Arizona Cardinals Give Players ‘Phone Breaks’

“Alright Gentlemen, let’s take 5 and check your notifications!”

Interesting article on Cal Newport’s blog, about an NFL Coach giving his players phone breaks during team functions.

(Do you know what lasts much longer than 20 – 30 minutes? NFL games. And there are no phone breaks once you’re on the field.)

Instead of accommodating his player’s twitching hands, therefore, perhaps Kingsbury should see this reaction as a crisis. Elite level sports require phenomenal concentration. Even a small epsilon degradation in this ability can be the difference between a cornerback disrupting a play or being burned on a slant, which itself can be the difference-maker in a game.

How long before this starts getting written into player contracts?

“Setting a new precedent, star running back Steve Ferguson signed a 3-year contract with the Cowboys for 47 Million and 120 hours of phone access per season. That’s 30 more hours than any previous player. ‘I’m really happy I’ll be able to keep my fans in on the action,’ Ferguson commented. ‘Guess I’m really going to have to up my selfie game'”