Mike Wallace: Steelers' Star WR Must End Holdout

Rarely do I take the organization's side in a NFL player holdout, but in this instance, with these circumstances, Mike Wallace is making the wrong decision. 

Pittsburgh offered him a one-year, $2.472 million restricted free-agent tender this offseason, and the star wideout has yet to sign it. 

There were rumblings the two sides were coming close to a long-term contract, but Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offered this somber news to Steelers fans this week: 

"

The Steelers believe Mike Wallace will not report Thursday for training camp and will resume a holdout that occurred all spring over contract negotiations.

With that stance by Wallace, the Steelers are likely to suspend negotiations on a multiple-year contract for their Pro Bowl wide receiver.

"

Does Wallace deserve more money? 

Certainly. 

But what he, along with a few other NFL players, doesn't understand is that organizations don't pay for what players have done in the past. Though it'd be the respectful thing to do, it'd make no business sense if teams awarded their best players with "thank-you-for-your-service" deals. 

A guy like Maurice Jones-Drew, who at 27 with 1,484 NFL carries on his resume that has presumably already played his most productive football as a running back, should hold out in an attempt to receive as much money as possible "late" in his career.

Wallace is only 25 and plays a position that historically doesn't have a short shelf life. 

If the Steelers indeed take a firm stance and continue their suspension of contract talks, Wallace will be doing severe damage to himself financially and as a player.

He made drastic strides in 2011, becoming a more well-rounded receiver capable of running smooth, intermediate routes, shaking his designation as purely a downfield threat. 

By holding out, Wallace will miss valuable practice time when offensive coordinator Todd Haley intricately installs Pittsburgh's new offense, thereby halting his progression into an all-around receiver precisely when he should be entering his prime. 

He'll also create the reputation as another diva wideout with outlandish monetary demands. Not good when you're on the verge of the one mega deal that'll allow you to live a prosperous life after football. 

Believe me, if the former Ole Miss star signs the less-lucrative deal and improves even more in 2012, which essentially is a contract year, he'll get a huge pay day.

You can count on that.

The $2.472 million of annual compensation is significantly greater than the $525,000 he received in base salary last season, anyway. 

I know one thing—he's not making anymore money sitting at home while the Steelers open training camp, especially if Pittsburgh's front office isn't budging in negotiations.