It is that time of year again: NFL teams are officially allowed to start trading players.  So far we have seen some big trades (Albert Hansworth to the Redskins, Brian Dawkins to the Broncos, etc.), but there have also been players who are a bit frustrated about the fact that they cannot get the money they think they deserve.  Case in point: Ray Lewis.   <http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/around_the_nfl/post/Lewis-upset-with-Ravens?urn=nfl,144714>Which made me think about network power, as we have been discussing in lecture the past week.  Ray Lewis is upset because he has not reached a deal with the Ravens, but he has to realize he is not in a great position of power right now, because of his lack of outside options.  The Cowboys and Jets had both been interested in him, but his price was too high, and each of those organizations had better outside options, which led them to pursue those options.  Now Lewis is frustrated because his lack of outside options leave him with no leverage to get a pay increase.If we take into account everything we have learned about network power, I expect that Lewis probably will not get as big of a contract as he hopes to get.  Not only is Lewis getting older, (so the Ravens have a lower value for him), there are also many good linebackers coming up through the draft, meaning the Ravens have plenty of outside options.  If Lewis hopes to sign with the Ravens again he will have to drop his price down to a more reasonable level so they will have more incentive to keep him.  But some players do have leverage, and will be able to use it to their advantage.  Take for instance, LaDainian Tomlinson. <http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/around_the_nfl/post/Saints-interested-in-Tomlinson;_ylt=AkXiffanMmSWuVMVU_D1xRZDubYF?urn=nfl,144813> Since the Saints would be very interested in acquiring Tomlinson if the Chargers were unable to come to a deal with him, he can use this as leverage against the Chargers.  In this situation, Tomlinson has a great outside option, and he should be able to get a better deal with the Chargers if he chooses to accept it.