Your Anorak Awaits
by CJ Sanchez
11/3/2008
 
One of the great things about football is that, no matter how long you've been a fan, every year is a learning experience. No matter how hard you study the rulebook or the pancake stats of your favourite O-lineman, there will always be a little something else to learn.
 
And just when you think you know it all, the ref turns to the crowd and utters the words 'Snap Infraction' and your brow is once again furrowed.
 
“Snap infraction? 'SNAP' Infraction?' Just what in the heck is that?”
 
So with that in mind, let me enlighten you with a few NFL factoids that you may not know. For some of you this will be like sucking eggs (Why would anyone suck an egg by the way? Is that something people did for kicks back before the NFL came along?), but for others it will be akin to an epiphany.
 
Or not.
 
But anyway… Did you know that there is a minimum salary level, set by the NFL, for every player who plays for any of the thirty-two teams? This salary is the base rate for any NFL player and rises considerably according to how much experience the said player has. Here are the exact figures:

So a rookie, fresh out of college with no NFL experience whatsoever, is guaranteed to make at-least $285,000 (Approx. £142,500) in his first season. That'll buy you a whole lot of Umbongo.
 
Presuming Umbongo is your drink of choice of-course.
 
Though these figures may look small when compared to the huge contracts signed by players like Asante Samuel and Ben Roethlisberger this off-season, in comparison to your everyday job, they are remarkably generous.
 
Let's use another little known NFL fact to analyse this further. According to the Players Association, the average career length of an NFL player is a very short 3½ years. Going by that figure, if a player was only paid the minimum salary during his time in the NFL he would still stand to make $1,335,000 (Approx. £667500)!
 
And talking career lengths, did you know that on average kickers have the shortest careers of any position in the NFL? Considering the likes of Morten Andersen, Jeff Wilkins and Jason Elam (with a total of 53 seasons between them) that may come as a bit of a shock. Well, it certainly surprised me anyway!
 
Did you know that the fastest official 40 yard dash time was run by Oakland Raiders cornerback Fabian Washington, with a time of 4.25 seconds? However, soon to be ex-Atlanta Falcon DeAngelo Hall is rumoured to have run an incredible 4.15 and Miami receiver Ted Ginn Junior is said to have run a frankly mind blowing 4.06 whilst in college.
 
2008 will see a revamp to the NFL shield, the first since 1970. The new shield will only have eight stars on it (to represent the eight divisions) instead of the 25 that have been the standard since the logo was created in the 1940's. Over the years there have been several investigations into the significance of the 25 stars on the badge, but no concrete answer has ever been found. More then likely three rows of eight with one star on top just looked good so they went with it. You've got to love that about the NFL though; everything is important.
 
A little known rule that is a personal favourite of mine is the 'Fair-Catch Kick Rule'. Simply put, once a player calls for and makes a fair catch, the receiving team can then elect to go for a field goal from the spot of the catch. Unlike a normal field goal though, on a 'fair-catch kick' the opposing team must line up at-least 10 yards away.
 
This rule is very rarely enacted and the last time it was used was on the 9th of October 2005. Just before half-time, Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas was short on a 58 yard attempt against the Houston Texans. Mac Percival of the Chicago Bears made the last successful attempt in 1968. The kick was good from 43 yards and with twenty seconds left on the clock, it was the game winning field goal.
 
Are you feeling enlightened yet? No?
 
Well how about this then: The salary of the first ever professional football player was the tremendous amount of $10. This was the sum paid to John Brailer by the Latrobe YMCA back in 1895. I'm guessing he wasn't a quarterback though, as the first complete forward pass ever recorded came on October 27th 1906.
 
There now, surely you didn't know that did you? You did? Well maybe you can fill me in on snap infractions then?
 
Being an NFL fan is like being a scholar; it's a constant learning experience. But that's ok though, because we all love the subject.