Mike Wallace: Holding out Will Harm Star WR's Earning Power

If Mike Wallace wants to get paid like Larry Fitzgerald, why not play for the man that helped Fitz get that $120 million deal?

The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has yet to end his holdout, but all signs are pointing to him returning sooner rather than later. Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times reported that Emmanuel Sanders said of a potential Wallace arrival:

“There’s a little buzz around the team that he’ll be coming back pretty soon. I don’t know the exact date, but it’s looking pretty good.”

If Wallace knows what’s good for him, he won’t wait until Week 10 to show up. Sure, he’d avoid injury which, in theory, would prevent him from suffering a drop off in his potential payday. But if Wallace paid attention to the NFL before his rookie season, he’d understand what a year under Todd Haley would do for the price he’d be able to demand on the open market.

It would skyrocket it.

In the two seasons Haley was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, they finished fifth and second in the league in passing yards per game. Fans are so quick to give Kurt Warner credit for that success, but before Haley took over in 'Zona, Warner was considered washed up, remember?

Pre-Haley, Warner couldn’t hold on to a job to save his life. After he broke his finger in 2002, he lost starting roles to Marc Bulger, Eli Manning, Josh McCown and Matt Leinart.

As soon as the Cards’ hired Haley, Warner regained his MVP-caliber touch. As a result, their wide receivers lived a dream for the next two years.

Fitzgerald had the most productive seasons of his career, catching 196 balls for 2,840 yards and 22 touchdowns. Anquan Boldin was forced to miss eight games during Haley’s reign due to injuries, but he still managed to record 160 receptions for 1,891 yards and 20 touchdowns. And for crying out loud, in 2008, Fitzgerald, Boldin and Steve Breaston all went over 1,000 receiving yards on the year.

The sooner Wallace returns, the quicker he’ll learn the Steelers’ new playbook. And the quicker he learns the Steelers’ new playbook, the closer he’ll be to posting Fitzgerald-like numbers.

And then maybe—just maybe—he’ll earn that triple-digit contract.

But that only happens if he plays an entire season in Haley’s system.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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