You don't deserve it by Kyle W.

Football season is here once again. Which means a few things.

1. The rabid football fans all finally get to watch 22 men try and kill each other every Sunday, Monday, and sometimes Thursday.

2. Lots of gambling.

3. The yearly dose of first round draft picks holding out for more money.

Now, subscribe to number 1. I love football.

Two is a moot point. Don't care.

But number 3 is...enraging.

As a first round draft pick, you haven't done shit. You haven't scored an NFL touchdown, or made a highlight, or even taken a snap. All that stuff you did in college? Doesn't mean anything. That was college football, and as popular as it is, it's nothing compared to the competition level of the pros.

Someone like Michael Crabtree holding out for more money makes me sick. Crabtree not only hasn't played a snap of football, but he also missed the draft workouts because of injury. So here's his credentials.

...

Yup.

Andre Smith, the Bengals rookie offensive lineman who was the most recent first-round holdout to sign his deal, broke his foot today, two days after he joined the team.

Now, I feel bad for the Bengals. First this do-nothing holds out, then they give him way too much money for no proven skill set, and then he breaks his foot and now he's even more worthless than before. In fact, Smith was on his way to sliding out of the first round because of his flabby body and worse attitude until Cincy couldn't afford to pass on him.

NFL rookies sign ridiculous contracts every season, with every increasing bonuses that give them enough cash to buy their own island.

Players who have NEVER PLAYED ONE SINGLE DOWN OF PRO FOOTBALL gain enough influence to basically use playground bully tactics to get teams to pay ludicrous sums before they’ll even report to practice. And every time a team gives in to these demands and award these huge contracts, the next team that drafts a high pick is basically FORCED to do the same if not increase the amount.

The NFL should put a cap on rookie contracts. It would save us weeks of this bullshit.

I don’t understand why Commissioner Roger Goodell can invent 3,000 rules to govern the way players celebrate a touchdown and conduct their personal lives and not make a move to limit the disturbing growth of holdouts and idiot rookie players looking for a payday without working a day for it.

And another thing. Why did we have to ban touchdown dances? Sure, when props started getting involved it was a little much. But moves like the Dirty Bird, the Ickey Shuffle, Ochocinco's River Dance, or D. McNabb's Moonwalk were fun and most of all entertaining. Considering the only reason players get paid so much is because they entertain us, the public. We pay the ticket prices and merchandise costs, and they play and we yell and scream and forget about the trials and tribulations of our lives for a few hours. Sometimes I feel like everyone forgets that.

That's my time. Enjoy.