I get the criticism and I think it is fair. However, if it was my son who had worked hard since he was 10 years old to accomplish this dream. Our family had supported him in countless ways and I'd spent untold hours coaching him along the way. My response would be that you have a right to be critical, but if you don't have a kid in a helmet in the situation, you can stick your criticism up your ***.
Players Opting Out of Bowl Games
- Thread starter Troglodyte
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Real world example...Say you work for an IT company for the last 4 years earning an entry level salary and after the 5th year you're guaranteed a job at a bigger firm making 10x your current pay. There's a possibility that if you make a mistake at your current job during the last week, you would only get double the pay raise and depending on the mistake, may not get a pay raise at all even though you're going to a more demanding job. If there was no consequence for not even coming into work that last week, why would anyone take that risk of potentially missing out on the big raise for literally no more of a reward. The only reward is the warm fuzzies of helping out your current/previous employer for the last week of your employment. I'd bet any money that 95% of the people on here would bail on the old company with a week to go to guarantee a position at the new one for the highest salary possible.
I'm not saying it's morally right, just putting things into perspective for people who are slamming some of these guys for not playing in 1 average bowl game.
Also, for those that say the kids get a scholarship and they should honor it, how much money does the school make back on those same kids over and above the amount they shell out in scholarships? They wouldn't give out scholarships out of the goodness of their hearts...they make back way more from the NCAA than they do giving out scholarships to their football players. The kids don't get to share in that profit if they happen to win a national championship or even a decent bowl game. If they did, you bet your *** every player would participate in the bowl games which is something the NCAA needs to seriously consider if they want to curb this new trend.
I'm not saying it's morally right, just putting things into perspective for people who are slamming some of these guys for not playing in 1 average bowl game.
Also, for those that say the kids get a scholarship and they should honor it, how much money does the school make back on those same kids over and above the amount they shell out in scholarships? They wouldn't give out scholarships out of the goodness of their hearts...they make back way more from the NCAA than they do giving out scholarships to their football players. The kids don't get to share in that profit if they happen to win a national championship or even a decent bowl game. If they did, you bet your *** every player would participate in the bowl games which is something the NCAA needs to seriously consider if they want to curb this new trend.
Exactly. morally? Whatever, sure you are right. Maybe not moral. But like the Universities are acting morally. The NFL had to pay out how much for concussions? How much as NCAA paid again?
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Most NFL players take a big per game pay cut once the playoffs start. Some make a small fraction of what they usually make. Any player on the verge of FA is taking a huge risk by playing.
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One more thought on this:
Imagine a NFL player and his agent negotiating a final year in-season opt-out clause where, in the final year of the contract, a player can decide to give up on the season and opt out of the remaining games and simply forfeit the paychecks and pro-rated signing bonus so he can "prepare for free agency". Smart move or really off-putting?
Imagine a NFL player and his agent negotiating a final year in-season opt-out clause where, in the final year of the contract, a player can decide to give up on the season and opt out of the remaining games and simply forfeit the paychecks and pro-rated signing bonus so he can "prepare for free agency". Smart move or really off-putting?
I would say that would sum up Plaxico Buress' entire final season in Pittsburgh.
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So...............If by chance he played in the game & had a career ending injury that made him useless to NFL teams, no one would care.....And I doubt we would pass the collection plate here
Kid is about to get paid, and wants to make certain he gets that pay day......
Turn on your TV on any given Sunday & you will see some absolutely gruesome injuries......
It's a brutal sport with a small window to make a living......Even if it isn't career ending his stock could drop him out of a huge windfall which he has worked for over the last several years.
Like it or not, he has that right.............
Kid is about to get paid, and wants to make certain he gets that pay day......
Turn on your TV on any given Sunday & you will see some absolutely gruesome injuries......
It's a brutal sport with a small window to make a living......Even if it isn't career ending his stock could drop him out of a huge windfall which he has worked for over the last several years.
Like it or not, he has that right.............
And a team can judge his commitment for it. That is there right as this is his. You can make these games mandatory if you want and the player can fake an injury too.
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Difference is the size of an NFL contract after their rookie deal is directly related to the player's success on the field. The playoff game check is irrelevant, it's about playing as much as possible at the highest level (especially the playoffs) so that teams value you higher when it comes time to negotiate. Much higher reward for playing
Rookie salaries for college players entering the draft are capped and based on draft position so the potential to earn more is very limited if they're going to go within 10-15 spots regardless if they play in a bowl game or not. If a player is already projected to go top 10 or 1st round, why risk injuring yourself and dropping out of the 1st round just to potentially move up a couple spots with a good bowl performance? Again, the risk/reward just isn't there, way too much to lose for a minimal reward, if any. Jadeveon Clowney half-assed his entire junior year to avoid injury and still went #1 overall.
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Not true at all. Coaches have been widely criticized for how they treat their "contracts." Maybe the media doesn't, but there are many fans of the game, players, etc. that have plenty negative to say about this.
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McCaffrey acts like he isn't gonna get drafted by the P*ts in round 1 anyway ...
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About that...
https://twitter.com/thejaylonsmith/status/811041664475217920
Jaylon Smith @thejaylonsmith 20h20 hours ago
Honestly. With Everything I've been through, If I could go back to Jan. 1st I'd play again. #ClearEyeView
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THATs a football player.
Ain't nobody from Bama sitting out our bowl games...
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They might have more to play for, but have just as much to lose.
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Timely tweet by Jaylon lol
I bet this cushioned the blow a bit...
Darren Rovell ✔ @darrenrovell
Jaylon Smith's insurance will pay him $700K tax free if he falls out of 1st round, gets $100K w/each missed pick after. Policy from ISI.
12:47 PM - 27 Feb 2016
281 281 Retweets 229 229 likes
Which means he collected a cool $1m by being the 3rd pick in the 2nd round...oh and that's tax free.
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a favor?? yeahhh, i think you're stretching it a bit, there.
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it's complete horseshit, as far as i'm concerned. if you're going to commit to something (like a football season), then COMMIT TO IT
I can see both sides of this argument.
For one, the school has invested in the kid. You can also argue that they've received a nice ROI on him as he's perked interest in their football program. Honestly, I doubt the school would give much of a **** about the kid if he ruined his knee or suffered a drastic injury while playing. Afterall, the kid has insurance and I'm sure the school has insurance for that as well.
I can also understand the kid not wanting to ruin a potentially major financial windfall from the NFL. There are a slew of players who hurt their stock or were damaged goods soon after entering the league.
Two different players - Inky Johnson and Robert Edwards.
Inky was a CB and was hurt during a game with Air Force as a junior. Never regained the use of his right arm. NFL dreams shot to **** on one play.
Robert Edwards, RB, hurt playing a flag football game during the Pro Bowl week his rookie season. NFL career slowly meandered down the drain.
On the flip side, Christian could have completely dominated the game and boosted his stock even higher.
One mock draft has him going in the 2nd round to the rats.
https://walterfootball.com/draft2017_2.php
Another has him going late first to the Raiders.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/...eonard-fournette-looking-for-zeke-like-boost/
So his stock is late first to mid-second. No doubt he has the talent, but now it's a matter of prepping yourself and getting just ONE team to fall in love with you.
For one, the school has invested in the kid. You can also argue that they've received a nice ROI on him as he's perked interest in their football program. Honestly, I doubt the school would give much of a **** about the kid if he ruined his knee or suffered a drastic injury while playing. Afterall, the kid has insurance and I'm sure the school has insurance for that as well.
I can also understand the kid not wanting to ruin a potentially major financial windfall from the NFL. There are a slew of players who hurt their stock or were damaged goods soon after entering the league.
Two different players - Inky Johnson and Robert Edwards.
Inky was a CB and was hurt during a game with Air Force as a junior. Never regained the use of his right arm. NFL dreams shot to **** on one play.
Robert Edwards, RB, hurt playing a flag football game during the Pro Bowl week his rookie season. NFL career slowly meandered down the drain.
On the flip side, Christian could have completely dominated the game and boosted his stock even higher.
One mock draft has him going in the 2nd round to the rats.
https://walterfootball.com/draft2017_2.php
Another has him going late first to the Raiders.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/...eonard-fournette-looking-for-zeke-like-boost/
So his stock is late first to mid-second. No doubt he has the talent, but now it's a matter of prepping yourself and getting just ONE team to fall in love with you.
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Fournette I completely get, and would have advised him to skip the bowl game. Dude has been dinged-up all year (thanks, Les Miles, you crazy-*** moron) and now has a chance to get healthy for the Combine, etc. McCaffrey is a little different to me. He's had a relatively healthy season and doesn't have much of an excuse to skip the bowl except the "I don't want to risk injury"... Ok fine. I support the kids doing this anyway. They aren't getting paid, the bowl games are completely meaningless money-grabs for the schools/conferences/white dudes in blazers...
As for their desire to play ball:
Fournette: Dressed to play against Florida even with an injury, still ran with toughness until he couldn't go any more
McCaffrey: Most all-purpose yards two years straight, 800+ touches...
As for the school "benefitting":
The biggest benefit of going to a bowl is not national exposure (unless you're in a BIGTIME bowl), it is the 15 extra practices you get in December. That's used for player development and training...kind of like an extra Spring Practice. With McCaffrey and Fournette sitting out, Stanford and LSU get to see what they have in depth and begin development for 2017. It IS most definitely an advantage.
Where I would have a real problem: The first player that sits out of a playoff game in College Football. THAT will be the "WHOA!" moment.
As for their desire to play ball:
Fournette: Dressed to play against Florida even with an injury, still ran with toughness until he couldn't go any more
McCaffrey: Most all-purpose yards two years straight, 800+ touches...
As for the school "benefitting":
The biggest benefit of going to a bowl is not national exposure (unless you're in a BIGTIME bowl), it is the 15 extra practices you get in December. That's used for player development and training...kind of like an extra Spring Practice. With McCaffrey and Fournette sitting out, Stanford and LSU get to see what they have in depth and begin development for 2017. It IS most definitely an advantage.
Where I would have a real problem: The first player that sits out of a playoff game in College Football. THAT will be the "WHOA!" moment.
Here's a thought, would players be more likely to play in bowl games, if their teams and the NCAA paid for their insurance?
I'm only talking about draftable prospects here, but the NCAA, and the school (with the money they make from football) could easily start a tiered system for paying athletes that get injured in a bowl game, if it affects the player's draft stock, or ability to play in the NFL. This would be good pub for both the school and the NCAA if they are able to help a kid financially that was expecting a big pay day, but were injured in a bowl game.
I'm only talking about draftable prospects here, but the NCAA, and the school (with the money they make from football) could easily start a tiered system for paying athletes that get injured in a bowl game, if it affects the player's draft stock, or ability to play in the NFL. This would be good pub for both the school and the NCAA if they are able to help a kid financially that was expecting a big pay day, but were injured in a bowl game.
So the guy gets to the final year of his first NFL contract. Is he going to say "**** it, I'll sit out this year because I don't want to injure myself so I can get a monster contract."? I see this as a character flaw which makes him perfect for the Pats* or Raiders.
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I already raised this point.
If I'm an NFL team interested in McCaffery, I'm asking him if he intends to have some kind of opt-out clause for the final year of his contract where he can stop playing for any reason, mainly preparing for free-agency. If for no other reason than to see how he responds to the question.
McCaffery grew up wealthy, I don't know him from Adam, but he may have some entitled brat in him.
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NFL contracts are directly related to on-field performance or expected future performance. There is a much greater reward for playing and earning a better contract than it is for a college player to not play in a bowl game and risk dropping a few spots in the draft because of it. There's a reason it's called a "contract year" and NFL players actually tend to perform better or are at least perceived to perform better to try to get a better deal. No NFL team is going to incentivize sitting out a contract year with a "monster contract" as you mention.
Rookie salaries are capped and based on draft position so whether the player goes out and kills it in a bowl game will have no impact on their salary if they are still getting picked 15th regardless. So they could potentially move up a few spots with a monster game but risk losing many more millions by dropping out of the 1st round entirely.
In the real example of Jaylon Smith, he was a lock for a top 5 pick if healthy. The top 5 draft picks got a minimum $20m contract. Instead, he ended up with $6.4m over 4 years (plus $1m insurance payout). Had he sat out the bowl game, he gets a $20m contract, simple as that. The bowl game literally cost him at least $12m and an entire year of his career. How can you fault kids for taking this into consideration?
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