How many fans would you turn off in the process?
I, for one, would never watch professional football again.
To answer your question: We both decide how much he gets paid to mow my lawn.
I can offer him $10 to do it. He can accept that or ask for more. That is his decision.
If I refuse to pay him what he's worth, I take the risk of having someone else do a crappy job. That's my decision.
There is always give and take.
The NFL is not just popular because football is a cool sport. If that was true, the NFL wouldn't have any advantage over the CFL, USFL, Arena League, XFL, whatever...
One of the reason it's popular is because of the TALENT.
We pay to watch Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers throw the ball. Not some bum off the street that can't hit the broadside of a barn.
We pay to watch Adrien Peterson, Chris Johnson run the ball. Not some guy with half the speed and no moves.
Maybe the players are selfish, greedy and don't appreciate what they have. I'm sure quite a few are.
But the reason they get paid so much money is because WE are willing to fork out that kind of money to be entertained. It's called supply and demand.
Fans need to stop being jealous of what the players have. Having millions of dollars and fame isn't everything. Instead, we need to start appreciating that football players are around to entertain us.