By all accounts, it appears that Darrelle Revis intends to miss the start of training camp, risking the $20 million in guarantees he has left on his current deal. With the premier of Hard Knocks less than 2 weeks away, this storyline is sure to dominate the show.
I have a confession to make...I fucking hate talking about contracts. They are the easily the most boring aspect of pro sports. I don't know who is right in this scenario, and I don't care. The facts (or as close as I can estimate) are that, from the Jets' point of view, Revis held out for a deal his rookie year, and now that his base pay is low for this season (which he wanted, a front-loaded deal), he wants more money. He has three years left on a deal that he wanted so badly, he held out for it. And now it's not good enough.
From Revis' point of view, he's set to make a base salary of $1 million a year, and, since he's the best player on the best defense, he deserves to make more than the highest-paid player at his position, who makes about $15 million a season. After witnessing the horrifying injury that former Jet Leon Washington suffered last year, it doesn't serve Revis to perform for such a low amount of money, with no further guarantees. Plus, GM Mike Tannenbaum promised him a new deal, and if the Jets can't guarantee the new contract against injury and skill (which they can't within the rules set in place in the absence of a cap), then they need to pay him a lump sum to keep him happy.
Can the Jets do that? Sure, they can pay him a lump sum bonus to try to make him happy, but I doubt they will. Owner Woody Johnson and Tannenbaum don't want to set a precedent with the other Jets who are unhappy, and they feel like if Revis can do this to them now, what happens if the team wins a championship? Can't the whole team hold them hostage the same way?
The 400 lb. gorilla in the room is the Jets cash flow position currently. There is plenty of speculation that the Jets currently lack the resources to pay a lump sum to Revis, given the fact that they've just built an enormous new stadium and have yet to sell all of the PSLs that they thought would go like hotcakes. Perhaps there isn't enough in the till to fork over a huge bonus currently.
Where do I stand? Normally I'm on the side of the player in situations like this, since they assume so much risk just lacing them up every week. I think Revis is picking the wrong time to make this stand, and he's going to do irreparable damage with a portion of the fan base that wants players to honor their contracts, regardless. All I care about is the well being of the team. If Revis does anything to screw this season up, I'll be pissed, and I won't be alone.
I'm not like most football fans my age (and younger). Most of the fans in my age group are going to spend countless hours over the next few weeks analyzing every preview magazine and website they can get their hands on for an edge in their fantasy football draft, which will happen sometime in the next month.
I don't play fantasy football.
In fact, the idea of rooting for the Bears' third WR to have over 55 yards receiving this week so I can win a "matchup" with another couch potato doesn't interest me in the least, and runs contrary to everything that football is supposed to be about. I could just see myself having to draft Wes Welker or Brandon Marshall, or another skill position player on a rival team, then rooting for that player to perform, against the best interests of the Jets.
I don't need fantasy football to make the game more interesting to me. I almost feel bad for the guys (and girls) that do. There is plenty happening every Sunday in the fall to hold your interest if you like football without having to play make-believe GM with 9 other people.
Because I give my full attention to a real team as opposed to a fantasy team, perhaps I have more invested in this situation than most. If it goes bad, as it has before, there is no rooting interest in place to take my mind off of the disappointment.
I hope Revis shows up for camp today at 5:30 pm, so he's not technically a hold-out, but I'm not holding my breath. Like most Jet fans, I just hope the situation works itself out before it becomes yet another distraction for the 2010 team.
No comments:
Post a Comment