American Football: King of the Bay Area

Lu Ke, of Chinese descent and just three months shy of his twenty-second birthday, officially joined the San Francisco 49ers in August of 2011, becoming a member of the team and only the second player of Chinese descent in NFL history to make an official roster—

In 2010, Wang Kai, a player of Chinese descent who played offensive tackle, was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 140th pick in the fifth round of the draft, becoming the first player of Chinese descent in history to enter the Alliance. However, he had never started a single game. Last season, he played in just six games as a rotational player, participating in only a handful of offensive plays without posting any notable stats.

Just last week, the Buffalo Bills announced they had placed him on the injured reserve list.

’The dream... it’s really come true!’

A surge of emotion, a rush of adrenaline, and an overwhelming wave of joy crashed around in his chest, filling it so completely he could barely breathe. The overflowing happiness built into an impulse to scream, shout, and cheer. And so, Lu Ke did just that.

Lu Ke clenched his fists and leaped high into the air, wildly pummeling the space in front of him with his right hand, unleashing all his pent-up excitement and exhilaration. Every cell in his body roared; every muscle celebrated. Even his fingertips began to tremble, as if his very blood had reached its boiling point.

This wasn’t just about the past year. This long road toward his dream traced all the way back to his childhood, to the first time he stepped onto a football field at the age of nine. From his first fumbling steps to the trials and tribulations that followed, he had taken it one step at a time. After twelve years of hardship and sweat, of struggle and strife, he had finally kicked down this door!

He knew the world behind that door was more treacherous, more brutal, and far more difficult. He also knew this was merely the first, simplest step on the path to success. But he was ready. He would stride forward with his head held high. Nothing could stop him! He would cut through any thorns, climb any mountain, and ride any wave—he would press on, unstoppable!

After leaping high and landing hard in his wild, unrestrained celebration, Lu Ke finally noticed Tom standing beside him. A slightly sheepish look appeared on his face. ’It seems I got a little carried away in that burst of emotion.’

But Tom didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. He simply stood there, beaming. ”The fans will love a celebration like that, especially after a Touchdown.”

Though his chest still swelled with emotion and happiness continued to bubble up inside him, Lu Ke forced himself to calm down. He smiled and said, ”That’s assuming I get a chance to play.” A backup quarterback was, after all, still a backup. Lu Ke had spent his entire senior season on the bench; he was no stranger to it.

The jest brought a smile to Tom’s face. ’This rookie is witty and composed.’ He believed the media would like him, too. Of course, that was all contingent on him getting playing time. And winning games.

”Now, where were we?” Tom got back to business. ”Right, the lawyers. We need to hurry over.” He ushered Lu Ke into an elevator and pressed the button for their floor. After a moment of thought, he said, ”The lawyers will go over the contract details, but there are a few things I need to get from you first.”

”First, you’re the team’s third-string quarterback.” Tom didn’t elaborate, but Lu Ke nodded in understanding.

’So that’s how it is.’ The San Francisco 49ers had decided to make Colin Kaepernick their starting quarterback, and the next four preseason games would be his showcase. Alex Smith was the second-string quarterback; it seemed his injury wasn’t as serious as the media had reported. During the regular season, Alex could be put in at any time to reclaim the starting spot—it would all depend on how Colin performed as a rookie.

’That naturally made Lu Ke the third-string quarterback—the backup to the backup.’

”Second, what’s your jersey number?” Tom asked. Lu Ke answered reflexively, ”11,” only to see Tom shake his head. ”Alex is eleven. You’ll have to pick another number...”

Tom was about to suggest Lu Ke take some time to think it over, but Lu Ke immediately followed up, ”How about fourteen?” His birthday was November 11th. ’Using my birth date for a password is a terrible idea,’ he thought absently. Outside of ”11,” his favorite number was ”14”—the ”1” was for the number eleven, and the ”4” was for the four ones in his birth date (11/11).

”Fourteen it is,” Tom decided on the spot.

Lu Ke couldn’t help but wonder. ’The system asked for my jersey number before, and I chose ”eleven.” Now that I’ve changed to ”fourteen,” will that cause a conflict? Or will the system’s jersey number automatically adjust to match my real-life situation?’

But the thought was fleeting. Tom was already continuing, ”Today is just for reviewing the contract and going over the terms; we won’t be officially signing anything. Tomorrow morning, you’ll need to come to the team facility for a full physical. We’ll schedule the official signing after the medical report comes back.”

”Understood.” Lu Ke had no objection. This was standard procedure for signing with a team.

”Also, don’t worry, a copy of the training schedule will be sent to your email. But the basic structure is: Mondays off, Tuesdays for film review, and Wednesdays you report to the facility to begin training. Of course, this is subject to change depending on the game schedule,” Tom explained quickly.

During the regular season, Sunday is game day, with most games kicking off in the afternoon. In addition, there’s Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, and Monday Night Football. Those three games are broadcast nationally, with each one averaging twenty to thirty million viewers.

The training schedule naturally varies depending on which day the game is played.

Without pausing, Tom launched into another spiel. ”Practice starts at 9:00 AM every day, unless you’re notified otherwise. Also, I’ll arrange for you to meet with a nutritionist and a strength coach as soon as possible to create a meal plan. But that’s all for later, so don’t worry about it.”

”Oh, right, one last thing. Your locker, training gear, jersey, and all that—someone will get it sorted out for you tomorrow, so don’t worry.” After they exited the elevator, Tom stopped. ”So, any other questions?”

”Can I have your business card?” Lu Ke’s question brought a satisfied smile to Tom’s face as he pulled a card from his jacket pocket.

But instead of handing it over directly, Tom said, ”Call me during business hours, email me after. For emergencies—and by emergencies, I mean any kind of incident, like you get drunk at a bar and get into a brawl over some dispute—you absolutely have to call me. If you get an agent, have them call me immediately.”

As a prospective journalist, Lu Ke understood better than Tom what constituted an ”incident,” but he didn’t say anything more, just nodding. ”Understood.” He took the card and glanced at it. He was still in his practice jersey, which didn’t have any pockets, so he had no choice but to clutch it in his palm.

Tom pushed open the glass door in front of them and said with a smile, ”This is where I leave you. See you tomorrow!”

As he entered the office behind the glass door, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit approached him. ”Good afternoon. I’m Jonas Fish, a lawyer representing the Players’ Union for the American Football Alliance. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

In the United States, unions are an extremely important institution. In football, for instance, the Players’ Union steps up to protect a player’s contracts, legal affairs, and personal interests. Besides an agent, the union will do everything in its power to protect the players, even confronting the Alliance and the teams themselves.

For a relative unknown like Lu Ke, who had no agent to vet his contract or lawyer to look it over, signing an unfair ”slave contract” would leave him with no recourse. To prevent this, the Alliance officially requires that a union lawyer be present for the signings of all drafted and Undrafted Players. Other non-rookie players can also request a lawyer if they need one.

”Lu Ke,” he said, stepping forward to shake the man’s hand. Jonas smiled. ”For the next part, just keep quiet and let me handle everything. We can discuss any questions you have afterward.” And that’s exactly what Lu Ke did.

Every profession has its own language, and for a prospective journalist, legal jargon was certainly not his area of expertise. When the San Francisco 49ers’ official lawyer appeared, Lu Ke turned everything over to Jonas, and the two attorneys began to discuss the contract’s terms.

In fact, to protect rookies’ interests, the Alliance has clear regulations for minimum salaries, which vary by draft round. First-round picks naturally earn the most. But the Alliance only sets the salary floor; the ceiling depends on an agent’s negotiation skills.

This included Undrafted Players.

Basically, rookie contracts were boilerplate, with only minor variations between teams. Even so, Jonas meticulously went over every detail. The negotiation took about forty minutes before reaching a stopping point. Afterward, Jonas borrowed a conference room to break things down for Lu Ke in simpler terms.

”My personal advice? You should read through every item in this contract carefully. If you have any questions, compile them into an email and send it to me. I’ll provide answers.” Jonas paused for a moment. Most professional players hated dealing with these matters, finding them too tedious and mentally draining.

But surprisingly, Lu Ke wasn’t like that. He continued to listen with rapt attention.

The corners of Jonas’s mouth curled up slightly. ”If you don’t have the patience to read the entire contract, I’ve marked the sections here that are most relevant to your personal interests. I think you’ll want to pay attention to them.” In reality, many players wouldn’t even bother with the marked sections and would just sign. ”Finally, regarding salary. The 49ers have made a reasonable offer. I see no issues there.”

At Jonas’s prompting, Lu Ke looked down at the contract in his hand. When he saw a string of numbers, one of his eyebrows arched involuntarily.