Victor Cruz Thinks He Took Less Money Than He Deserves
By Mike Dyce
Victor Cruz just signed a deal that will keep him with the New York Giants for the next 6 years at a overall cost of $45 million. That’s over $7 million a year. It’s so much money in fact that it could’ve forced his friend and teammate out of New York by not leaving enough funds on the table. But Cruz said they hope they find the money to keep Hakeem Nicks around.
But Victor Cruz thinks he took less money than he deserves.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. It’s tough. When you understand from a numbers standpoint, and the numbers you put up you feel like deserve a certain amount of money,” Cruz said on Sirius XM NFL Radio, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
“But I’m not going to say it’s easy when you see guys getting these huge paydays and you feel like you’re at the same caliber, if not better than some of those guys,” Cruz said.
Cruz thinks he could’ve gotten more money on the open market, but the fact is New York might have kept franchising him (in 2014 and ’15) and prevented him from reaching the open market. Still $45 million and six years is a lot for a player who was an undrafted free agent. Plus he is playing in a first class organization, with a veteran and talented quarterback with a shot at a Super Bowl ring every year.
“You ask yourself, would you want to play for this amount in New York and play in the best city in the world and play football,” Cruz explained, “or do you want to take a big payday and go somewhere like, you know Kansas City or Minnesota, where your family might not be able to come as often as you want and you’re living in a city you’re not too familiar with and it’s an adjustment for you?”