You are never too old to get homework. This week, I received an assignment from Free Press sports editor Steve Lyons to discuss the "lame duck" issue raised by columnist Gary Lawless last week that generated so much debate, and in particular, how players feel about having a coach who is approaching the final year of his contract.

Referring to someone and their situation as "lame duck" is an interesting turn of phrase. Webster's dictionary defines it as, "One whose position or term of office will soon end." In Gary's column, it was applied to Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice, who is about three months away from embarking on the final season of his three-year deal.

The first thing that struck me when tasked with this analysis was the fact that for almost every contract that I played under in my 15-year pro football career, I too, was a "lame duck."

Extending a player's contract before they have played it out can be a risky proposition, especially in a sport where the likelihood of injury is 100 per cent. In the CFL, due to the absence of guaranteed contracts for players, traditionally, the more valuable an asset you are, the more money you can ask for up front as a signing bonus. If a team re-signs a high-profile player to a new deal before his old one has expired, and he gets hurt and can no longer play, all of that guaranteed money is non-refundable.

The only time I have ever seen ball clubs anxious to extend the contracts of players is either when they are getting a steal of a deal with a player who doesn't yet realize his true potential or full value, or when it's a younger, durable quarterback who is the face of the franchise and a perennial MVP.

Contracts

The luxury you have with football players, though, that you don't have with head coaches, is that they can be cut without penalty for a good portion of the year. Depending upon his experience in the league, a player's salary is only guaranteed for the remainder of the season after he has played a minimum of nine games.

As we learned in 2008 when Doug Berry's contract was extended, and terminated later in the year, coaches' contracts are guaranteed for the term in which they are signed, which makes any head coach's extension an even more expensive leap of faith. It was only two years ago this franchise was paying Berry, Kelly and LaPolice their salaries at the same time.

The way the hierarchy of football works, for the most part, is that the top brass get the most security in terms of contractual length and guarantees. Coaches come second, players third.

Yet it's a peculiar thing about being a player and a "lame duck" going into the final year of your deal. Players, motivated by the immediacy of unemployment or a possible increase in pay, often produce their best years while being in this "lame" state. Contract years are notorious for producing unprecedented all-star performances in athletes.

Coaches I have played under that have played out their contracts either flourished under the pressure -- Dave Ritchie in 2001 -- or became consumed by it and tried to make it a part of the team's primary motivations (epic fail).

So from the player perspective, potentially having your head coach become a "lame duck" is merely having him join the club you are already in. Depending upon the coach and his tolerance for stressors, this will either bring out the best in him or overwhelm and distract him. The only message it sends to the players is that all of your butts are on the line, and reinforces the, "what have you done for me lately" doctrine of pro football.

Professional football is a results-orientated business, so even the most valuable of coaches, general managers or players are rarely contractually obligated for more than three or four years at a time. The best of these men are offered more assurances because that is what the market will bear them. If certain luxuries are not afforded but justifiable, then the club stands to lose just as much when that final year is played or coached out, as the employee who finishes his term is free to leave the team.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Free Press.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 6, 2012 D4