NFL holdouts nearly a thing of the past
By Andy Pollin
Marshawn Lynch’s late arrival at training camp was about the closest thing we’ve had to an NFL holdout this preseason. And it was over before the calendar flipped over to August – a far cry from the days that holdouts sat out the entire preseason, and even the regular season. Some holdouts were season-altering. Some were career-altering. And looking back, it all seems pretty stupid.
Consider the early days when a $1,200 dispute prematurely ended the career of a star performer on a championship team. After the Redskins won the 1937 NFL title, Cliff Battles asked for a raise from $2,800 to $4,000. Owner George Preston Marshall refused and Battles quit. He never played again. Many years later on the same team, John Riggins pulled a stunt much like it with almost the same result. In 1980, Riggins was making $300,000 a year, but wanted a $200,000 raise. When he didn’t get it, “Riggo” walked out of camp and missed the entire season. Without him, the Redskins dropped from 10-6 to 6-10, costing coach Jack Pardee his job.
Had the story ended there, the entire history of the Redskins would be dramatically altered. Fortunately for their fans, it wasn’t the end. One of the first moves new coach Joe Gibbs made in 1981 was to pay a visit to Riggins in Kansas and ask him to come back. As Gibbs tells it, Riggins greeted him at the door early in the morning with a beer in his hand. Sitting down at the kitchen table, Riggins looked the new coach in the eye and said, “You need to bring me back. I’ll make you famous.”
Gibbs says he figured the eccentric fullback was nuts and vowed to himself that he’d trade Riggins once he had him back in the fold. What he didn’t account for was a “no trade” clause in the contract. Riggins did in fact return, claiming he was “bored, broke and back.” Good thing he was. After a season of shaking off the rust, Riggins carried the load on his way to being named Most Valuable Player as the Redskins beat the Dolphins for the Super Bowl XVII championship.
Just over a decade later, there would be more holdout drama in D.C. The Gibbs glory days had ended and new coach Norv Turner hoped to rebuild with a franchise quarterback he thought to be in the mold of Troy Aikman, who Turner had helped guide to back-t0-back Super Bowl championships as offensive coordinator in Dallas. With Turner’s backing, the Redskins used the third pick of the 1994 draft to take Heath Shuler, who’d just finished runner-up for the Heisman trophy at Tennessee. Shuler missed half of his first training camp in a contract holdout and just never caught up. He was unloaded to New Orleans three years later and was out of football a year after that.
The spectacular bust-ness of Shuler may have been topped only by JaMarcus Russell, who held out the entire preseason for the Raiders after being taken number one overall in 2007 and was out of football three years later. In fact, it was Russell who may have had the biggest influence in changing the salary structure for rookies in the collective bargaining agreement that went into effect in 2011. Never again will so much money be wasted on players so unworthy.
And then there are those who hold out and prove they are worth it. With three seasons and a pair of rushing titles under his belt, Emmitt Smith didn’t get what he was looking for in Dallas for the 1993 season. Owner Jerry Jones decided to play hardball, let Emmitt sit and go with rookie Derrick Lassic. The results – not good. After the defending champions dropped to 0-2, defensive end Charles Haley flung his helmet in the direction of Jones in the locker room, yelling, “We can’t win with this (bleeping) rookie!” Days later, Emmitt became the highest paid running back in history, the Cowboys repeated as champions and Emmitt was the Super Bowl MVP.
For some holdouts, it’s a business decision. For others, it may be a higher calling. Sean Gilbert was slapped with the franchise tag by the Redskins for the 1997 season. He was due $2.8 million. Gilbert not only wanted nearly twice that, he claimed that God had told him to hold out for $5 million a year. Gilbert sat with the Lord for the entire season. While it may have seemed a foolish decision at the time, the Lord delivered. Before the ’98 season, Gilbert was dealt to Carolina for a pair of first round picks. And sure enough, the Panthers gave Gilbert a seven-year deal worth $46.5 million.
The chart-topper, however, has to be Bo Jackson. As was detailed in ESPN’s fine 30 for 30 film series, Bo was an unusual talent with unusual principles. After winning the Heisman trophy following the 1985 season at Auburn, Jackson was certain to be the number pick of the 1986 NFL draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held that pick after another dismal season. Jackson was also an outstanding baseball player at Auburn, but his destiny seemed to be football.
As the NFL draft approached, Jackson was asked by the Bucs to fly down to Tampa for a physical. He was told he’d be picked up in owner Hugh Culverhouse’s private plane. Jackson asked if they had checked with the NCAA to find out if it was legal to travel in a such a manner and was told by a Bucs official that they’d gotten the okay. He flew to Tampa, took the physical and was preparing for an Auburn baseball game a couple of days later when he was approached by his coach. Asked if he’d flown in Culverhouse’s plane, Jackson said yes. It was then that he was told it was in fact a violation and that he was ineligible for college athletics. Bo Jackson had been lied to.
He told the Bucs not to even bother drafting him. He would never play for that organization. They didn’t listen. Draft day came, Jackson went number one and he told the team they had wasted the pick. Incredibly Jackson signed with the Kansas City Royals and reported to their farm team in Memphis, riding buses instead of NFL charter flights. Unsigned in the NFL for the 1986 season, Jackson’s draft rights went back up for grabs in 1987. By that time he was showing signs of becoming a star in Kansas City and most thought his football days were over. Not Al Davis. The maverick Raiders owner, spent a seventh round draft pick on the former Auburn star.
It turned out to be one of the best fliers of all time. Jackson said sure, he’d play football as a “hobby.” He was pretty good at that hobby. In 1989, Jackson made the baseball All Star game and the NFL Pro Bowl. Though his career in both sports was short due to a hip injury, he remains in the minds of many, the greatest two-sport athlete in history. Imagine if he’d never had that football holdout.