And here we thought no one was interested in Jermichael Finley because they were afraid he’d get reinjured. In reality, it’s about the money.
Finley revealed that he has indeed had a contract offer — from the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose team doctor performed his spinal fusion surgery — but that offer was too low for his liking.
Finley plans on having an MRI and a CAT scan on Wednesday and then sending those results to all 32 teams as proof that he can play. And then he’ll wait some more.
“As long as I wait, you know and I know, guys are going to go down and the money’s going to shoot up,” Finley said. “It’s all a waiting game right now.”
Finley termed his offer from the Steelers as one where the money “ain’t where it’s supposed to be.” He’s also visited the Seahawks and Patriots this offseason, but it doesn’t appear that he received an offer from either of those teams. The same goes for the Green Bay Packers, who have said they’d like Finley to return, but have done nothing to make that happen.
Finley has little leverage at the moment if he wants to play in the NFL again. He’s coming off a major injury and no team is seriously bidding for his services.
He does, however, have a backup plan. He could collect a $10 million insurance policy if he walks away from the game. That appears to be a realistic scenario at this point, although he’s been training all offseason. And why would you work so hard to get ready for the season if you didn’t really want to continue playing?
On one hand, the guy says he’s a competitor. On the other hand, it’s clearly about the money.
It can’t really be both ways for Finley. We’re sure we’ll find out what it’s really about in the next month or so.