Assuming the claim to be true, I'd think it more likely that getting the money alone didn't do it. I'd guess that Revis thought the money would make up for the not winning, that he then showed up fat and happy to camp, and that he eventually became disillusioned when he realized that $Xm+$Ym didn't really make him happier than $Xm+Winning, and there's not really anyone on that Jets team who can push him the way a guy like Brady could.
Of course, It's just speculation.
Actually I don't necessarily think it was the money, though it could have been. My speculative, hypothetical, wild guess is that he got to the gym one morning and when he started to push is body through the pain, he just didn't want to do what was necessayi\anymore, or at least as hard as he had in the past. After so many yeaers, maybe the game wasn't fun enough. Perhaps he didn't even realize it at te time
Remember Revis was never the best physical athlete. He certainly wasn't tall, and IIRC he was never a burner. But he had great quickness, even better technique, and studied the receivers he was going to cover ad their favorite routes and those subtle keys the gave so he could anticipate the routes they would run.
One TC, when he was going up against Edelman, I swear Revis made the cut BEFORE Edelman on a route. I wasn't sure I saw it right, but he did it again and again during that TC. It was like he was in the receiver's head....in his prime.. And when he was here,, he was a bit past his prime but still pretty awesome.
The point being that without total focus, and being in the best possible condition, it wouldn't take much for Revis to go from elite to being very mortal, and THAT's what he's become.
I believe will likely be gone after this season. I don;t really thinkj he wants to go through ANOTHER Jets rebuild. He's got another $6MM coming regardless.
BTW- you are right to remind us that it's not like the Pats didn't make a very competitive offer in the $11-12MM/yr range, which isn't exactuly chump change, (though I don't recall how much was guarateed. Certainly nothing close to what the Jets paid him up front. But it wasn't like we KNEW this would happen/
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