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NFL – Jakob Johnson fired again: The inhumane side of the billion-dollar business

If you want to know what “hire and fire” looks like in practice in the USA, all you have to do is follow Jakob Johnson’s current situation. With all understanding of the mechanics in the NFL: That's not how it works. A comment.

By Chris Lugert

In the USA, the world works differently in many ways than in this country, including sports.

Whether footballer, basketball player or handball player – anyone who is under contract with a club in Germany and gets paid has that place securely and shouldn't have to worry about sitting on the street the next morning.

However, the facts are different, especially in the NFL. The “hire and fire” mentality that is widespread in America, i.e. hiring someone knowing you can fire them at any time, is taken to the extreme in the football league. The German professional Jakob Johnson is currently feeling the effects of this questionable system on a weekly basis.

On Thursday, just ten days before the NFL Munich Game 2024, Johnson was released by the Giants – not for the first time this season, but for the repeated time.

Since he first signed his contract in New York a good ten weeks ago, Johnson has repeatedly shuttled between the practice squad, the active squad and unemployment. A normal occurrence in the NFL business. But that doesn't mean that certain mechanisms in the league cannot be critically questioned.

Of course, players in the NFL also enjoy some advantages. It is common practice that professionals are allowed to strike for new contracts. However, this usually only affects the top stars, who are difficult to replace in terms of quality for a team. All others are interchangeable.

Little lights like Johnson don't get any respect in the NFL

In short: Anyone who is a little light in the NFL is treated like a commodity. No trace of humanity.

Tomorrow players without corresponding clauses can be sent away at any time during the trade phase and have to move to their center of life from today without having any say. Others live with the constant fear that the current working day might already be their last.

The Johnson case takes this already questionable system to the extreme. The Giants apparently see the 29-year-old as ideal for being able to move him back and forth within the rules at low cost. But here we should also think about people.

Yes, Johnson has a difficult time as a fullback in the current NFL. His position is in danger of extinction; only a few teams even rely on a front blocker for the running back. Johnson lacks the skillset for other positions, so it is certainly an honor for him to still be in the orbit of the best football league in the world.

But players like the Stuttgart native also have the right to be treated with respect. And respect also means being shown a clear perspective. Is the franchise planning to sign a player or not?

The attractiveness of the league and the knowledge that millions of American teenagers would like to be in Johnson's position at some point in the future does not give the NFL the right to treat people like toys to be thrown away when they are no longer needed.

The argument that the USA works differently and that the system works that way there is not enough of an excuse.