It wasn’t that long ago that NFL players had to get offseason jobs to supplement their football income.
Those days are gone now, but a potential lockout could inspire some guys to go back to work, if only to feel productive. Eagles fullback Owen Schmitt figures he’ll get a second job.
“I could always do some student teaching on the side or whatnot,” he told West Virginia Illustrated. (Florio gets all PFT employees a free subscription.) “It won’t be anything out of the ordinary. My buddy Phil works for a landscaping company that I could easily get on.
“Those are just little things that I was like, ‘Okay, if this doesn’t happen I don’t want to sit around for six months waiting. I’ll just do something on the side as long as I have some income coming in.’”
We’re not at that point yet, but a work stoppage will create a big vacancy in an otherwise regimented year for NFL players. Perhaps some will go back to school. Others will wear out playing Madden.
We know this much: They can smoke as much as they want.