I appreciate everything you wrote. I understand working your way up through nothing, believe me. That said, there is one other thing to considerhere, and that is potential career length. Most people can afford to start entry level and be patient, as most can safely assume that their career paths are going to mature over a very long time. In NFL football, it is extremely volatile, with a high probability that you may never even get to sign an extension after your rookie contract, and certainly your third extension is quite rare. When every year might be your last, you can’t afford to be so patient.I don't take it as derogatory, thanks for mentioning that though. But I do want to clear up a few incorrect assumptions that you may have about me. I won't say what I do, but I do fine, actually (and yes it's completely legal). I think my ability to live within my means has over teh years become easy from practice, so I don;t have to sit around yearning to be on easy street. I also knew going in what the ceiling was in my line of work, so I couldn't complain even if I wanted to look back at other things I could have done that would have paid more. My career has been pretty interesting through its ups and downs and I count that as part of it as well. I would not describe it as a fun career, but it was interesting as I certainly never sat around waiting for quitting time so I 'm thankful.
When I started out at age 22, I made a small fraction of what I make now. I guarantee you I was outworking every single person in the building and making much less than almost everyone until about my early 30's. In fact I remember it was 7 years into my career before I made as much as I made during my summer job while in university. I would say I continued to be in the top 5% for work ethic and results up until about 2 years ago but I still remain highly scored when evaluated by my boss, even as my career winds down and I prepare to balance work and life before retiring. I was happy just to be making a living at age 22 and not living at home like many of my peers. But I knew at some point I would probably be rewarded for my hard work and I was, by getting nicer positions and more money. So, no, it didn't bother me to be making less than people who were doing the same as me, or even less in most cases, because I knew I would eventually be one of the higher paid people in the building and now I am. Had I complained I probably would have been given crappy positions and eventually quit and done something else that probably would have paid less and wouldn't be where I am now, preparing to retire in 2 to 4 years at age 53 or 55. Most years have been fairly reasonable, but I have had some horrific years and some horrific bosses along the way and my wife will tell you I did my share of venting at home, but that's where it stops. You get up in the morning and you go make a living. When my co workers would complain about any new load of crap being dumped on our plates I used to joke, "But we still get paid for this, right?", kind of reminding them that it's work so it's not always fun. You just do it anyway. I actually even had my contract broken and it cost me quite a bit of money when I was 25 or 26. That really bothered me but I stayed with my plan and it has paid off. Had it broken again a couple of years ago and my new contract will probably suck to end my career, but I can either go to work or quit. My choice.
So was I perfect at age 22? Not nearly! But I was much better than Minkah has been, with much less money and much less potential for money. I can empathize with Minkah's situation completely having lived it from the aspect of comparing incomes to my colleagues as you described, but I handled it much better at the same age and that is why I cannot sympathize.
Listen, I am not really defending Minkah, so much as saying it is easy to understand his position and it is a perfectly reasonable and very defendable position, especially when you consider every angle. We can differ on whether or not it is the most professional move, but what I really can’t fathom is the anger towards him by people who want the franchise to tank. To tank, talent has to leave. Good players who want to win will be angry at the direction of the team, and thus, will want to leave. Why is it ok to gut the franchise and trade players like Tunsil and Stills, but it makes people angry that Minkah wants a trade? Shouldn’t everyone be thrilled for another pick? Tunsil was a much better player than Minkah after all.
The only explanation I have is that Minkah wanting out makes tankers nervous that maybe no FAs will want to sign here. Maybe Flores will fail as badly as every other NE rooted coach has. Maybe Minkah leaving makes Tua not declare or unwilling to sign if drafted. Honestly, any other reason to be upset about this makes no sense and is the very height of hypocrisy.
