Terrell Owens: Overpaid by $24,999,999

By Mark Hoerrner

It’s not that he’s overpaid. Ok, it is because he’s overpaid. Fans come to expect more from players touted as "marquee-quality," but at the very least, they expect the player to be competent when he’s not making the show-stopping touchdowns, pass receptions and field runs. Owens, in the last three years, has shown himself to be nothing but hot air.

From "accidental" overdoses to phantom hamstring injuries, Jerry Jones’ golden retriever Terrell Owens has yet to play a game where he hasn’t dropped the ball. And at the end of games – especially the most recent game last night where Owens’ former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, pounded Dallas 38-24 - Owens has the audacity to stomp off the field with all the bluster of a three-year-old who has been told he can’t have a third scoop of ice cream.

Last night’s game may be a harbinger of what’s to come from Owens – third string play followed by sideline antics more suited for World Wrestling Federation matches than an actual football game – and the fans will be the lucky beneficiaries of Owens antics.

It probably shouldn’t bother anyone that he’s one of the highest paid athletes in football who seems genuinely unable to actually play the game he’s paid to play. The fans in Philadelphia were jaded by Owen’s on-field demeanor and unproductive play as were the Eagles’ management. Jones saw something in Owens’ play that helped him decide to offer the receiver a very lucrative contract, yet game after game, Owens has been nothing but a dead weight to Dallas.

Last night, Drew Bledsoe, the Cowboys’ star quarterback, was the one in Owens’ sights. He refused to directly call out Bledsoe but the innuendos from Owens were clear: Bledsoe couldn’t throw the right passes. Owens actually made the following statement:

"I'm not going to sit up here and point a finger, so you guys can create a story," Owens said during the press conference. "It's not about that. It's frustrating. Opportunities were there and we didn't make them. I'm a competitor. I do not like to lose. Maybe I need to work harder."

That last bit is perhaps the sentiment Owens should reflect upon daily. Perhaps he does need to work harder, if only to be able to catch and carry the passes thrown his way instead of complaining about the rest of the team. It could be that all the time Owens was supposed to be adjusting to the Bledsoe’s arm was spent inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber daydreaming about ways to spend his millions.

The most amazing part is that no one seems to want to hold Owens accountable.

Jones has consistently defended Owens. When Owens’ performance has been below expectations, no demands for improvement have been made. Yet last night should be a wake-up call for the receiver. No other team management would be as lenient with a player, nor would they sit by and consistently allow a player to underperform. This is the last stop for Owens as no other franchise is going to seek his talents when it’s clear that two legendary franchises with expansive resources have failed to help Owens develop.

Owens will have to perform in the coming weeks if he’s to remain a going concern in professional football. Two to three more haphazard showings like last night’s Cirque du Sloppy and Owens will have to come down and live on the planet with the rest of us, sans his $25 million salary.