Jaguars defensive end Reggie Hayward had a choice: take a drastic pay cut from $5 million to $1.75 million, or lose his job.
Unlike teammates Brian Williams and Tony Pashos, Hayward decided to stay in Jacksonville. He says it was largely because he likes being on the team.
“I didn’t want to bounce around too much,” said Hayward. “I like it here.”
While it’s difficult for players to swallow their pride and accept such a reduction, it often pays off financially. Pashos got less money from San Francisco than he would have after taking a haircut in Jacksonville, which is common in these situations.
Sometimes, though, the money isn’t worth it for the player.
Rams linebacker Chris Draft spoke passionately and intelligently on ESPN radio in St. Louis about his refusal to accept a pay cut around $300,000 from the Rams just before Week One. So the team cut him.
Draft was a starter, and didn’t understand why he of all people was asked to take a cut. (Considering the Rams were planning to start Draft, they essentially are admitting that finances were more important in this decision than putting the best possible team on the field.)
The Rams told him that they may re-sign him next week, when his contract for the rest of the year isn’t guaranteed. Draft is a realist, and he wants to play football again.
He’s open to returning to the team.
It worked for Bobby Wade.
Jacksonville wanted him to take a haircut?
it will work for many. thats really crappy of the rams to do that, especially over 300k. you mean you couldn’t talk a backup down, you had to go to a starter and ask? geez
It always seems like teams “nickel and dime” these pay cuts. They literally piss away millions on high priced losers … then try to recoup a few bucks off journeyman players.
Somewhere, Michael Crabtree isn’t listening.
I don’t see how you can ask a starter to take a paycut, unless they “start” but end up rotating in and out throughout the game (as Hayward will). Hayward was smart about it, combining the paycut with the chance to make some (or all?) of the money back through incentives.
Pashos is another story. No team in their right mind should pay a backup $4 million. I’m sure he also saw the writing on the wall and knew Jacksonville wouldn’t keep him around after this year, and that as a backup, he wouldn’t get the exposure he’d need to make big money in free agency. We’ll see if his gamble paid off. Having seen Pashos play, I doubt it…
A lot of average citizens have had to take paycuts, too.
I live not far from Fon du Lac, WI where the workers (and union) for Mercury Marine voted to forego raises the next two years and laid off workers who are called back will have their wages reduced to what ever they were making ($20+/hr) to $13/hr. If the worker did not approve it, Mercury would have moved the entire company to Oklahoma.
So when a professional football player bitches about and speaks passionately and intelligently about taking a $300,000 pay cut and would yet STLL earn a healthy 6-figure income, please excuse me while I say boo-freaking-hoo. If it were not for amazing athletic skills some of these NFL players have, they’d more than likely be pooled with the same blue-collar schmucks staring down a $40K/year job, wondering how they would make their mortgage payment if they get laid off.
Cry me a fncking river.
Classy move by Hayward. He’s the type of athlete who’s easy to root for.
In a time when millions of Americans are struggling to bring in a paycheck, Hayward says “$1.75 million is plenty for me… life isn’t all about money.”
Nice to see that Hayward loves playing the game more than making money.
gregg, when will florio take a paycut… i mean, haircut… for the good of the enterprise?
Jason Taylor left a huge pile of Dan Snyder’s money on the table to go back to the Dolphins.
Very classy move by Hayward. I’m glad to see him stay in Jax and hope he earns back the money through incentives.
Florio, on a related note, are some cash poor teams going under the salary cap this season and is the NFL looking the other way?
Yeah takin a haircut really worked well for Bobby Wade . . .