He complains about his salary when he makes tens of millions of dollars. He signs a sleazy agent and threatens to hold out. He publicly criticizes Philadelphia's most beloved player, Donovan McNabb. He reports to training camp only to "get injured" and sent home, where he is seen playing basketball and lifting weights freely. He is selfish, he is arrogant, he is a menace, but Terrell Owens has a point. Before we rush to judge Owens, let's consider the entire situation.
Yes, it does seem trivial to argue over a couple more hundred thousand dollars when you are making tens of millions, but let's not forget that this is a couple hundred thousand dollars. That amount of money can go a long way; it could pay for four years here, for example.
Also, if Owens' level of play declines, the Philadelphia Eagles would most likely cut him and other teams would not pay him as much. So naturally, shouldn't Owens ask for more money when he is playing at an extremely high level?
This level-of-play dilemma does some damage to most players' pocketbooks. For example, on average, a National Football League running back reaches his peak for touchdowns at age 25 and yards at age 26. His yards, yards per carry and touchdowns all decline around age 28 and see dramatic drops at age 30 and beyond. Therefore, if a player makes what he is worth, he should make the most money around age 25.
Unfortunately for players, however, this does not happen, because they are bound by rookie contracts. While first round picks generally make a good amount of money (such as Alex Smith's six-year, $49.5 million deal), players drafted later do not have the same fortune. A player drafted in rounds four through seven will most likely earn around $100,000 to $150,000 a year. This is because the NFL allots a pool of money for NFL teams to use to sign all their rookies. The largest pool this year -- $6.168 million -- was allotted to the San Francisco 49ers, which had 11 rookies to sign, including Alex Smith and his monster deal.
Many of the players drafted in the later rounds never really outplay these contracts. However, players like Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady (drafted in the 6th round) who turn out to be among the NFL elite remain grossly underpaid until the end of their rookie contract. To make matters worse, because late-round picks have no guarantee of making the team, they cannot afford to miss training camp time to hold out for a decent deal and essentially have no bargaining power. Therefore, teams sign them to long-term, low-paying contracts.
As a result, many players find themselves playing their best football under a sub-par contract from their rookie season. This is why a player like Terrell Owens will hold out for that extra little bit of money. Their financial situation often is not as wonderful as most people believe.
This has become a trend across the League with several elite players threatening to hold out or actually holding out. Javon Walker threatened to hold out while Hines Ward and Antonio Gates actually did miss time. Gates held out because of his low rookie contract and received a one-game suspension for his holdout before receiving a new contract.
Several rookies, looking to avoid the problems accompanied with the rookie contract, had holdouts as well. Alex Smith and Ronnie Brown (the first two picks in the draft) held out, while Cedric Benson (the fourth pick) still hasn't reported to practice.
Selfish, arrogant, a menace? Maybe Terrell Owens is, but his actions are not driven from a large ego alone. He is trying to take advantage of the few good playing years he has left, considering he did not make nearly as much money as he should have earlier in his career.
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