DeSean Jackson Deserves To Get Paid (And Why He Won't)

DeSean Jackson is a rare NFL talent. I’m not someone that makes a living evaluating talent, but I can tell when a guy is quicker, faster and more explosive than anyone else sharing the field with him. DeSean Jackson is that guy, and his team’s chances of winning tangibly improve whenever No. 10 steps onto the field.

In terms of his overall worth to the Philadelphia Eagles, Jackson is being paid pennies on the dollar. The Cal product is scheduled to make $600,000 for the season. By contrast, Vince Young, the team’s backup quarterback, earned more in the team’s first three games, none of which he played.

Jackson is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, has made two Pro Bowls and has demonstrated that he can score anywhere on the field. It’s a safe bet that Jackson will be staring at his own bronzed likeness in Canton if he maintains that level of production through his career.

What’s wrong with this picture?

The only thing that could overshadow DeSean Jackson’s play is his attitude. And it has. The fourth-year wide receiver and punt returner is in the last year of his horrible contract, and wants to re-up for what he’s worth. Unfortunately for DeSean, the Eagles aren’t budging.

This might be one aspect of how Andy Reid’s regime has come under fire in Philly. The Eagles are renown for signing young players to multi-year deals geared toward ensuring the long-term health of the organization. What that provides a team is consistency, quality over time.

Where the franchise is often left wanting, in my opinion, is at the skill positions. While the Eagles have been very good since Reid’s arrival in 1999, they haven’t been great. That means a multitude of playoff appearances. Brief playoff appearances.

When the Eagles have deviated from that strategy, the results haven’t been optimal. Terrell Owens came to town in 2004. That resulted in one Super Bowl appearance and a lot of headaches—headaches that everyone saw coming.

That stop in Philly validated Terrell Owens place in the world as a high-maintenence locker-room cancer, and after a 2005 season where management was left to choose between Owens and Donovan McNabb, they chose McNabb and released Owens outright.

Owens did fine without the Eagles. He got a 3-year, $25-million dollar in Dallas, and was praised by the media for behaving himself, famously crying after their 2007 playoff ouster, “That’s my quarterback.” He spent two journeyman seasons with the Bills and Bengals, respectively. Somewhat ironically, both of those not-so-storied franchises are putting together respectable playoff runs this season without him.

Was the bouncing around really worth it? Maybe we should ask him.

So this franchise—and this coaching staff, really—have seen this movie before. That’s not to suggest that Jackson will, um, have an allergic reaction to medication anytime soon, but the path of petulance is well-worn in Philly. One would suspect that renown sports agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represented Owens and now represents Jackson, would have learned the lesson.

Unfortunately, a player’s best recourse is to appear satisfied and Jackson missed a special-teams meeting, a big deal for a punt-returner. That’s an unintelligent move from a guy that played his college ball in Berkeley.

One of the cold facts that is being increasingly documented about pro football is that whenever a player can’t be expected to blindly follow marching orders—whether it’s his health, age or temperment—his departure is eminent. Jackson needs to learn this, and immediately.

Michael Vick got paid. LeSean McCoy, arguably the most versatile running back in the NFL right now for the bargain price of $480,000, will surely get his after 2012. McCoy, whose shelf life as an NFL star is surely shorter than Jackson’s, hasn’t drawn attention to his contract situation, letting his play speak for him. And that’s better than any phone call Drew Rosenhaus could ever make.

No. 10 was as big a factor as anyone in the Eagles’ win against the Giants last night. DeSean Jackson is worth the money. But he might not be worth the headaches.