Jamarcus Russell, Quarterback, 292 pounds. Go ahead and lift your jaw off the floor and put your eyes back into their sockets. That is not a typo. That is how much Russell weighed when he reported for a workout with the Miami Dolphins in November of last year. Another thing you should know about Russell is that he made $31 Million dollars, just for signing his name. But Oakland did get more than just his signature. They also got 18 Touchdowns, 23 Interceptions and 22 Fumbles not to mention a QB rating of 65.2. I can't believe it was that high!
When Russell signed his contract, it was for a, then rookie record, of $62 million dollars. Luckily, the Raiders only had to pay him half of that amount. If a single player and a single contract had to be chosen to make Exhibit A in the "We need a rookie wage scale" trial, this is the perfect contract to use. Have there been #1 overall picks that have earned their contracts? Of course. But the majority of them do not work out and usually end up setting a team back five or six years rather than helping them become playoff teams.
I know that the rookie wage scale is just a small portion of what is being discussed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement but I think that even the veteran players would agree that the rookie contracts are completely out of hand. Does Sam Bradford really deserve to make more money than Ray Lewis? The NBA has really got things right when it comes to rookie salaries. LeBron James, as much as I hate to admit it, played well above his contract while he was in Cleveland. Luckily for him, there are no limitations on sponsorship money. And trust me, if you're the #1 pick in the NFL draft, you're going to get plenty of endorsement opportunities.
If you only make $2 million your first year instead of $10 million, your life is still going to be better than 99% of Americans. Play hard, earn more. That's how we do it in the real world. We work hard, we do our jobs well and THEN we get raises. We don't sign inflated contracts and then take pay cuts later because our production wasn't what they thought it would be. We don't get chance after chance after chance. If we don't do our job, we get fired. We don't get to stick around just because we have a guaranteed contract.
No matter how things turn out, it seems that when Millionaires fight with Billionaires, the fans are the ones that lose. Figure your issues out, come to an agreement and get on the field so we can continue to pay you. Because remember, if you alienate your fan base, you eliminate the people paying your salaries.
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