12th Man Rising
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Kam Chancellor is being an idiot: enough’s enough

By Dan Viens

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Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks defensive back Kam Chancellor (31) in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It’s gone on long enough. Kam Chancellor’s holdout was a curiosity at first, then for a moment it developed into a captivating news story…. and now it’s just stupid.

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Because HE is being stupid.

And I’m PISSED!!!!

(Spoiler alert: because it violates my FanSided employment agreement I can’t use profanity, but there will be heavy use of Caps Lock.)

There is absolutely no reason that Kam Chancellor isn’t in a Seahawks uniform on the practice field today, at least no reason that makes sense.  Oh sure, there are reasons being offered, by Kam’s camp and even a disturbing number of national analysts and former players:

The latest appeared this morning, courtesy of Robert Klemko of si.com. Entitled In Defense Of Kam Chancellor, Klemko offers up the same old tired excuse for people trying to justify Kam’s continued absence from work:

"“No, in the NFL, a contract is not a contract. Fans think NFL contracts are like retail transactions, wherein a price is set, goods or services exchange hands, and the seller has no more right to recall the half-eaten apple than the buyer has call to negotiate a better deal on the apple after he’s bitten into it.” – Robert Klemko, si.com"

I’m sick of this take, and here’s why:

  1. That, Mr. Klemko, is THE SYSTEM THE LEAGUE AND PLAYERS AGREED TO!!! If the players don’t like it, they should take it up at the next round of Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. If they feel strongly enough about it, let them strike.
  2. There ARE guarantees! Every significant NFL player receives significant guaranteed money at the top of his deal. For Kam it was $17 million that was guaranteed when he signed his deal 2 years ago. He’s pocketed that money, and now he want’s more just 2 years later? That’s double dipping, and how anyone can support this is beyond me.

Kam’s primary dispute seems to be that the market has changed, that he’s become the premier strong safety in the league but other safeties have received bigger contracts since he signed his.

Jesus, do I really need to take the time to bang out a bunch of words to describe how stupid this thinking is?

Fine then…….

  • You know how often the market changes? ALWAYS!!!
  • You know who ALWAYS gets paid the most? THE ONE WHO SIGNS LAST!!!
  • You know who knew the salary cap was going to go up each of the last two years, thereby resulting in owners flush with cash and more willing and able to hand out bigger contracts? EVERYONE!! We ALL DID!!! Except, apparently, you and your agent.

(And oh by the way, you ARE the highest paid strong safety in the game.)

And stop with the these-players-risk-injury-on-every-play and Chancellor-lays-his-body-on-the-line-every-day bullcrap. THAT’S THE RISK YOU TAKE WHEN YOU CHOSE TO PLAY FOOTBALL AS A PROFESSION! We have made sports, and particularly football, such a massive industry in this country that it’s become a necessary part of many of our cultures, of our daily lives. Many of us attach our daily happiness to the fortunes of our teams. We have come to hold these athletes in such esteem that we forget, at the end of the day, this is their profession. They are EMPLOYEES, of a company. That company is publicly funded.

Which means….. I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED OFF BECAUSE I PAY KAM CHANCELLOR’S SALARY!!! He chose to make a living playing football. He knew the risks. He knew how the system worked, yet he’s trying to demand that he be treated differently than anyone else. He GETS to earn the kind of money he does because cities all over the country have invested billions of dollar to build an empire, and he’s fortunate enough to have the talent to be a part of it. I spend thousands of dollars every year on season tickets and merchandise, and THAT is the money he is now turning his nose up at. In essence, he’s giving all of us the finger, all the while trying to claim that he’s under compensated and treated unfairly. And he expects all of us, most of whom would give ANYTHING to be in his position, to sympathize with him.

A few weeks ago it was frustrating, now it’s infuriating.

So I applaud the Seahawks for their hard line, and I hope they stay dug in. Chancellor has now lost over a half million dollars in game checks alone while trying to apparently recoup the $900,000 that he says he and team disagree on. This doesn’t include the nearly $1.5 million in fines he’s facing.

Sure, he’s an important player, and maybe the Seahawks go 9-7 because of his absence. Maybe they miss the playoffs. Maybe we spend an entire offseason having to hear about how far our once-proud heros have fallen.

It will all be worth it in the end if it keeps another player, in another year, from being the idiot Kam Chancellor is being.

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