Mercenary football is good
Mar 16, 2012, 8:20 PM | Updated: 9:22 pm
Mercenary football is good. There is an understanding
between employer and employee: you play, I’ll pay. Players
take the field, give all they possess, bloody the
knuckles, rake a few backs, draw a little blood, laugh as
they spoil and then pick up a check Monday. This is the
way it has been since William (Pudge) Heffelfinger was
paid $500 dollars to play in a game in 1892.
Being a human being while playing mercenary football is
bad. Players that take the field, give all they possess,
bloody the knuckles, rake a few backs, draw a little
blood, laugh as they spoil and then pick up a check on
Monday also have souls. Souls and sensibilities don’t
always mesh with big boy football.
Loyalty in the NFL is acknowledged but never expected.
Owners will pay the next mercenary better than you if you
don’t perform. Owners and teams want to win and all they
care about is your fulfillment of your end of the bargain.
You storm the gates, scale the walls and run people
through or you won’t be getting paid.
Every player that buckles the straps knows the deal
between kingdom and Hun. Kevin Kolb is going to be fine.
The Arizona Cardinals courtship of Peyton Manning should
have no impact on Kolb. Big Red had a chance to pursue a
future Hall of Fame quarterback because he had an interest
in playing for them. Matt Schaub would have a problem with
this, Matthew Stafford should have a problem with this and
doing this to Cam Newton would be almost criminal, but
Kevin Kolb has much to prove. The Cardinals had a chance
to do something special and they took a swing. No harm, no
foul.
If Kevin Kolb is broken over the Cardinals pursuit of
Manning he wasn’t the right guy for the job to begin with.
Moreover, as it stands, Kolb is going to face a QB battle
in Flagstaff with John Skelton. Will this break him or
impact his confidence negatively?
No.
Kevin Kolb is a mercenary of the highest order. He has
been paid handsomely to play QB for the Arizona Cardinals.
He has benefitted greatly from this agreement.
Lets hope he’s more Attila than Bleda.
