Ndamukong Suh's “I Definitely Don't Want to Hold Out” Was Disingenuous

At a time when the people of the state of Michigan are suffering like many have never suffered before, where unemployment has oft led the nation, high-paying manufacturing jobs are a fanciful notion of the past, and the real estate market has plummeted, leaving many homeowners upside down with negative equity in their home’s value, or homeowners succumbing to short sale or foreclosure, isn’t it interesting to know that $35 million in guaranteed money isn’t enough to start a new job?

Do you find it audacious that the paltry sum of $40 million guaranteed money for a player who has never played a single down in the National Football League is insufficient to woo the player into training camp?

Do you think it is “over the top” for this player’s agent to suggest the player be paid an amount greater than the No. 1 overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft? A player who received $50 million guaranteed, when the top pick was quarterback Sam Bradford and Ndamukong Suh will play defensive tackle as the No. 2 overall pick? 

With the parameters of guaranteed money being $50 million for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and $35 million for the No. 3 overall selection (Gerald McCoy, also a defensive tackle), do you think Ndamukong Suh should receive more guaranteed money than the No. 1 overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, QB Matthew Stafford?

The answers to these questions have yet to be laid to rest between Detroit Lions team president Tom Lewand and Ndamukong Suh’s agent Eugene Parker.

It has now been reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN that Suh’s representatives were asking for a behemoth contract of

$90 million over six years with $56 million guaranteed. 

They are asking for $21 million more in guaranteed money than received by No. 3 overall pick, Gerald McCoy, and $6 million more in guaranteed money than agreed to by the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

So who works for whom in all of this, and is the tail wagging the dog? 

Who is the employer?

Ndamukong Suh.

Who works for whom?

Eugene Parker, as hired by Ndamukong Suh, works for Suh to represent his best interests to exact the best contract from his prospective employer, the Detroit Lions, as possible.

In other words, Ndamukong Suh hired Eugene Parker to rip the gold out of William Clay Ford’s mouth.

And if you think otherwise, you’re kidding yourself.

Big time. 

How many chances will Ndamukong Suh have to negotiate his first and only guaranteed NFL contract?

That’s right.

Once.

One time.

Better get it right.

Since none of us will be cashing Suh’s signing bonus or other pay checks, why does it matter in the first place?

Since none of us will be signing Suh’s check on the front side (that’s where the boss or the pay master signs), does it really matter what the final numbers are?

I mean, after all, we won’t be paying, because it isn’t our money, so who cares what he does with his bank roll?

Out of principle.

That’s why.

I think folks in Michigan have always been in tune with the ethos of an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

When you look at the numbers being offered, whether $38 million, $40 million, or all the way up to $50 million in guaranteed contract money, at what point to we reach diminishing returns on the "honest day’s pay" side of the equation? 

My economics professor was a University of Wisconsin Ph.D. who came to the United States from Ethiopia at age 16.

I was in the last economics class he taught prior to retirement and relocating back to Madison, so he shared the struggles he faced as a young student and shared his determination to reach his educational objectives and teach.

Based on the theory of economic rent, I understand clearly why these players are paid what they are paid due to the nature of the specific talent each possesses and the corresponding rent they are entitled to collect from the large numbers of people who pay to attend their work.

These men are entitled to collect special, unique rents that far exceed what most would consider a normal wage.

What I also know about the laws of large numbers is that if you already have large numbers (i.e. large sums of money), it makes it even easier to generate more large numbers.

This is math, not magic, folks.

Doesn’t it seem like $40 million guaranteed would be enough to get started with?

Yeah, me too.

The Lions are getting ready to guarantee more money to Ndamukong Suh than to the entirety of the balance of the team’s defenders.

Honestly, that’s just sick and wrong. 

If $40 million guaranteed isn’t enough to get you signed and in camp on time, then there is a major problem.

How much is enough?

Is $5 million more in guaranteed money over the draft pick below you fair?

If it isn’t fair, I’d sure like someone to explain to me why it isn’t.

Make sure you pack a lunch. I’ll be eating it for you. 

For those touting Ndamukong Suh’s intellectual firepower, it would seem to me that $40 million guaranteed should be sufficient to show up in Allen Park. 

The Detroit Lions have made QB Matthew Stafford the team’s highest-paid player with $41.7 million in guaranteed money.

Tommy Lewand needs to put on his Kenny Holland hat and say this to Ndamukong Suh and Eugene Parker, “Matthew Stafford is our best player, and he makes this amount. We’re not going to pay Suh more than our best player. Matthew Stafford is going to be the team captain, so here’s what we’re prepared to do. This is our final offer, $40M guaranteed over six years, which expires in 24 hours. After 24 hours, we will rescind the offer and replace it with a new maximum contract offer of $36 million. Take it or leave it.”

As a Michigan man, Lewand needs to set the tone for these negotiations.

If he doesn’t, I’m calling shenanigans on his U-M law degree.

Setting aside the booze might help "Tommy Boy" focus.

So far, this doesn’t smell like breath mints either.

You, the loyal fan of the Detroit Lions, are being held hostage by Ndamukong Suh and Eugene Parker.

Do you like that?

If you’re a lifelong fan like me, you probably don’t like it much.

Which feels worse—knowing Ndamukong Suh hired Eugene Parker to create exactly this situation, or knowing the entitlement theory that Parker thinks Suh should be paid $50 million or more in guaranteed money?

Who works for whom, Ndamukong?

It is you who is the ultimate decision maker, not Eugene Parker.

This holdout is 100 percent on you, Mr. Suh.

Here’s what I have to say for both Ndamukong Suh and Eugene Parker:

"Say what you mean and mean what you say."

I’ve got a long memory and a sharp quill.

Should both sides reach an agreement today and Suh finds his way to training camp on this blissful Sunday, this matter may soon eschew into the background, and Lions fans can be happy about having all of the 2010 Detroit Lions into the Lions den in Allen Park.

It was not Vincent Lombardi who offered the following quote.

It was not Sir Winston Churchill who uttered these famous words.

It was Ndamukong Suh who said: "I'm not a guy that likes to be a part of drama. I don't even like being in the limelight, so I definitely don't want to hold out."

Are you Suh about that?

Don’t try telling me that’s rain either.