How stupid do you have to be to look at the stands and ratings throughout the NFL and not worry that you are about to take a huge pay cut for destroying your employer.
Perhaps they are willing to take the pay cut so they can feel good about themselves. If the player making $3M per year is cut to $1M per year he is still doing pretty well. If the player making $3M per year is cut to $100K per year he will probably think twice about felling good about himself.