The sky is apparently falling because players who are about to declare for the NFL Draft are skipping their bowl games. To which I say, good for those kids who are concerned about their bodies and earning potential at the next level. At any moment during a game, someone could see their entire future go up in smoke in a meaningless game which they aren’t seeing a dime of.
If you’ve seen any of the blowback to Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette punting on their school’s postseason game, the common theme is a mixture of “How can you abandon your teammates” to “It’s your last game so how can you step away from it?”
There’s even been some former and current NFL players that have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on this. As NFL Hall of Fame member Marshall Faulk tweeted: “If a RB can’t play in a bowl game vs college competition without getting hurt. How in the hell is he going to play 16+ games in the NFL?”
Current Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott tweeted: “All these young guys deciding to skip their bowl games. I would do anything to play one more time with my brothers in that scarlet and gray” and “One last time to honor your university and one last chance to play with your boys who will be your brothers for life.”
Elliott would apparently do anything to play one more time with his brothers; but not play one more season as he had another year of eligibility left at Ohio State but decided to forgo it for the NFL. That bowl bowl game that he played, his final in a college setting, was the Fiesta Bowl, which is a part of the New Year’s Six.
It’s not a contest that is thrown in with every other bowl game as McCaffrey will skip the Hyundai Sun Bowl while Fournette saying thanks, but no thanks to the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.
One person who isn’t upset with the Stanford Cardinal running back sitting out is McCaffrey’s head coach David Shaw. “We understand that this was a very difficult decision. For three years, Christian has not only been a great player, but a great teammate, as well,” Stanford coach David Shaw said in a statement. “We wish him great success at the next level, as we continue our preparation for the Sun Bowl.” (ESPN)
So, if his head coach isn’t upset about one of his best players missing this game, then why is anyone else? While school pride is nice, winning the Sun or Citrus Bowls mean nothing to the end of the 2016 season. Instead, the coaches at LSU and Stanford, and just recently Baylor as running back Shock Linwood is skipping the Cactus Bowl, now have chances to look at who will step up for these players when they’re not at school next season.
The bowl game sites, conferences, coaches, administrators, band directors and schools will still get their pay days no matter who sits or plays for the football team playing in the post season. Who won’t see a dime of the $4.25 million of the Citrus Bowl, or $2.15 million of the Sun Bowl, or the $3.35 million Motel 6 Cactus Bowl payouts, Fournette, McCaffrey, or Linwood. (Statistic Brain)
Good for the players sticking up for their futures and not caving to peer pressure from fans who say they care about their futures but demand they play in a pointless game for their selfish happiness.
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