New York Jets' Thomas Jones is the Latest Underpaid Athlete

Thomas Jones became a member of the New York Jets in 2007, after a trade with the Chicago Bears. Jones was fresh off of a good 2006 season, in which he teamed with Cedric Benson, to give the Bears a formidable rushing tandem. Jones rushed for 1210 yards that year and both backs rushed for 7 touchdowns and a 4.1 yard average per carry. The Bears may have had continued success had they kept the tandem running backs, but when Jones became dissatisfied with his contract, the Bears traded him.

Fast forward three years and Thomas Jones, now a New York Jet, is unhappy with his current contract and has yet to show up for team activities. Jones isn't officially a hold out, because all Jets activities to date have been voluntary. Official or not, Jones has made it clear, he's not happy with his current pay. Mr. Jones, I wasn't happy with my raise (if you can call it that) either, but I still go to work everyday.

When Jones came to the Jets, he signed a new contract, 4 years $20 million dollars with $12 million guaranteed. The contract was acceptable for Jones in the beginning when he was making $13.1 million, the problem for Jones is, he's only slated to make $900,000 this year. If you look at it in that context, Jones has a right to be displeased, but he signed a frontloaded contract. So, is that okay, a player signs a deal that pays the majority of the deal upfront and then tries to renegotiate for more money, once he has the majority of the contracted rate?

Jones did have a good season last year, he rushed for, 1,312 yards with a 4.5 avg. and 13 rushing touchdowns, but it wasn't phenomenal. I say if Jones won't play under his remaining contract, the Jets should let him go. Let the Jets draft a running back to combo with Leon Washington. Jones would be free to find a new team and try and negotiate another contract, possibly the last big money contract the 30 year old Jones will sign. If the football thing doesn't work out, maybe Jones can get a job at AIG. I hear they give good bonuses.

Sources:

http://www.nfl.com/players/thomasjones/profile?id=JON755755
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/18/thomas-jones-skipping-offseason-workouts/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2788962
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/2006.htm