By Paul Casey Gotham
Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Wisdom can be defined as the ability to learn from the mistakes of others.
Somewhere in between those two, fans can find San Diego Charger holdout, Vincent Jackson, trapped in a web of expectations and past transgressions.
Last spring, Jackson had the opportunity to sign a $3.268 million dollar extension. Coming off a season where he accumulated 1,167 receiving yards, Jackson opted to take his chances.
He wanted to be paid like one of the top receivers in the league. Last year, his fifth in the NFL, represented Jackson’s second consecutive above the 1,000-yard plateau. Charger G.M., A.J. Smith – known as the “Lord of No Rings” for his shrewd dealings with players that have accounted for zero titles in his reign, did not agree.
Over the summer, the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Jackson sat out training camp.
For three games, Jackson has watched his Charger teammates play while his agent, Neil Schwartz, attempts to hammer out a deal with San Diego – either contract or a trade. His status takes on a different appearance when considering the three-game suspension Jackson must serve for his second offense to the league’s substance abuse policy.
Reports indicate that Smith is muddying the possibility of any transaction. Whether this is true or not, Jackson is the one with the ultimate decision: to play or not to play. His case hearkens back to the tale of embattled former NBA star, Latrell Sprewell.
After averaging almost 17 points in helping the Minnesota Timberwolves to the 2004 Western Conference Finals, Sprewell wanted a contract extension. The T-Wolves offered a three-year $21 million deal. Sprewell balked, infamously proclaiming: “I got my family to feed.”
Sprewell sulked the next season – the last of his contract. Minnesota offered nothing more. No other teams came calling, and Sprewell has not played in The Association since 2005. Sprewell’s personal life has gradually eroded. Instead of making money on the hardwood, he spent his time with lawsuits, foreclosures and repossession of property.
The contract offered by Minnesota looks good now.
Vincent Jackson might not like the contract tendered. Maybe $3+ million is not on par with a receiver that ranks in the top ten of some statistical categories. An NFL lockout looms. A.J. Smith knows Jackson chances to bargain are dwindling.
What choice will Jackson make? Repeating the insanity of someone who has come before him? Or, can Jackson learn from the mistakes of another?
Don’t understand how ANYONE can turn down a $3.2M contract for one year, let alone a deal for $21M … to play a game for a living. I guess that’s part of the reason why most of these guys are athletes and not sitting in a boardroom, working in a hospital, or on Capitol Hill.
Got brains? Nah.
Wally – why is this so obvious to us?
How much tax would one have to pay on $3 million? A ballpark figure would do?
$800k to $1 million in taxes on $3 million of income. I’m assuming there’s a state income tax too.
Why don’t more of these guys major in some type of business economics when attending college instead of “human studies” or sports management?
The most humbling thing in sports has to be when you realize that you’re expendable.
Or what is more humbling is when you become expendable and you realize you spent the entirety of your multi-million dollar contract.
Pa always says a penny saved is a penny earned.
Rey —
Many of these scholarship athletes at the “sports factory schools” aren’t very bright to begin with and furthermore they don’t get very good advice or counseling. Some of these big schools actually discourage some of the athletes from pursuing degrees that actually require study and work … like Accounting, Finance or Economics. If I’m not mistaken, that is what Jim Harbaugh said happened when he was at Michigan … and that’s why he currently is not on good terms with the UM administration. He outed them.
Yeah, but Wally, all I said was be a business major. I wasn’t suggesting any of these guys to go for engineering or pre-med. I just think some of these guys would actually benefit from learning about business and business ethics. And don’t you dare say being a business major is hard.
Rey —
Usually when you’re a business major, it involves picking a specific discipline within business … like Accounting or Marketing or Bus Info Systems … but I suppose some schools have general business majors with no real specialization. And agreed, that would be better than “general studies”, “PE” , etc to prepare and educate athletes about what they’ll actually face in life … and might even get ’em ready for a regular job.