10 Questions About The Sign And Retire Contract

This weekend in Philadelphia, the most beloved football player of his generation, the Canton-bound safety Brian Dawkins, signed a one-day contract to retire as an Eagle. All of this is, of course, well and proper and to be applauded, in that Weapon X was basically adorable on every level, and the fact that no one will ever wear #20 again is a win on every level. But it does make me wonder...

> Does the guy get paid for one day of service?

> Will his single day be on his plaque in Canton?

> At every job I've ever started, I had to spend the morning with HR people, handing off ID forms, signing out health benefit stuff, and the like. Does this happen, and if so, can it (please) be filmed?

> Once the guy retires, do they then have to go through the paperwork termination formalities?

> What if, after signing the guy, he goes home sick and can't attend the press conference -- does it become a multiple day contract?

> Couldn't you draw this out for a week or so, and maybe give yourself the chance to impress the coaches with your workouts or physical shape in the interim?

> If you were the guy on the one-day deal, wouldn't you be just a little bit tempted to spend a few hours doing things that no other employee could do? (I'm thinking the dress code, most generally involving the presence of pants, just became highly optional.)

> How much promo swag, office supplies and break room snacks would you grab? I'm filling the trunk, myself.

> Since most players that do this move generally are coming back to a team that let them go at some point, isn't there just a small chance of a passionate beatdown toward some front office type?

> Is the fact that I've drawn a paycheck from (gulp) well over a dozen companies as an adult any kind of surprise from anyone reading this post?