For the record, S-A-M-A-R-D-Z-I-J-A.Second, as you're probably aware, Jeff Samardzija has chosen to join the Chicago Cubs and play baseball rather than enter the NFL Draft, where he most likely would have been taken somewhere in the first round.
This comes as a little bit of a surprise to me... I mean, normally guys opt for the more high profile NFL track and the whole playing right away thing rather than work their way through the Minors, as Samardzija will start in A Ball for the Cubbies.
But looking more closely, you have to think this was a pretty good decision for The Shark. Consider:
(1) MLB players don't take nearly the beating that NFL players do. Would you rather run a crossing route into the teeth of the defense or throw a ball? Same here.
(2) MLB contracts are guaranteed. Samardzija already has a 5 year, $10 million contract with bonuses making it potentially worth more. In the NFL he would probably be looking at a 5 year contract with about $6 million guaranteed, based on past amounts for draft picks.
(3) The average MLB players makes a lot more money than the average NFL player. This ties in with #2, but basically, no salary cap + not a lot of good pitchers = a lot of money for an MLB pitcher. Jason Marquis had an ERA of 6.02 and an ERA+ of 73 last year. He will make $7 million a year for the next 3 years. I rest my case.
So what do you think? Did he make the right decision deciding to play baseball rather than football?
6 comments:
Yes, he made the right decision. He's basically in a no-lose situation (insert favorite Cubs joke here). He has always said that baseball was his true love... why not focus on it?
Ivy in October
Why focus on the money. Common you're better than that. I think he just like baseball more.
I focused on the money because that's all I really can write about... I don't know the guy, so I know he says he likes baseball better, but there's no real way for me to expound about that.
So if he made the reason simply because he likes baseball, good for him... I'm just giving the monetary reasons that MAY HAVE (again, I have no idea his total motivation) played a factor, or at least show why it was a good decision from a monetary standpoint.
So I'm not really questioning his motives as all, just writing about what I basically can look at, which is the economic impact.
It's always about the money. I'm with Twins15, maybe he did like baseball better, but baseball also gave him approximately 4 million extra reasons to like baseball better.
I'm guessing that he was also very aware that his NFL draft stock may be declining. Considering there are some very good undergrads (Ginn, Johnson, et all)who entered the draft, and would go ahead of him.
Be it for the love of the game, or just the money, he did the smartest possible thing to guarantee his future.
My guess is that once it became clear that Samardzija realized he would no longer be able to catch passes from his boyfriend, Brady Quinn, he decided it was time to move onto baseball.
I imagine this was very much like a high school couple breaking up before each of them heads off to separate colleges.
But on a more serious note, picking baseball just seems like a smarter move, in terms of career longevity and money-making potential. I would've liked to see Samardzija play in the NFL, but he's going with the sure thing here.
After reading of his decision to only play baseball, I put up a list of the top multisport athletes of all time. Check it out. Its an interesting read.
Top Multisport athletes of all time
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