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waterfield
compared to standard business contracts one deals with everyday. Its easy to say a contract is a contract and one should always abide by its terms. But sports contracts are so often re-negotiated during their duration that it becomes accepted and almost commonplace. This is especially true when a team wishes to make sure it can hold onto a special player by rewarding him or her for their performance that far exceeds what the original contract facially reflects as to the value of the player. Add to this the cap that each team must factor in at the time of the original contract then it becomes clearer that NFL contracts are an entirely different creature.
Plus teams regularly ask players to restructure their deals and give back money. The Rams did with Wells, and he agreed to it. They asked Bradford and he wouldn't. Chris Long basically offered to do it.
So it's not just extensions (what you refer to), teams also ask players to alter their contracts and take less.
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