I was listening to ESPNRadio this morning, and the host mentioned that Wes Welker was quoted as saying something along the lines of, "He chose money over championships", in reference to Asante Samuel's six-year, $57M contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Osi Umenyiora was on the air, and said that he would have done the same thing, due to the fact that feeding his family comes first. This is a point of view that I just can't wrap my head around.
Anybody who isn't a professional athlete looks at a six-figure salary and considers it a dream (in some cases, a dream come true). These guys act like their families will go hungry if they don't make millions of dollars every year. Can somebody explain this logic to me?
I understand that a person who chooses a career in professional sports has a time window that is much smaller than that of an IT technician or a nurse. You will not be celebrating 30 years with the company when you're getting ready to retire.
But honestly...these guys make more in one year than most people's 401k plan amounts to over the course of their entire life.
This topic even spills over into the debate about whether or not an athlete should stay in college until they have their degree. If these guys are so concerned about feeding their families, then why is it that they bet the bank on a long, prosperous career in sports?
Had you stayed in school and earned a degree, your time window would suddenly become a whole lot bigger, since you can go out and get a normal job once your career in sports has ended.
I think what digs me the most about this is that some of these athletes do not appreciate the organizations that employ them. Yes...it's a business, and these are business decisions.
But when a team like the Patriots has you on their roster and wants to keep you, why not work something out? They basically made Samuel into what he is today, and I believe that will be proven when the Eagles try to use him in a cover scheme. He will be burned every time.
Suddenly he'll be double-checking how much of that contract was in guaranteed money.
The Patriots knew what they had, and Samuel knew what he was doing in their system. What happened to showing some loyalty to an organization that has molded your career?
Oh, that's right...poor guy needs to feed his family.
'Til next time....
Chris Radez is a columnist at Bleacher Report, and he is one of the founders of TheScoreBoards Sports Forums. You can reach Chris by commenting on this article, leaving a note on his BR profile page, or by sending him a note at TSB, where he lives under the moniker NEsince92.
19 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew Kaufman about 1 year ago
I never really understand the concept of player loyalty that fans expect... if a player has a bad season, we boo him and jeer him and then he gets cut because contracts aren't guaranteed.
Also, if ESPN offered you a million dollars today to write for them because they read all your work on Bleacher Report and loved it, would you turn it down because it was Bleacher Report that helped you get your start and gave you a place to publish your work? I have a hard time thinking any of us would.
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Chris Radez about 1 year ago
That's completely different. I don't currently make any money writing sports articles. Asante was making plenty of money with a team that helped him to mature as a player.
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Matt Breen about 1 year ago
When you make money you don't suddenly stop wanting it. The difference between one million and two million is huge. The phrase, feed my family is obviously overblown, but think about it, most people wouldn't turn down extra money including myself. Don't be naive.
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John Swist about 1 year ago
Asante dropped a wide open pick that would have brought home the Patriots 4th Super Bowl title.
If you can't feed your family on 4 Million dollars a year, maybe you should try living with some of the below poverty families in America and take some notes on how they do it.
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Steve Frith about 1 year ago
I see your point Chris, and agree whole-heartedly. Players as rookies say "I grew up dreaming to play for the (insert team here), and now it's a dream come true!" When their contract is up, they forget that dream come true part and start looking for the next team that will pay them more. Lots of players will go where the money is, rather than to tough it out with a team. Even if a team is doing good, like the Pats team, players, like Asante, will go where the money is. I hope it bites him in the ass.
Teddy Bruschi was offered a few deals in the mid-late 90's to go to other teams.....he opted to stay with the Pats, and has even taken pay cuts (as have other players on the team, including Brady and most recently Moss...although Moss took less than what he could've got elsewhere, he opted for the championship over the money) so that he'd have less of an impact on the salary cap and the team could get more/better/different players.
At Matt....what's your favorite team? Would you play for them for 45 million $$? Now, what team do you hate the most?...and I mean despise the most, the team that if their hair were on fire you wouldn't piss on them to put it out. Would you play for them for an extra million? Extra 5 million? See what I mean...it's not naive, it's a combination of loyalty and desire to play for your team, not just play for a team that's willing to spit out the biggest pay check. Don't you think that other NBA teams offered Michael Jordan more than what the Bulls were paying him? Don't you think that teams offered Bird more money, and the list goes on and on.
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Matt Breen about 1 year ago
I don't know if Jordan and Bird were offered more money. Do you know or is that an assumption? I'd go with happiness over money but not loyalty to a team/buinsess unless the team/buiness was loyal to me. It's a buiness, if a team doesn't pay you your worth, why wouldn't you take the money? Sitting here as a fan it's easy to say I would take 5 mil less to play for the Patriots than the Colts or something. But after making my money and spending it and paying taxes, and being greedy, I'd probably take the 5 mil. I can see how athletes feel disrespected if a team doesn't offer them the money theyre worth. I know after you make 45 m, 5 m sounds like nothing, but it's not, its 5 MILLION DOLLARS its a HUGE difference.
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Steve Frith about 1 year ago
I can remember reading years ago that Jordan turned down "bigger" offers from other teams, and I can remember people talking about Bird being bought out earlier in his carreer. So, since I can't put anything in concrete...I'll have to say it's hearsay-although I can't imagine some other team not offering Jordan a bigger and better contract.
I see what you're saying though-and I'm in the same boat as you...I'd stay with the team I love for less money rather than jump ship and get greedy. I can also see where after a few years (like 5 or 8 yeras) where more money would play a role in decisions of staying or leaving.
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Chris D'Aniello about 1 year ago
You guys are talking like Asante was the one that said "I took money over championships." We can't know why he left. And anyway, the NFL is a business. You don't turn down a promotion where you'll make more money because you like delivering mail. It's not the World Cup. It's not about "loyalty" and pride.
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Matt Breen about 1 year ago
That was kind of dumb for Welker to say. I'd like to see what Welker does when he's a free agent.
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Bruce Dickenson about 1 year ago
Not to mention, what champtionship...they lost. Maybe he thinks the Eagles have a better chance to win this year.
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Chris Radez about 1 year ago
Obviously, he was referring to the fact that the Patriots are still in position to contend. Also, they did win the AFC Championship.
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Bruce Dickenson about 1 year ago
Look, I agree that he probably left for money. Again though, I am suprised to see another Patriot blabbing anything to the press. That is not the Patriot way and I think you Pat fans should be concerned if it continues.
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Joseph Massey about 1 year ago
Normally, I don't buy the arguments about how players should stick to one team, especially in football. This is a sport that shows zero loyalty to players, yet commands it back. However, the Patriots may be the one exception. If you care about winning, it's a good place to sign.
Clearly he chose money, but things change so fast in the NFL, he's not exactly going to a team he knows is a doormat.
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Chris Radez about 1 year ago
The Eagles underperform every season. They have the talent required to do well, and they usually show up for 2 or 3 games per year and show everyone what they're capable of ... but their inconsistency kills them.
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Chris D'Aniello about 1 year ago
They've made the playoffs 6 of the past 8 years. They have 8 playoff wins since 2000, they've made the NFC championship 4 times since 2000, and the Super Bowl in 2004. They're probably the most consistent team in the NFC.
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Bruce Dickenson about 1 year ago
Nice job Chris. If I weren't a JETS fan, I would probably be an Eagles fan. Love the fans love the team. Good luck this year.
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Tim Lubeck about 1 year ago
It's true, he's not really choosing championships over money, he's trying to get both. And as a fan of the NFL I can't wait to see what he'll do, or won't do in a new system. However, to get back on topic, lets not forget he is PLAYING A GAME he gets to do what I'm sure many of us would love to do, and I don't know about you, but I'd be happy with the NFL minimum salary.
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Spenser T. Harrison about 1 year ago
He already has championships, two rings in fact; unlike Welker.
Anyone else would do the same thing in his situation; get your money son.
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Matt Breen about 1 year ago
Gotta get that money man
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