Gordon is Grumbling
Here is something I never thought that I would catch myself saying on August 23rd, let’s talk football! It’s bad enough that we all have to tune into ESPN and watch highlights of the first quarter of a meaningless game between the Eagles and Jaguars or get updates every time Brett Favre scratches his groin in the preseason, but the press coverage this preseason is getting is absolutely absurd. I remember just last week, the Phillies had just come back from an 8-run deficit in two innings and the White Sox and Twins were battling for the lead in the AL Central and SportsCenter led off the show with a debate about Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb. I’m an Eagles fan and I don’t even care about that right now! But there is one story right now that should be getting some coverage because of the selfish nature of it, and that is the continuous absence of Darrelle Revis from Jets Camp.
Remember when signing a contract meant something? Yeah, me neither. But this story has some twists that are a couple extra kicks straight to the crotch of Jets fans.
The decision for athletes to hold out for what they think they are worth became famous with the antics of Terrell Owens in Philadelphia. Being from Philadelphia, I had front row seats to Owens working out in his driveway and spouting the phrase “I’m just trying to feed my family” and the question dodging by his snake of an agent Drew Rosenhaus. Since Terrell Owens has never been married, and only has one kid who lives with his mother, the fact that he was trying to “feed his family” inspired the crap that we have to put up with from these money grubbing athletes every offseason. We’ve seen it in the past, we see it now with Revis, and we are guaranteed to see it in the future (next in line is Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson).
I’ve got bad news for expecting Jets fans. Revis will not be suiting up for the Jets this year because he has absolutely no reason to. Even if he reported to camp today and decided to put all of this behind him, he will not lose a year off of his contract, keeping him in the same contract “problem” that he is having right now. At the end of the year, he will still have the same three years remaining that he did at the end of last year. Hell, the most productive things that Revis will do this year are his commercials for The Sports Authority. What makes this story sad is that Jets fans have already been through this charade with Revis once before. Revis held out for the current contract that he is now unhappy with. How can the Jets front office be expected to accurately evaluate the talent of their cornerback when he can’t even do it himself?
Let’s take a look at this from the Jets’ perspective. It doesn’t make much fiscal sense to renegotiate right now during an uncapped year, when it is all but guaranteed that their will not be a 2011 NFL season. Why drop countless dollars in guaranteed money when they can just wait for the new collective bargaining agreement to make sure that they are protected from all future trouble? They already have enough problems on their hands with Coach Rex Ryan getting in trouble for dropping countless F-Bombs on the season premiere of Hard Knocks on HBO.
Revis sure makes a mockery out of the idea that this is a team sport. As a sports enthusiast, I call it like I see it, and I see a money grubbing, selfish, egomaniacal athlete who is unhappy about being paid to play a game. The Jets have high expectations, expected to contend for a Super Bowl in the upcoming year, and Revis wants no part of it. It just shows that some athletes just don’t care about winning and are just looking out for themselves and Revis tops the list. The Jets are in a tough position because Revis absolutely solidifies a defense that could turn out to be the best in the NFL, but I say it’s time for someone to take a stand. If you’re not happy with millions of dollars a year to play 16 plus games, either go work for a living like the rest of us, or take a course in money management. Otherwise, we don’t want to hear about struggling to make the payments on your six cars and million dollar mansion. Shut up, and do your job, just like the rest of us do day in and day out. Until then, nobody else, including myself, wants to hear about Revis Island, which is guaranteed to be abandoned in the year 2010.
RyanKantor.com 
Thanks for another great guest post. I totally agree! If he had underperformed would the Jets ask him to take a pay cut? I don’t think so. Why is this a one way street?
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First of fellas, thanks for the read. Yes, it is true that Nick Mangold may have just saved the Jets defense. The Center was rewareded for his decision to NOT hold out with a new 7 year 55 million dollar contract, making him the highest paid center in the NFL. Mangold voiced dissatisfaction with the fact that his contract was not going to be reworked this offseason but decided that holding out would not be the way to go. Surprise, surprise, as soon as this contact becase official, Revis and his representatives decided that they would continue their negotiation without the ceremonial silver spoon stuck up Revis’ butt. While this seems like a positive step, it is reported that the contract talks are a little bit further apart than first reported. The Jets and Revis have agreed to a 10 year contract, but they are still differentiated by over $40 Million in compensation. We’ll see who will bite the bullet first in contract talks as opening day approaches.