Players have always been seen as commodities. As a Steeler fan, I was impressed during Chuck Noll’s days that the team did not trade for new blood, but made good draft choices and then worked with them to be valuable players.

[...] What Peterson and Mendenhall are speaking to is that under the peculiar institution, slaves were treated as property, whereas NFL players are often treated as commodities in a business, which is totally a valid argument. So, Peterson really could have chosen a better metaphor like, oh I don’t know, commodities in a business. [...]

[...] What Peterson and Mendenhall are speaking to is that under the peculiar institution, slaves were treated as property, whereas NFL players are often treated as commodities in a business, which is totally a valid argument. So, Peterson really could have chosen a better metaphor like, oh I don’t know, commodities in a business. [...]