$0 - They make their money when they sell the team.
$10 M max. Similar to players on their second contract
$10 - $20 M. Like a top line veteran player
$20 - 30 M. As much as the highest paid players
$30 - 40 M. A bit more than the top players
$40 M+. Its a huge investments in a wildly successful business. A solid return is deserved.
Actually, it happens occasionally in certain situations. Typically, it's very small single owner firms where there is a culture of trust as a part of the firm. Dan's right, it can be a great motivator in the right situation. I've never seen nor heard of this in a union shop, and certainly not to the scale of the NFL. Unions naturally breed distrust (IMO), and gain leverage by pitting one group against the other by focusing on differences. Honestly, if everyone lives in happy trusting harmony where everyone treats everyone else with respect and fairness, there is no reason for a union! It would be unnecessary.
It happens. I was going post my own experiences in my previous post - decided not to, but I think it relates.
Company I work for ran into some tough times a few years ago. Contracts dried up (not the company's fault - industry pretty much shut down) and things were tight. The employees kicked in some funds to keep it afloat, and took voluntary pay cuts. I took a voluntary lay-off.
Owners (there are two of them) were very open about the finances, the company's position, and how we were progressing. Frequent updates showing profits and losses. We're back on our feet now, actually doing very well, and we still have meeting quartely or so showing a lot of financial information. I work as a contractor now, and I am generally shown a copy of the PO from the company my services are for, so I know what percentage of the day rate I'm taking home.
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Imagine for a moment a world without hypothetical situations...
I don't hold Grudges. It's counterproductive.