Darrelle Revis Is an All-Pro Business Man
If his NFL peers have any say in the matter, Darrelle Revis may need a new nickname. Goodbye, Revis Island. Hello, Revis Incorporated.
Over an eight-year career, the All-Pro cornerback has seemingly been as adept at navigating the financial aspects of the NFL off the field as he has been at shutting down wide receivers on it. After capping his 2014 season in New England with a Super Bowl victory, Revis and his agents announced on Tuesday evening that he’d be returning to the New York Jets in 2015. The reunion with Gang Gang reportedly comes with a five-year contract worth $70 million, with $39 million guaranteed.
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Thanks in part to a penchant for contract holdouts during his first stint with the Jets and a $16 million payday during a 2013 cameo with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Revis’s minimum career earnings would be pushed north of $123 million by such a deal.
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After paying him $12 million in 2014, the Patriots could have retained Revis by picking up a $20 million contract option for 2015. Instead, they declined and allowed him to become a free agent. As they has done throughout his career, Revis and his representatives assessed the situation and secured the deal they felt his play deserved.
“Some may view it as him having leverage, and he does well with that leverage,’’ Revis told The Monday Morning Quarterback in January when asked about being viewed as an NFL mercenary. “Some may look at it as he’s overpaid. There are a million things that can be said. The only thing I look at is, you get paid for what you do on the field. Everybody. It’s the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, and it goes down the line. That’s all I ask for. At the end of the day it’s negotiations. You go back and forth, we come to a common ground, and everybody’s happy. That’s how you look at it. I just focus on what I need to do and not worry about it.’’
While some Patriots loyalists may view Revis’ return to the Jets through the lens of their own fandom, these past and present NFL players offered a different perspective. Those who know firsthand how NFL teams can treat players at the bargaining table seemed quite impressed with the latest gaudy numbers put up by No. 24.
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