What do you think of when you hear the names "Akili Smith," and "Ryan Leaf?" That they are some of the biggest draft day busts in NFL history, right? After all, here are their not-so-impressive resumes:
Akili Smith Drafted 3rd overall in 1999 by the Cincinnati Bengals. Career Stats: 5 TDs, 13 INTs, 52.8 Passer Rating, Played in 22 games.
Ryan Leaf Drafted 2nd overall in 1998 by the San Diego Chargers. Career Stats: 14 TDs, 36 INTs, 50.0 Passer Rating, Played in 25 games.
So yea, no matter how you look at it, pretty shafty, especially given that these guys were hailed to be saviors for their teams.
But before you start thinking, "Man it would suck to be those guys," there's one thing to consider. Smith, upon getting drafted, signed a $56 million contract with the Bengals that included a $10.8 million signing bonus. Leaf also didn't do too bad, signing a $31.25 million contract that included a record-breaking $11.25 million signing bonus.
I mean I'm sure these guys would have preferred to have been good players, and they clearly could have made more money in the future if they were, but from their point of view, they didn't get such a bad deal. Basically the teams had to pay them as long as they didn't quit, so they could pretty much half-ass everything, and they'd still get a ton of money. Who's to say that Leaf and Smith weren't just like, "Eh screw it, I'm getting all this money regardless, I'm just going to enjoy being a rich 20-something?"
If you were 22 and suddenly had $11.25 million, with plenty more coming your way, how much more fun would it be if you didn't care about your job? You'd have to go through the motions and show up, but it'd be pressure-free, you'd never need to work from home and "optional" would really mean optional.
I know it's a little far-fetched, but put yourself in their shoes. On any given night, would you rather: A) Sit at home and study film, or B) Get some friends, rent a penthouse suite in Las Vegas and just ball out with millions to play with? You can't tell me you're not going to take option B every time.
If you did take option A though, you should probably stop reading this article, because I'm not sure we are going to see eye-to-eye on pretty much anything. That is, unless you're a potential future employer who Googled me and this article popped up, in that case, um, my editors added that last paragraph, not me.
Seriously though, Sam Bradford, the first pick in this year's NFL draft, just signed a contract with the St. Louis Rams that gives him $50 million guaranteed. You're going to tell me it won't be at least a little tempting to just coast through practices while taking in $50 million? I mean yea, the whole city of St. Louis might hate you, but come on, it's only St. Louis (sorry Zimring).
I'm not saying Bradford will take the easy way out, or that Leaf or Smith did, but it's not like this is unheard of in prosports. There are tons of NBA players who miraculously have great seasons during a contract year, then after getting the big contract, revert back to not caring. Case in point: any New York Knick in the past 10 years. Remember what happened after Allan Houston signed a $100-million contract with the Knicks?
I would guess that getting drafted in the top 10 is similar to getting into college early decision. Once you get out of the top 10, the players don't get huge contracts from the start, meaning they still need to prove themselves to really make bank. Similarly, if you don't get in somewhere early decision, you still need to have decent grades the first half of senior year. If you do get in early decision though, it's fiesta time.
So next time you think about a Ryan Leaf or an Akili Smith, don't feel too bad for them. It's very possible they don't feel bad either.
