With the Jets owing cornerback Darrelle Revis $6 million in 2017 if he doesn’t play and with the Jets getting a dollar-for-dollar credit for any money he earns elsewhere and with no one likely to pay Revis significantly more than $6 million this year, the best business move for one of the best NFL businessmen of the past decade would be to not play this year.
By “this year,” I mean this calendar year. Come January, Revis should pick a team that has a need in the secondary, show them he can still run and cut and do whatever he needs to do to perform at an acceptable level, join a roster, and showcase his talents in during the playoffs. If, obviously, someone wants him.
The approach would have several benefits for Revis. First, he’d get his full $6 million from the Jets, since that’s regular-season salary not postseason playoff share. (As one league source explained it, the Jets could argue that they deserve credit for whatever he earns in the postseason. Even if they’d win on that point, the playoff share pales in comparison to the $352,000 that Revis will get for each regular-season game in 2017.) Second, he’d potentially add to his Hall of Fame credentials by snaring a second Super Bowl ring. Third, he’d be able to remind the league of his skills and abilities when most of the league is making plans for free agency with postseason performances in mind -- which would be the perfect way to lay a foundation for getting maximum compensation on the open market.
And so at a time when the best business move would seem to be waiting until the 2018 season, the truly ideal approach could be to wait only until the 2017 regular season ends.