Michael Crabtree: An Ignorant Kid Who Found Treasure....

(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

With the economic downfall in America, professional athletes are becoming less and less admired by the day. And if you're stuck up? Forget about it. In this past NFL draft, 256 kids were given the opportunity of a lifetime. They would have the chance to play football for a living—and make millions doing it.

No. 1 overall pick Matt Stafford signed a day before the draft, inking a deal worth $78 million over six years. Others, like Michael Oher, Jason Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Eugene Monroe, Andre Smith, and Aaron Curry didn't sign so quickly, but made sure to sign so they could get to training camp, get acclimated to the NFL life, and most importantly, learn the playbook.

But, to some people, some things are more important. Folks, meet Michael Crabtree.

In 2007, Crabtree exploded onto the scene as a freshman at Texas Tech. He was in an offense that also featured quarterback Graham Harrell, who threw for nearly 6,000 yards as a junior. Crabtree was his No. 1 guy. He was a four-star recruit out of Carter High in Dallas, TX, but mainly starred as a quarterback, throwing for nearly 1,000 yards, eight touchdowns, and six picks.

But the Red Raiders bred him as a receiver, and as a freshman, he was Harrell's go-to guy, catching a whopping 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns. His average game consisted of ten catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He slipped as a sophomore, but he still had a good season, with 97 catches, 1,165 yards, and 19 touchdowns. In two seasons, he had 231 receptions for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns.

He decided to declare for the draft and forgo his final two years of college. It looked extremely likely he would be a top-10 pick and the first wide receiver taken. But two months before the draft, he sustained a Jones fracture in his left foot. It required surgery, and he had to miss the combine (which is where all prospects can do is kill stock).

Then came draft day, and there was a shock element. The Raiders, with the seventh overall pick, had a choice to make. They could either take Crabtree or Darrius Heyward-Bey. The Raiders decided to take the speedy Bey and Crabtree slipped to the 10th overall pick, where the San Francisco 49ers jumped on him.

He looked very happy on draft day and it appeared the 49ers had their future No. 1 receiver. After all, Isaac Bruce isn't a legitimate No. 1 target.

Not so fast. It's Sept. 15. Preseason is over. Game one of the regular season is over. And Crabtree hasn't even caught a pass as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He must be hurt, right? Wrong. Totally wrong. He hasn't even signed a contract yet. His agent, Eugene Parker, represents some famous NFL players, but isn't at Scott Boras' level yet as being a pig of an agent.

"Is he willing to sit out the entire year? I think so. I really think so," Crabtree's friend Deion Sanders said. "There have been two teams that have contacted the 49ers desiring a trade and who will pay this kid and he knows that."

What Deion fails to point out is that, technically, he's not even allowed to get traded yet. The deadline for trading draft picks passed a month ago, so even if teams are interested in his services, he can't be traded yet. Let me make this clear: Crabtree is an NFL-ready prospect. He's tall, has good hands, and is a monster after the catch. But I must question the thoughts going through his mind here.

First of all, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. He has a chance to catch passes for a living, and he's passing that up because he wants $8 million a year instead of four? I don't think the kid gets it. If these draft picks who held out saw what's going on in America (poverty, health care, economic downfall), they wouldn't be so picky with contracts.

I know fans would love to see athletes stop doing that. For example, Mark Teixeira spurned the Baltimore Orioles' offer of seven years, $150 million in favor of the Yankees'  eight years, $180 million. With the O's offer, he'd make $21.4 million a year. With the Yankees, he'd make $22.5 million.

What's $1.1 million mean when you would already make 19.4 times that?

Same thing with Crabtree. The 49ers are willing to pay him $20 million over five years, but he wants $40 million. And now he's absolutely demolishing his career. It appears he'll sit out the entire 2009 season and re-enter the draft in 2010. Imagine this. If you have a chance to make $4 million a year, come in out of shape, maybe play a prominent role, and go back home, wouldn't you do it? Heck, I would.

But not Crabtree. He's going to re-enter the draft in 2010, and it really makes no sense at all. First of all, if he wants money, this is not the way to get it. He'll be drafted lower than he did last year, he'll get less money, and chances are, he won't live up to his hype. He'll be out of shape at the combine and teams will be turned off.

They'll be more inclined to draft other 2010 draft-eligible wide receivers like Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State) or Arrelious Benn (Illinois). Those guys don't appear to be divas like this guy. Michael just seems like a guy who found treasure, didn't know what to do with it, and threw it out. And as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?