Christian McCaffrey won't play in Sun Bowl

[POD Knows]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2017/story/_/id/18310396/christian-mccaffrey-stanford-cardinal-skip-hyundai-sun-bowl

Christian McCaffrey (http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/3117251/christian-mccaffrey) will sit out Stanford (http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/24/stanford-cardinal)'s bowl game to focus on his NFL draft preparation, the star running back announced Monday on Twitter.
"Very tough decision, but I have decided not to play in the Sun Bowl so I can begin my draft prep immediately," McCaffrey wrote on Twitter (https://twitter.com/CMccaffrey5/status/810850259530301440). "Thx to all my teammates for their 100% support -- It means a lot to me. Go Cardinal!"


Second high profile back to sit out a bowl game, going to be a trend, some of these bowl games are more useless than the Pro Bowl in the NFL

[walliver]

It comes across as a big FU to his teammates. Unfortunately it is the new normal.

It all started with Jadaveon Clowney walked up to Steve Spurrier right before a game and announced he didn't feel like playing that night.

[Laker]

I bet that his backup is happy to get a start.

He wouldn't be sitting out if they were in the playoff. A few years ago we never would have though about doing this. I just hope it doesn't become commonplace- just two that I've heard of this bowl season so far.

[UpstateBison]

I think this will become commonplace for projected 1st round picks not playing in the FBS playoffs. Jaylon Smith cost himself millions for playing in a meaningless bowl game for Notre Dame. LSU and Stanford (nor their teammates) will be paying them if they get injured.

Protecting yourself to potentially make millions is a pretty smart business move.

[lionsrking2]

I think this will become commonplace for projected 1st round picks not playing in the FBS playoffs. Jaylon Smith cost himself millions for playing in a meaningless bowl game for Notre Dame. LSU and Stanford (nor their teammates) will be paying them if they get injured.

Protecting yourself to potentially make millions is a pretty smart business move.

Wise business move or not, they still quit. There's no getting around that fact. Jaylon Smith understood the consequences and would still make the same decision again. Why? Because he's not a quitter. Sometimes there's more to life than money.

[ASU33]

At this point these kids have to do what's best for them and their families. I don't like the fact of not playing but I understand why they're doing it.

[lionsrking2]

At this point these kids have to do what's best for them and their families.

And their agents. It's plenty understandable why they're doing it. Agents gotta get paid.

[JSUSoutherner]

I bet that his backup is happy to get a start.

He wouldn't be sitting out if they were in the playoff. A few years ago we never would have though about doing this. I just hope it doesn't become commonplace- just two that I've heard of this bowl season so far.
Who's the other one you heard about? I don't think Fournette is playing LSU's bowl game either.


Wise business move or not, they still quit. There's no getting around that fact. Jaylon Smith understood the consequences and would still make the same decision again. Why? Because he's not a quitter. Sometimes there's more to life than money.
Like preserving your health to ensure your family has a comfortable future?

Would you rather be able to give your family a great life or get a Birmingham Bowl medal to throw in a drawer somewhere?

There's more ways to look at this than just monetary gains.

[Laker]

Who's the other one you heard about? I don't think Fournette is playing LSU's bowl game either.

Fournette and Baylor RB Shock Linwood so far.

[lionsrking2]

Who's the other one you heard about? I don't think Fournette is playing LSU's bowl game either.


Like preserving your health to ensure your family has a comfortable future?

Would you rather be able to give your family a great life or get a Birmingham Bowl medal to throw in a drawer somewhere?

There's more ways to look at this than just monetary gains.

It's irrelevant what you or I think is appropriate. He has the right to quit, and he exercised it. While I respect the right, I don't respect the act. But using your logic, why play college football at all? All games are meaningless if it's all about getting paid. Just sit out and "draft prep" for three years. Next, we'll see high school kids shutting it down in week six or seven if they're on a bad team. They're at a bigger risk than college kids, because they haven't had the opportunity to take advantage of the college stage to market themselves. The quitter/me culture is alive and well, for better or worse.

[ASU33]

Wise business move or not, they still quit. There's no getting around that fact. Jaylon Smith understood the consequences and would still make the same decision again. Why? Because he's not a quitter. Sometimes there's more to life than money.

Yeah but THIS IS ABOUT MONEY! I agree there's more to life than money but these kids have a golden opportunity in front of them and when you're already banged up why risk it? All for a "atta boy" from people you don't know? The people who are criticizing the most won't give any of these kids a nickel if the get hurt in one of these bowl games.

[lionsrking2]

Yeah but THIS IS ABOUT MONEY! I agree there's more to life than money but these kids have a golden opportunity in front of them and when you're already banged up why risk it? All for a "atta boy" from people you don't know? The people who are criticizing the most won't give any of these kids a nickel if the get hurt in one of these bowl games.

That's what insurance policies are for. He would get paid regardless. He can get hurt doing his "draft prep." If he's fine with being labeled a quitter and a bad example for kids, that's his business. But it'll be a red flag in some draft rooms.

[ASU33]

That's what insurance policies are for. He would get paid regardless. He can get hurt doing his "draft prep." If he's fine with being labeled a quitter and a bad example for kids, that's his business. But it'll be a red flag in some draft rooms.

It's damn near next to impossible to get paid off of those insurance policies. Ask Ifo Ekpre-Olamu from Oregon and others how difficult it is to collect.

[BisonTru]

But it'll be a red flag in some draft rooms.

This. A lot of GM's were impressed with Wentz coming back for the championship game as well as competing in the Senior bowl. It's a double edge sword if you turn down competition. It's the safe route because you're insuring yourself you won't be injured, but leaving your teammates and avoiding competition can raise some questions.

[ASU33]

This. A lot of GM's were impressed with Wentz coming back for the championship game as well as competing in the Senior bowl. It's a double edge sword if you turn down competition. It's the safe route because you're insuring yourself you won't be injured, but leaving your teammates and avoiding competition can raise some questions.

very true!xnodx

[Thumper 76]

That's what insurance policies are for. He would get paid regardless. He can get hurt doing his "draft prep." If he's fine with being labeled a quitter and a bad example for kids, that's his business. But it'll be a red flag in some draft rooms.

Possibly. The money from that could pale in comparison to what was possible if a season ending injury happens if you figure endorsement deals and a long NFL career.

In the end the NCAA and Bowl system has brought this on themselves. The competitor in me could never do this, but when you blossom from 16 bowls to the point where they can barely find teams with winning records to go, you've taken away the meaning of the bowl game. I hate Bowl games personally besides the big ones. For all you against these two doing this are you against coaches leaving before the bowl game to get a jump on their new job? This is basically the same thing. I wouldn't do it, but there's a part of me that giggles gleefully at the middle finger this gives the swollen and useless bowl system. These bowl games a purest money grabs in college, and I don't blame these guys for not partaking in an exhibition game with zero meaning besides it's being a game. They mean way less than a regular season game by a long damn shot. I wouldn't be able to sit out of a game, but I don't blame them either. Why risk tearing yourself up in a meaningless show pony money grab? Those two are at the point where their bodies are their business and their method of setting up their family's for life and I wouldn't blame any other business for not partaking in something meaningless that could only hurt future earnings. It's not the kids fault, it's the TV networks and NCAA that whored themselves out to the point that the bowl games have no real meaning, are outrageously under attended, and now have players saying it's not worth risking my career over.


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[Reign of Terrier]

It's irrelevant what you or I think is appropriate. He has the right to quit, and he exercised it. While I respect the right, I don't respect the act. But using your logic, why play college football at all? All games are meaningless if it's all about getting paid. Just sit out and "draft prep" for three years. Next, we'll see high school kids shutting it down in week six or seven if they're on a bad team. They're at a bigger risk than college kids, because they haven't had the opportunity to take advantage of the college stage to market themselves. The quitter/me culture is alive and well, for better or worse.

The logic of this is, well, pretty absurd.

I don't know how old you are, but I can tell you, there are already plenty of high school players who quit when the team sucks (or stop playing because the team sucks). Why do these kids play in the first place? To secure a future for themselves via college or the NFL. It's convenient to talk about quitter culture or what have you, but if you're a good player in high school and you quit you're probably not that good in the first place. I could definitely see 5 star players on 2-7 teams quitting a couple weeks early to protect themselves in the future (which would make sense) but the sky is not falling here. I don't see how this sort of culture will impact high schoolers, you're applying a slippery slope where there isn't one.

The fact is, the gridiron is where you prove yourself as a player. When you're at the point where you're a likely first round draft pick, you don't really need to add much more to your resume via highlights or what have you. If there's no glory in it, why bother, especially when the risks outweigh the benefits? Football is a unique sport in that injuries are of higher probability than other sports.

The principle here is not "all games are meaningless if it's all about getting paid," it's that some decisions have higher probabilities for certain financial outcomes than others. Playing a few seasons in college has much more high probability of being financially "worth it" than not. It makes no sense to quit when you're a true sophomore, because you have less game film and experience than juniors and seniors as well as possibly less work ethic (as it would indicate by dropping out).

That isn't the case if you forgo the final game of your redshirt sophomore/junior/senior season because you're a lock top-100 pick. It's worth noting that there are thousands of division one football players. The only true "locks" will be less than 30 any given year. A good number of them will be playing in the playoffs. Everyone else will be trying to improve their stock in a bowl game.

[Reign of Terrier]

That's what insurance policies are for. He would get paid regardless. He can get hurt doing his "draft prep." If he's fine with being labeled a quitter and a bad example for kids, that's his business. But it'll be a red flag in some draft rooms.

1) You'll probably make more out of a 1-2 year career of a first round NFL salary than an insurance policy
2) This is about managing risk and I wouldn't be surprised if such a policy encouraged players to not play in meaningless bowl games. (they want you to make it to the NFL so they don't have to pay up)
3) Either way, managing risk is about weighing probabilities, and the *probability* of getting hurt in a meaningless bowl game is a lot higher than in draft prep. You could tear your ACL walking down the street. It's not as likely as playing football. Just because it *can* happen, doesn't mean it *will* happen. Smart people (in business and in football) manage risks intelligently
4) The select few players who make such a decision won't be penalized by the front office. The only people who label him a quitter are the peanut gallery people who don't understand point #3. Coaches and business people understand point #2/3 pretty well (why do you punt the ball at your own 40 most of the time? Managing risk. Why do you not sign a player with injury problems? Managing risk? Why do you sign a player who skips his bowl game and not one with suspension issues? One demonstrates better decision making and risk management skills, thus he's less of a risk. All of this is risk management.)

[JSUSoutherner]

It's irrelevant what you or I think is appropriate. He has the right to quit, and he exercised it. While I respect the right, I don't respect the act. But using your logic, why play college football at all? All games are meaningless if it's all about getting paid. Just sit out and "draft prep" for three years. Next, we'll see high school kids shutting it down in week six or seven if they're on a bad team. They're at a bigger risk than college kids, because they haven't had the opportunity to take advantage of the college stage to market themselves. The quitter/me culture is alive and well, for better or worse.
Because resume building and protecting your investments are two different things. Yeah if your a lower profile player who still needs to make a good impression on scouts, yeah you should probably play. But guys who are basically locks for the first round have nothing to gain and everything to lose at this point.

But I agree, our opinions aren't and shouldn't be relevant to them as it's their decision.

[OhioHen]

Like preserving your health to ensure your family has a comfortable future?



The McCaffrey family isn't hurting for money. Father (Ed) played 13 seasons in the NFL and works as a radio analyst, older brother Max is on the Packers practice squad, younger brother Dylan will be on full scholarship at Michigan next year, and baby brother Luke already has an offer as a high school freshman.

He's not preserving his health to ensure that his family has a comfortable future. He's quitting on his teammates for selfish reasons.

[Thumper 76]

The McCaffrey family isn't hurting for money. Father (Ed) played 13 seasons in the NFL and works as a radio analyst, older brother Max is on the Packers practice squad, younger brother Dylan will be on full scholarship at Michigan next year, and baby brother Luke already has an offer as a high school freshman.

He's not preserving his health to ensure that his family has a comfortable future. He's quitting on his teammates for selfish reasons.

Like I said earlier. The colleges, coaches, and bowl games all operate with the mentality that this is a business, and McCaffrey is acting accordingly. Don't kid yourself, the Whoopty Doo Who Gives a Crap Bowl and the other 20+ bowls that have been added over the years weren't added for the joy of the student athlete, they were added for money. I wouldn't do what he is doing, but I do support his capability to do what he's doing. Life is about money, and I don't blame him for protecting his capability to have himself pretty set for life. No different to me than a coach who leaves his team before the bowl game to go to a new job. Hell half the time when a big name school makes one of these small bowls they barely show up and get smoked or lose when they shouldn't because they don't really care that much. You can see it in their play.


It's funny to me that I hear more uproar about this than the Oklahoma player that KO'ed a woman and was allowed to stay on the team and keep his scholarship.


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[Bisonoline]

The McCaffrey family isn't hurting for money. Father (Ed) played 13 seasons in the NFL and works as a radio analyst, older brother Max is on the Packers practice squad, younger brother Dylan will be on full scholarship at Michigan next year, and baby brother Luke already has an offer as a high school freshman.

He's not preserving his health to ensure that his family has a comfortable future. He's quitting on his teammates for selfish reasons.

In the bye gone days of being blind loyal I would a agree. Unfortunately he is looking out for himself because Stanford isnt going to pay him MILLIONs if he gets hurt in the no-name bowl. Universities chew up and spit out thousands of athletes a year because its a business. Why shouldnt the athlete look at it the same way and look out for themselves? These athletes have NO legal representation while every other level does. Think about that.

[Reign of Terrier]

The McCaffrey family isn't hurting for money. Father (Ed) played 13 seasons in the NFL and works as a radio analyst, older brother Max is on the Packers practice squad, younger brother Dylan will be on full scholarship at Michigan next year, and baby brother Luke already has an offer as a high school freshman.

He's not preserving his health to ensure that his family has a comfortable future. He's quitting on his teammates for selfish reasons.

Cool cool, but I'm sure everyone here would rather have their own money for which they could provide their wife (or otherwise significant other) and kids than asking from dad.

[Bisonoline]

Cool cool, but I'm sure everyone here would rather have their own money for which they could provide their wife (or otherwise significant other) and kids than asking from dad.

Yep he wants to make his own way in the world.

[ASU33]

The McCaffrey family isn't hurting for money. Father (Ed) played 13 seasons in the NFL and works as a radio analyst, older brother Max is on the Packers practice squad, younger brother Dylan will be on full scholarship at Michigan next year, and baby brother Luke already has an offer as a high school freshman.

He's not preserving his health to ensure that his family has a comfortable future. He's quitting on his teammates for selfish reasons.


What does that have to do with Christian's pockets though?