JoeSixPat
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2004
- Messages
- 11,891
- Reaction score
- 2,554
Yeah I doubt he'd sit out Game 1 too with a national audience. He'd probably go all out in that game to show he's still got his stuff.\]
He is NOT sitting out the first game, Zero chance of it. He is under contract for the next TWO years. Doing it would make him a pariah in his own locker room. It will also lower his value to every team. Who wants to pay over a 100MM to a guy who has PROVEN he will take his toys and go home if you piss him off and things aren't going his way. Gonzo has done NONE of these things so far in TC.
The stuff you describe is the stuff you do when you are a FA,, NOT when you have 2 more years left on your contract. The day I take Gonzo's side in this dispute is the day he comes out and says, give me the same money and terms that the Seahawks gave Witherspoon plus one million more and I will sign. If he does that and is STILL not signed, then I'll complain about the Krafts.
Time has come to find out what **** the dispute is!
That being said, these things are more nuanced than play or sit out.
Players have been known to have "hammy issues" or other things that allow them to sit, get paid, and minimize risking a $140 million extension for $3 million this season (yes he's guaranteed $18 mil next year but he doesn't even have that in hand yet either.)
And when he plays in those lesser games, does he really go all out in the same way? There's no question he has a "stay healthy" mantra ringing in his ears without an extension getting done.
Guys like Thibedeaux were extended for their 5th year for a decent payday but are not going to get an extension. He's worth $15 mil for one season, but no more.
For Gonzo, he'll be playing this season knowing the Patriots value him in the same way and may not play with all the abandon he might otherwise exhibit. Unfortunatly and ironically I think THAT'S when injuries often occur, when you're not playing to capability.
Let's just hope this gets done. Gonzo is worth what the market is for an extension that typically does happen in Season 4.
Gonzo would no doubt be asking himself if they'd treat Maye this way in his 4th season too.












