow that, instead of trying those things he hires one of his best friends and college coaching buddy Randy Fichtner, then after that he hires a guy that has no business being an NFL OC, but Matt Canada recruited Tomlin's son to play at Maryland, then he hires one of the greatest DC minds ever to live, Austin to run the highest paid defense in the NFL, when Brian Flores was in the building. Tomlin's ego has destroyed this team, he just will not hire anyone that may appear smarter than him or give him any pushback on what he wants to do.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
- Messages
- 34,569
- Reaction score
- 38,558
- Points
- 113
- Location
- between $2 short & ten buck two
You don't? What would you call your last 3 posts to me? Have I ever called you names? Or questioned your intelligence? Or lack thereof? Look in the mirror.
Changing things...they should. If that means a bigger staff, fine. But that isn't the end all. It has to be a good staff.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
I’ll be anxiously awaiting your next analogy to hunting dogs, psychology, brain surgery, rocket ships, or r*cism to justify your veiled defense of these past 8 years professor dbag, have a great day
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 15,199
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Lebanon, OH (Near Kings Island)
Chill, I only said it may be one of the reasons. I never said it was. It was simply in response to someone making the claim it was because they are cheap. I know it IS an issue in doing contracts for players. I am simply speculating that it may contribute to the coaches.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2014
- Messages
- 13,305
- Reaction score
- 11,087
- Points
- 113
Just turn on any game on any given Sunday during football season and you will see teams throwing to the middle of the field. Hell. If you tune into a Steeler game you will see it every other pass. For some reason our ILBers drop 10 to 15 yards into coverage simply giving up the short underneath pass....usually that will be on a 3rd and short.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
I’ll take that as no you have no proof, cool
Ok I’ll settle for proof of your claim their finances make it hard to do contracts then, or you can raise the white flag on this latest version of your Tomlin/Rooney apologist argument ….
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 15,199
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Lebanon, OH (Near Kings Island)
Here is an article that discusses the issue. Williamson and Lolley as well others have discussed it ad nauseum on the talk shows.
The NFL’s Billions Locked Away: How Outdated Escrow Rules Prevent Fully Guaranteed Contracts
Victor Menendez
Victor Menendez
Sports Management Specialist & Business Lawyer | Dual MBA from ESEI & Collège de Paris
Published Mar 10, 2025+ Follow
The NFL’s Escrow Rule: The Billion-Dollar Roadblock to Fully Guaranteed Contracts
In the NFL, where billionaires play chess with millionaires, there’s an obscure but wildly important rule that quietly controls how teams structure contracts: the escrow mandate. It’s the reason why fully guaranteed contracts remain a unicorn in professional football. It’s also the reason why some NFL owners are cash-poor despite their teams being worth billions, and why guys like Patrick Mahomes get half a billion dollars on paper, but not in reality.
So let’s break it down. What exactly is the escrow rule? Who benefits from it? Who suffers because of it? And most importantly—where does all that money actually go?
Why Does the NFL Require Guaranteed Money to Be Held in Escrow?
Let’s rewind to the 1960s. The NFL wasn’t the financial juggernaut it is today. Teams were much more unstable, and owners weren’t exactly rolling in cash. Players (rightfully) feared that if a team went bankrupt or an owner just didn’t feel like paying, their guaranteed money would disappear. So, the league created a rule that requires teams to deposit guaranteed contract money into an escrow account, ensuring players would always get paid, no matter what happened to ownership’s finances.Sounds reasonable, right? In theory, it protects players. But in reality, it’s a massive financial anchor that limits how teams operate.
How the Escrow Rule Shapes Contracts and Hurts Cash-Strapped Owners
Here’s the problem: Not all NFL owners are built the same. Some are Walmart-heirs like the Waltons (Broncos), or tech moguls like David Tepper (Panthers), who can cut a check for $200 million tomorrow and not even flinch. But others—like Mike Brown (Bengals) or Mark Davis (Raiders)—don’t have that kind of liquid cash lying around.So when a team offers a player a $150 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, the owner has to put that $100 million into escrow immediately. That’s real money, not theoretical money. And that means some owners simply can’t afford to hand out massive guarantees, because they’d have to park that cash in an account where it just sits instead of being reinvested elsewhere.
The Kirk Cousins and Deshaun Watson Domino Effect
For years, NFL teams found ways to structure contracts with huge numbers but not much actually guaranteed. Then Kirk Cousins, of all people, broke the system. His 2018 deal with the Vikings was fully guaranteed, shaking up the league and setting a precedent.Then came Deshaun Watson’s unprecedented $230 million fully guaranteed contract with the Browns. This wasn’t just a contract—it was a nuclear bomb for the escrow rule. If the Browns had to put $230 million into escrow, imagine what that did to their ability to spend elsewhere. Other owners—especially the ones who aren’t sitting on endless cash—hated this move. It set a dangerous precedent that they didn’t want to become the norm.
And guess what? It hasn’t. Despite Watson’s deal, other quarterbacks (even Lamar Jackson) haven’t been able to replicate that kind of fully guaranteed payday. Why? Because of the escrow rule.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Where Is All This Money Sitting? Who Controls It?
Great question. That money doesn’t just disappear. It sits in accounts controlled by the NFL and its owners, basically collecting dust. In theory, it ensures financial stability. In reality, it’s a pile of billions that could be reinvested in team infrastructure, stadiums, analytics, or even additional player contracts—but instead, it just sits there.Imagine you’re an NFL owner. You have to park $150 million in an account you can’t touch, while your competitor—who’s wealthier—can afford to do so easily. That’s the competitive imbalance the rule creates.
How Much Will NFL Teams Lock in Escrow This Offseason?
With a record-breaking free agency period expected, we could see over $1 billion locked into escrow accounts across the league. That’s money that won’t be used for training facilities, player benefits, or staff salaries—it’ll just sit in financial purgatory.How Does This Compare to Other Sports?
The NFL’s escrow rule is unique among major professional sports leagues. In the NBA and MLB, teams are not required to put guaranteed contract money into an escrow account. That’s why you see fully guaranteed contracts as the norm in those leagues.- NBA: Every max contract you see—LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo—is fully guaranteed. Owners don’t need to front the entire amount in an escrow account, so they can structure deals without financial constraints.
- MLB: Baseball has no salary cap and no escrow rule, which is why you get decade-long, fully guaranteed deals like those of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, or Bryce Harper. Owners have deep pockets, but they don’t have to lock away hundreds of millions in untouched accounts.
- Soccer (European Football): Unlike American sports, European clubs operate under a different financial model, often using broadcasting and sponsorship revenue to fund contracts in real time. While there are financial regulations like UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, there’s no equivalent escrow system forcing clubs to stash cash in a separate account.
The result? More financial flexibility, higher guarantees, and fewer artificial restrictions on contracts. Meanwhile, NFL teams are still bound by a rule designed for an era when franchises weren’t worth billions.
Should the Escrow Rule Be Eliminated?
At this point, the rule is outdated. The NFL is worth hundreds of billions. Teams aren’t folding overnight like they did in the ‘60s. Theoretically, the NFL could guarantee contracts itself or create a more flexible system. But here’s the reality:- Owners love the escrow rule because it gives them an excuse to avoid fully guaranteed contracts.
- The NFLPA wants it gone but hasn’t had the leverage to make it happen.
- Some owners genuinely can’t afford to change it.
Until something shifts, the escrow rule will remain a massive reason why the NFL lags behind the NBA and MLB in fully guaranteed contracts. The money is there—it’s just locked away in a vault while players fight for every guaranteed dollar they can get.
The Bottom Line
The escrow rule is one of the NFL’s most unique and controversial financial regulations. It was created for stability but has turned into a crutch for owners who don’t want to pay full guarantees. As we head into another free agency period, keep an eye on those big-dollar deals—because behind every headline-grabbing contract, there’s a billionaire owner parking millions into a fund, watching it collect dust instead of interest.https://www.linkedin.com/signup/cold-join?session_redirect=/pulse/nfls-billions-locked-away-how-outdated-escrow-rules-menendez-nu%C3%B1ez-zvq5f&trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_x-social-details_like-toggle_like-cta
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 15,199
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Lebanon, OH (Near Kings Island)
Here is the current ranking of net worth. Quite germane to the discussion.
Richest NFL Owners Ranked by Net Worth
We’ll be using Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List to rank the NFL owners. If an owner is not listed, we have used other sources to estimate their net worth.32) Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are the only team that doesn’t have a traditional owner. They have been a publicly-owned, non-profit corporation since Aug. 18, 1923. The corporation currently has around 537,460 stockholders who collectively own an estimated 5.2 million shares of stock.These days, the NFL does not allow corporate ownership of clubs. Every franchise must be owned by either a single owner or a small group of owners — at least one of whom must hold a 1/3 stake in the team. The Packers were grandfathered in.
Net worth: N/A
31) Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
Mike Brown’s father, Paul Brown, was the original coach of the Cleveland Browns and the founder of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. Mike took control of the Bengals after his father passed away in August 1991.Brown has spent most of his adult life working within the organization. He’s not currently listed on the Real-Time Billionaires List. However, in 2015, Forbes estimated that his net worth is $925 million.
Net worth: $925 million
30) Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers
Art Rooney II’s grandfather, Art Rooney Sr., founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933. The Rooneys have made the majority of their wealth from their ownership of the team rather than other business ventures.Art Rooney II took over as the team’s owner in 2017 after his father, Dan Rooney, passed away. The Rooney family is one of the most well-respected families in the NFL.
Net worth: $1.2 billion
When you respond the way you do you are well aware there are weaknesses in your argument. You know well enough that the most important thing is to have better coaches, regardless of the staff size. It has to start there. If you add to the size of the staff with better coaches, fine. I'd be all for that. But you have painted yourself into a corner with "Bigger staff! Bigger staff!"
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,384
- Reaction score
- 1,629
- Points
- 113
So your argument is to use this fragment of an article with no link that could be entirely incurrate (because Rooney is not obligated in the least to divulge his finances) that shows Rooney is ONLY worth 1.2 billion, that makes it hard to do guaranteed contracts?
How many guaranteed contracts do most teams have? Probably 0-2 on average since the earlier article mentions Jackson as unprecented…
So Rooney had to put 120 million in escrow for Watt…I just googled their operating income in 2024 and Forbes shows them making 595 million in overall revenue and spending 295 million on player salaries. Let’s just say for argument his yearly expenses are 100 million I have no idea. Thats 200 million in profit in ONE YEAR. I think he’s going to be ok!!!!
Rooney does business the way Rooney wants to do business, he runs the team based on tradition, not forward thinking, that’s the problem
Last edited: