One is subtle, one is ostentatious but both will produce the same result.
Hines Ward and Terrell Owens will be on the field playing for their respective teams this year, regardless of the drama.
A holdout just doesn’t hold any water if he is under contract.
If Owens or Ward were to hypothetically not show for the whole season, they would not be any closer to free agency than they are right now. In the NFL, if you holdout for the whole season, the time on your contract does not elapse, it remains the same.
And furthermore, you definitely don’t get paid.
Owens, and his ubiquitous aura of drama, will be back with the Eagles because he virtually has no other choice.
With the current amount of parity in the NFL, Owens would immediately improve the status of any team vying for a Super Bowl and he would simultaneously diminish the Eagles’ prospects if he was traded. That is why sending him out of town is out of the question – and that is not factoring the salary cap aspect of it.
That leaves Owens with two options: continue his antics and get deactivated (a la Keyshawn Johnson with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) or just play and contend for a Super Bowl. The first option will not reduce the six-years off of his contract if he doesn’t suit up at all this season and it will also decrease his value. Who would want a problem child who has been out of football for a year? Well, who wants Ricky Williams right now?
TO will be 32-years-old by the end of the season and is not as youthful as his immature personality would indicate. 34 is the over-the-hill age for wide receivers and since Owens is nearing that magic number, he will take the money, prove to be productive and continue to lobby for a trade. The only way that he is not a part of the Eagles this season is if the brass decides to suspend him. Given their shortage of depth at the position, that option is also highly unlikely.
Ward is similarly looking for a pay raise and although he may be more deserving, it doesn’t mean he will get it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are more likely to negotiate and open their checkbook since Ward is not single-handedly acting out a soap opera but if it doesn’t happen, Ward will still be playing for the Steelers come week one.
He faces the same dilemma as Owens: sitting out does not bring him any closer to his goal and he loses out on this year’s money.
He is in the final year of his contract which pays him $1.67 million this year and will receive a steep increase in salary as a free agent or as the Steelers franchise player at the end of the season.
There may be speculation about the status of these holdouts but if they are under contract, their options are either play or delay.
The Steelers need Ward too much so they will likely find a middle ground and Owens needs attention too much to just sit out.
You’ll see both of them week one.
Holdouts and NFL teams mix like Mondays and me.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, arrange to have ‘em beaten” – George Carlin
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