Darrelle Revis and the 10 Most Obnoxious Holdouts Ever

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Darrelle Revis, arguably the New York Jets most important player, is creating waves at training camp due to a holdout that appears to have no end in site.

Revis is irked about the money, or lack their of, he will make for the 2010 season and predictably wants more.

The Jets front office is working toward a resolution, but as of right now Gang Green is preparing for their season without their biggest impact player.

The burden is not all on the Jets front office as Revis is having a hard time compromising with the Jets brass. But where does Revis rank among the most obnoxious holdouts of all time?

10. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax

Los Angeles Dodgers star pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale had enough of the reserve clause and the lack of money they received compared to their Hall of Fame numbers.

So, in the spring of 1966 both pitchers held out of Spring Training demanding a three-year, $1 million contract that would be split equally between the two of them ($167,000 annually for each. 

Multi-year contracts were unheard of at that time in baseball, but the Dodgers eventually caved and locked up their two most important pitchers.

The holdout wasn't as much obnoxious as it was a true challenge to the ruling class of baseball owners who had complete control of a players' contract and future.

Koufax's and Drysdale's actions served as a precursor to free agency and a stronger players' union.

9. Darrelle Revis

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Revis isn't that high up the list.

Not yet. 

Revis has a legitimate case for holding out for more money. The Jets' shut down corner is not only the best in the game at his job but is under contract for a paltry $1 million this season.

That puts him eighth on the salary depth chart of defensive backs on his own team.

The highest salaries for NFL defensive backs tops out at $9 million, that is unless you include the artificially inflated salary of Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha who makes $15 million a year.

Revis wants to be the highest paid cornerback in the league but the Jets will not go as high as $15 million which they view to be a ridiculous outlier. 

Revis' failure to appreciate the situation will continue to make things tough for Jets ownership.

8. Brady Quinn

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The Browns selected Ohio native Brady Quinn in the first round of the 2007 Draft to be their "hometown" guy under for the long haul.

Four years later and that dream is crushed, but the Browns should have known something was up when Quinn held out over $500,000 of a guaranteed contract that paid him over $7 million. 

Quinn's holdout lasted only 11 days, but he left a bitter taste in the mouth of first-year Coach Romeo Crennel, lost the opportunity to start Week One, and his career in Cleveland never recovered.

7. J.D. Drew

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J.D. Drew has long been accused of diva-like behavior with ticky-tack injuries, but the warning signs were there long before he joined the Red Sox.

Drew was the second overall pick by the Phillies in the 1997 Draft. However, Drew and his agent Scott Boras (of course) refused the Phillies' $2 million signing bonus which was much higher than the norm for the draft back then.

Instead of signing, Drew went to play one year of independent league ball with the St. Paul Saints before entering the 1998 Draft.

That year, the Cardinals picked Drew and signed him to a $9 million bonus. 

The blowback for Drew?

Phillies fans showered him with D-cell batteries upon his first visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

6. Eli Manning

Eli Manning was going to be the top pick in the 2004 Draft. 

The Chargers held the top pick and made very clear their intention of drafting Manning.

But Manning wanted no part of the Chargers, instead demanding a trade before the pick even came off the board.

The New York Giants, which coveted Manning before the draft, selected Philip Rivers and shipped him plus draft picks to San Diego for Manning.

Manning never made it clear why he opposed playing in San Diego, but the "little brother syndrome" spoiled many NFL fans' opinions of the younger Manning.

5. John Elway

John Elway was selected by the Baltimore Colts with the first pick in the 1983 Draft.

However, Elway had no intentions of ever playing for the Colts as he believed they did not give him a chance to win. 

Elway was already a minor leaguer in the Yankees system and threatened to leave football for baseball if the Colts did not trade him.

Colts owner Robert Irsay eventually caved and traded Elway to Denver. 

It took the Colts another 15 years to find the right quarterback.

4. Kelly Stouffer

Stouffer (who? exactly) was the sixth overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1987 Draft.

However, the former Colorado State quarterback held out for his entire rookie season before he was traded to the Seahawks the following spring. 

Stouffer spent the better part of his four years in the NFL bouncing up and down the Seahawks depth chart.

He accumulated only 2,333 yards, seven touchdowns, and 19 interceptions and was released in 1992.

Sitting out his rookie season probably was not the best idea in the long run.

3. Michael Crabtree

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The 49ers need Michael Crabtree to develop into a No. 1 target.

However, they nearly missed the chance after Crabtree engaged in a long, obnoxious holdout last summer.

Crabtree, selected 10th overall in the 2009 Draft, did not report to 49ers camp when they opened in late July 2009 and began a three-month holdout that left him on the sidelines until Week Seven of the season.

Crabtree got his six-year, $32 million deal with $17 million guaranteed and $9 million more than the 49ers originally offered.

In between there were accusations of tampering by the Jets and general ugliness that labeled Crabtree as a diva wide receiver before he even put pads on.

2. Eric Lindros

Eric Lindros was the top pick in the 1991 NHL Draft by the Quebec Nordiques.

Unfortunately for the Nordiques, Lindros made it clear from the get-go that he had absolutely no intention of signing with the NHL's smallest market.

Lindros held out, and the Nordiques originally refused to budge and said they would never trade Lindros.

A year later, the league broke through the stalemate and the Nordiques shipped Lindros to the Flyers in a three-way deal that included the Rangers and eventual Stanley Cup winners Peter Forsberg, Mark Simon, and Mike Ricci. 

Lindros got out of Quebec, but his career could be considered a disappointment.

1. Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington was one of the best high school arms in America in 2000. 

That's why the Colorado Rockies drafted him with the seventh pick in that year's draft. 

However, he turned down a $4.9 million signing bonus and re-entered the 2001 Draft.

In his second turn at the draft, Harrington was selected 58th overall by the Padres but turned down a $1.2 million contract.

He entered a THIRD draft and was selected in the 13th round by the Devil Rays who offered him the standard five-figure bonus.

Again, Harrington turned it down.

Harrington put his name in two more drafts and was amazingly selected both times, by the Reds and Yankees respectively. 

However, neither offered him a guaranteed contract.

What was the guy thinking?