Fred Taylor signed one with Jacksonville, then promptly retired. He wanted to “retire a Jaguar”. If he wanted that, he should’ve signed a 1-year deal and actually played. Nomar did this with the Red Sox too, so it’s not just football.
It’s purely for symbolism, and a way for a player who left their first team (and, in most cases, the team with which they’d had their best seasons) to honor that team (and fans).
In all of these cases, the player recognizes that his career is over, and that he’s not physically capable of playing at a pro level any longer. Signing a one-year contract, and trying to play further, isn’t the point.
Take a coaching or broadcasting job with the team then.
That’s not the same as wearing the uniform. It’s a nice gesture, and it makes everyone happy. Why would a league have a problem with it? What is the logic that would require someone to sign a one year (or one month) deal? Why should there be any time limits on deals?
Seasons last longer than 1 day (or month)
Yes, but as was already said, it’s a symbolic gesture. You asked, and that’s why it’s done.
If you’re not terribly impressed by the symbolism of the act, I guess can understand that. But why would anyone think that leagues should disallow the practice? What does it hurt?
Only because IMO a contract should be for the whole year. YMMV
On a more practical level the NHL has one day contracts for goalies. Say the team normally dresses two goalies but one of them is sick or can’t dress for an immediate reason like having to attend a funeral. The team might sign a goalie from a nearby minor league team and will use him only under the most extreme circumstances. Of course, the pay is minimal but it gives the guy something to talk about for the rest of his life.
The NBA has 10 day contracts to fill out the short roster in cases of injury. No big deal.
That’s not the point (though, clearly, you either don’t get it, or don’t care).
Fred Taylor played 11 seasons for the Jaguars. He isn’t going to play anymore (at age 35, with only 43 carries last year for New England, he clearly has nothing left in the tank), but wanted to be able to say, “In my heart, I’ll always be a Jacksonville Jaguar, and I was able to retire as one.”
Quite right. I meant to explicitly exclude these from my original post. :smack:
Except as has been shown, all leagues have contracts for less than a full season so this line of reasoning is moot. Do you have any other objections to 1 day contracts?
I don’t understand why a 3rd party would have a problem with this practice. The league allows it, the team and player agree. Looks like a win win.
Typically they’re guys from college teams or other forms of amateur, rather than the minors, in which case I think they have to clear some sort of waivers. I remember reading something to that effect when the Phoenix Coyotes signed Tom Fenton last December for a single game. They were going to suit up their goalie coach, but because he played in the AHL before, he had to go through a waiver process, and in addition to being cumbersome, there’s a chance another team would pick him up for a day! Though I do relish the days when hockey coaches could go into a local bar and snag a guy who would really stand on his head through the game. 
The league allows it because it is a real, one-year contract. It becomes a “one-day” contract because the player retires the same day as signing it.
Deadspin explained Fred Taylor’s one-day contract with the help of the Jaguars PR department.
If that bothers you, most soccer leagues would make your head explode, with loaner players, etc…
It’s purely a symbolic thing, mostly done on behalf of the player and fans, and I doubt that the players are actually paid anything serious- probably $1 or something similar, just so both sides have consideration in the contract.
Football is a business. It’s a profitable public relations move.
More and less than $1. Taylor signed a contract for $910,000 and will receive $0.
Just for the record, the $910,000 is the league’s minimum salary for someone who has played for as long as he has.