With the lockout nearly six weeks old, there have been tales of players taking out high-interest loans in order to stay afloat.
If any of those players play for the Cardinals, they don’t need to go to those extremes. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald is ready to help.
“For my young guys [like] Stephen Williams, Max Hall, Isaiah Williams, all the guys that are on my team they know if they need anything all they gotta to do is pick up the phone and I’m going to be there for them and support them any way I can,” Fitzgerald told KTAR radio in Phoenix, via SportsRadioInterviews.com.
So do other veteran players need to help their less financially fortunate teammates?
“I don’t know if I would say ‘need’ to help, but I mean if you find it in your heart to help guys that may be behind the eight ball, the financial wherewithal, you should [help],” Fitzgerald said. “I definitely would. That’s just who I am though.”
Previously, Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware said he wouldn’t take his $60,000 lockout fund payment, opting instead to make the money available for other players who actually need it.
More players with more than enough money need to consider such gestures, in the hopes of ensuring that the players won’t have to agree to a new deal simply because they need to. For true long-term labor peace, a deal should be done because both sides want to do it -- and because the deal is a fair one to both sides.