National Football League

NFL players lost their minds over the NBA's enormous free agent contracts

Published Jul. 1, 2016 4:30 p.m. ET

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Andrew Lynch

When Andrew Luck broke the bank for the Indianapolis Colts this week, his NFL brethren were quick to congratulate him on his new contract.

When NBA free agency kicked into high gear, however, NFL players had a slightly different reaction to the absolutely ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around. In particular, a five-year, $85 million deal for Evan Fournier -- which is just $2 million less than Luck's contract guarantees him with the Colts -- made football players lose their minds:

Fournier was from the only enormous NBA deal signed in the first 24 hours of free agency. The Lakers gave Timofey Mozgov four years and $64 million; the Memphis Grizzlies handed Chandler Parsons four years and $94 million; and the New York Knicks have agreed to terms with Joakim Noah for four years and $70 million. Given all that money, NBA players were jumping for joy at the news:

Why the ridiculous contracts? In short, the NBA's growing popularity meant its broadcast partners spent an absurd sum to lock up television rights for the foreseeable future. That influx of cash resulted in the league's salary cap increasing from $70 million in 2015-16 to a reported $94 million for next season. So there's a lot of money to be spent this summer. Unfortunately for NFL players, they're in the wrong line of work.

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