Forever an owner's league: why NFL superstars are never truly free


Football’s best players can’t chase titles in the same way that NBA players do – not if they also want to get paid what they are worth

The former Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson has come to understand something in his retirement that thousands of current and former players have already learned. The NFL is an owners’ league.

Last week Johnson lamented his inability to jump ship to a football dynasty the way the NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant were able to do with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. He decried the unfairness of enduring losing while not having the power to get himself to the Patriots or Broncos or some other championship-ready franchise.

Related: Calvin Johnson shows early retirement for NFL players is no longer an anomaly

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