The Indianapolis Colts waived former All-Pro linebacker Shaq Leonard yesterday, and there is your lesson for today in professional football player economics.
Which is, ol' Jerry Glanville was right. "NFL" really does mean "Not For Long."
And so you'd best get your money while you can.
Leonard, for instance, signed a five-year, $99 million deal in 2021, right after being named All-Pro for the third time. At 26, he was well worth it. Two years later, at 28 and after two back surgeries in 2022, the Colts were willing to pay $6 million in guaranteed money to get rid of him.
Part of this is because Leonard is no longer the player he was, and had in fact just been benched. And part of it is because he was having a hard time accepting that, having publicly (if respectfully) griped about his increasingly limited role in the Colts defensive scheme.
Likely that had something to do with the Colts unceremoniously dumping a guy who, just two years ago, was the keystone in that defensive scheme. Likely, also, the emergence of Zaire Franklin as the Colts' new Shaq Leonard had something to do with it.
Right now, Franklin, at 27, is working on a three-year, $10 million contract extension he signed last year. After this season, when he's emerged as the NFL's leading tackler, that's likely to go up considerably. It's the reward part of the NFL equation.
And the risk part?
Just don't get hurt, Zaire. Just don't get hurt.
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