ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, unwittingly or otherwise, breathed life into the Jets’ chances of getting cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha by musing early in the week that Nnamdi’s desire to be an actor could prompt him to take less money to play for the Jets. When the fight reportedly narrowed to the Jets and Cowboys on Friday, I suggested on PFT Live that it actually made more sense for his post-football plans to pick the Cowboys, given that they remain the highest-profile team in the NFL.
Peter King of SI.com reports that, all along, Nnamdi wanted to play in Philly.
And so while Nnamdi was willing to take less in his preferred destination (he’s getting $12 million per year after making $28 million over the last two), it wasn’t about laying the foundation for life after football. It was about chasing a Super Bowl.
It remains to be seen how serious the Cowboys were about the pursuit of Asomugha. Perhaps the goal was to drive up the price that the Eagles paid. In the end, they didn’t pay much more than they paid Asante Samuel in 2008.