It's that time of the year again. With the off-season in the rearview mirror, the National Football League kicked off its highly anticipated 2009 season on Thursday.
But the offseason did not come and go all too quietly.
The past six months in the NFL have been some of the most highly publicized and overly-hyped months in league history. Veteran players made noise in the daily press without even stepping foot on the playing field.
Problematic wide receiver Terrell Owens was abruptly released from his beloved Dallas Cowboys and signed days later to the small-market Buffalo Bills. Brett Favre continued to play media mind-tricks before returning for his 19th season and the Philadelphia Eagles signed the controversial Michael Vick after he was released from a two-year jail sentence.
One of the biggest stories of the off-season, however, came from one particular NFL rookie.
It was not about Michael Crabtree's playmaking ability or incredible athleticism and it wasn't about his Hall of Fame potential. The situation regarding him and the San Francisco 49ers was all about the Benjamins.
Coming out of Texas Tech, the talented wide receiver garnered some of the biggest excitement for a collegiate player since Jerry Rice entered the league in 1985. Crabtree polished off his NCAA career with over 3,000 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns, en route to collecting numerous national awards. All signs pointed to the 21-year-old machine speeding down the road to stardom.
While the team that drafted him 10th overall anticipates his debut, Crabtree anticipates his first paycheck.
Out of the 256 athletes selected in last April's NFL draft, Crabtree remains the lone player without a professional contract. He was a no show for his rookie training camp and missed every exhibition game on the schedule. Crabtree will miss regular season action and has even hinted at skipping the entire season.
The contractual holdout comes down to one factor and one factor only: greed.
The 49ers have done all they can do to get Crabtree on the field. Team management has offered over $20 million to insert him on the team's depth chart. The five-year offer includes an estimated $16 million in guaranteed money. Nonetheless, Crabtree will not accept it.
In the NFL, highly endowed rookies are granted lucrative contracts before even playing a down in the league. Without a rookie salary cap, there is no limitation as to how much money teams can shell out to their promising talent.
Here lies the problem.
This year's first overall pick, Matthew Stafford, received the biggest rookie contract in sports history: a six-year deal worth $78 million with $41.7 million in guaranteed money. In all, the 31 first round draft picks have accumulated $444 million in guaranteed money.
Who knew football players were more important than doctors?
NFL rookies are the epitome of young athletes who believe they are worth more than their paycheck states. It's apparent that Crabtree has become spellbound by the dollar bill and has forgotten his love for the game. He is no longer a football player, but merely a businessman.
The kid is unquestionably gifted, but the same can be said for millions of college graduates across the nation and their multimillion-dollar paychecks will likely never come.
With no experience running a route or catching a ball in the pros, Crabtree has everything to prove and everything to lose. There is no guarantee that his collegiate success can translate to the big time. Sure, he dominated defensive backs in college, but this is the NFL: the opposition is bigger, faster and stronger. Until Crabtree can prove he can play with the big boys, he doesn't deserve the big payday.
While he sits around waiting to ink the dotted line, Crabtree is losing valuable time in a profession where every second counts. With every missed practice and every missed game, Crabtree falls behind the learning curve in a league that can throw out players faster than it picked them up. It's only a matter of time before the next young star blossoms and Crabtree is forgotten.
Get off your high horse, Mr. Crabtree. Accept the luxurious $20 million offer and get yourself on the football field. Deflate your ego and do what you do best. Be a playmaker, not a money mogul.
E-mail: spectrum-sports@buffalo.edu
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
