In the end, the Green Bay Packers employed the same strategy with tight end Jermichael Finley and his inflated contract they have with everyone else this offseason.
You see, if stuff your head real far up your ass, you can’t see or hear anything, which means nothing bad will ever happen.
So, despite all the talk that the Packers might renegotiate Finley’s deal, ask him to take a pay cut or even release him, they did what the Packers do best in the offseason — absolutely nothing.
Finley’s going to get his $3 million roster bonus tomorrow and his full $8.25 million this season. Big Fin let us all know how ecstatic he was on Twitter so then we could be ecstatic too.
Ecstatic 2 b back w @packers. Best place on earth. Thank u 2 my agents & family @blakebaratz @Jhart5266. I appreciate all that u do. #pack
— Jermichael Finley (@JermichaelF88) March 25, 2013
And ecstatic we are!
Hell, Ted Thompson signed Finley to this idiotic deal just last offseason, the Packers may as well pay it. Sure, Finley didn’t come close to earning it, but that’s not his fault. It’s the Packers fault for believing Finley would earn it.
It’s also the Packers fault for not doing anything to replace Finley’s mediocre production. So, now they get to pay $8 million to a guy who’s probably worth $4 million (by NFL standards of course, certainly not by ours).
And it’s their own goddam fault.
To put Finley’s deal in perspective, he ranks fourth among NFL tight ends in average salary. Here’s where he ranks among tight ends in actual production.
Catches: 9th
Yards: 12th
Touchdowns: 34th
So, you know, totally worth one of the highest salaries at his position!