Of course owners of businesses look at their employees as "business pieces". But you are meaning it in a demeaning way; I'm not. Decent employers don't de-humanize employees; they value them. Yet, in another sense they remain as "pieces" of the overall business that at times have to be moved around, let go, or even be replaced for any number of reasons.
Employers don't start businesses to provide employment. The entire nature of business is profit. Employees are a necessary "piece" of most businesses but they are replaceable. Some pieces are more valuable to the business than others, and they will be treated that way. But even the most valuable have a value ceiling, above which it doesn't benefit the business to invest in them. And that is the fundamental basis for how NFL teams determine whether and how much to pay a specific player.
It is not emotional, political, or social. It is pragmatic, sometimes strategic, and must be so if one is to maintain a successful business or team (just watch what the Pats do).
