Loyalty is lacking, from top to bottom

By Jeff Daniels Sports Central Columnist

Do you want to hear something funny? I read an article last week that criticized Marvin Lewis' lack of loyalty. Now that's downright hilarious. The NFL and loyalty shouldn't even be use in the same sentence.

Maybe the NFL should stand for "No Freaking Loyalty" instead of National Football League.

Before I became a sportswriter, I always criticized athletes for not playing out their contracts in the NFL.

Becoming a part of the NFL's fraternity of sportswriters, however, has opened my eyes to the real truth about loyalty in the NFL. Fans often times criticize their favorite players for holding out when they're already under contract.

Hey, I understand, I was one of those criticizing fans at one time. Pardon me, but let's think about Sunshine Anderson and the title of her hit song released last year "Heard it All Before."

First and foremost, it's a contract and a player signs the contract, so they should be forced to honor that contract. No one put a gun to their head and made them sign it. Right? Wrong.

Why should a player be forced to honor a contract when owners and front office personnel are not forced to honor it?

A GM, coach, owner can call a player into their office at anytime and basically give them an ultimatum: either renegotiate that contract, or risk being released outright.

Hmmm, that's interesting, I thought it was a legally bounding contract. If it's a contract, don't the owners and GM's have to honor it?

The truth is, they don't have to honor it, and often times, won't honor it. Look no further than the 105 players on the expansion list for the Houston Texans.

GM's around the league are hoping and praying that the Texans take some of their high-priced veterans off their hands, and by the way, if they don't, yeah, you guessed it, they'll simply cut them if they won't renegotiate. It's all about that cap figure!

There are some impressive names with impressive cap figures for the 2002 season. Let's take a look at some of those cap hits GM's are trying to rid themselves of.

Sean Gilbert, Carolina Panthers ($10,210,000), Tony Boselli, Jacksonville Jaguars ($8,949,332) (picked by Houston on Monday), Chris Chandler, Atlanta Falcons ($8,500,00), and Tim Bowens, Miami Dolphins ($8,750,000) -- just to name a few.

The only truly guaranteed money for an NFL player is his signing bonus. Players hold out every year, often times after a big year, mainly because of the lack of loyalty from the owners and GM's around the league.

It's kind of funny, though -- this year, the lack of loyalty seems to be at an all-time high. The Buccaneers have basically kicked Rich McKay out the door without saying goodbye, or even giving thanks. John Gruden, who has done a great job in Oakland, couldn't get an extension from Al Davis and was named head coach of Tampa Bay on Monday when the Bucs paid Davis enough to make the deal. The Forty-Niners even seem ready to kick head coach Steve Mariucci (47-33) out the door, as well.

The pendulum not only swings for players, but coaches and GM's, as well. NFL fans need to open their eyes and see the big picture. The days of dynasties and loyalty are over in the NFL. Free agency and salary cap implications have ended loyalty in the NFL.

So to all of those fans wanting to see some loyalty from the players, please ask for some loyalty from the owners and GM's, additionally. The NFL has simply turned into a cutthroat society, kind of like corporate America -- in one day out the next, no warning, no anything!

The next time you see that player holding out, understand why. He simply knows the pendulum will be swinging towards him, eventually. The only question is when.

The irony of the matter is that GM's and coaches also are starting to get axed by that same pendulum and they are often times the ones placing players under it.

The pendulum continues to swing, and it doesn't care who it hits.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.