Darrelle Revis Continues to Hold Out

So the latest word out of Jets camp is that stud cornerback Darrelle Revis will continue to refuse to participate in training camp until he is duly rewarded with a new contract. Revis wants to be the highest paid player in the NFL. I guess he has a point, since he was clearly the league's best shutdown corner last year and shined against most of the top wideouts in the NFL. He's slated to make $1 million in the 4th year of his 6-year rookie contract.

Here's my gripe. First, with the league's rookie contract policy. I think it should be like the NHL. How often to you see NHLers holding out once they reach stardom? Not often, because the maximum length you can sign a rookie to is 3 years. Then their contract is up, and they will get the money they want. But in the NFL, teams start locking up rookies for 6 years at rookie pay. What do you expect? If he becomes a star, he'll demand money. Same thing happening with Chris Johnson. He clearly deserves more money. But he's still under the rookie deal. Teams shouldn't be able to lock down rookies for more than 3 years in my opinion. If they just made a stricter policy with the rooks, then the NFL would stop losing its credibility with these damn hold outs all the time. That's my main gripe. Not with Revis. He deserves the money.

With that said, though, I'm not condoning Darrelle's actions. I hate when players hold out. Tom Brady is the prototype for how players should act in regards to contract issues. Guy deserves so much more money than he's making. But he won't let it distract his pursuit for a championship. Winning comes first. Money comes second. That's admirable. Clearly, it's not the case with Revis. What gives him the best chance at a ring? Making millions more than he makes, or working his ass off with his team during training camp? He'll get the money. And he'd be much easier to work with if he just cooperated. By holding out, you create irreparable tensions. That hostility will always be there now. Everybody's on edge. It's not the formula to success. How often do you see guys holding out on teams that end up winning the Super Bowl? Not often. Like I said, it's not the winning formula. So I guess this is just the first step in what I expect to be a string of failures and incompatibilities that will show everyone once and for all that the New York Jets aren't a championship team yet.