Un-freakin-believable!Another millionaire athlete goes to the house! Only I am not talking about the endzone, I'm talking about the big house!
Everyone knows by now that Cleveland Browns wideout Donte Stallworth killed a pedestrian last week. Ran over a guy who was trying to catch a bus home after work, like the victim did everyday.
Although the man he killed WORKED FOR A LIVING, he probably worked in a job that couldn't afford him the luxury of owning a car for transportation to and from that job, and therefore had to utilize public transportation. And here's this citizen walking across the street, trying to catch the bus, and he's hit and killed by a speeding motorist who just happened to be a professional athlete, who just happens to PLAY A GAME FOR A LIVING. An athlete who makes hordes of stacks of cash to catch passes in the NFL, who on this day was probably driving from South Beach to his million-dollar condo in Miami Beach, rolling down the causeway in his Bentley (a car that carries such a heavy price tag that makes it's monthly payments more than most middle-class mortgages).
Oh, and the professional athlete in this case just happened to be driving under the influence of alcohol. The legal limit is 0.08. Stallworth's reported blood-alcohol level was 0.12.
Absolutely disgusting.
The incident occurred just three days after the Browns released hometown fan-favorite wideout Joe Jurevicius and 15 days after they traded tight end Kellen Winslow for picks.
The Browns receiving corps right now looks like this:
WRs:
- Braylon Edwards
- Joshua Cribbs
- Syndric Steptoe
- Paul Hubbard
TEs:
- Steve Heiden
- Robert Royal
- Darnell Dinkins
- Martin Rucker
No words needed to describe how bad that group is.
Prior to last season, Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35-million contract with Cleveland as a free agent but hardly played because of nagging injuries. He was due a $4.75 million signing bonus the day before the accident. Last year his base salary was $5,155,000.
His combined salary and the bonus totaled $9,905,000. That's how much money the Browns have paid out since acquiring him.
He finished last season with just 17 catches for 170 yards and 1 TD. Due to the nagging hamstring injury, Stallworth made just seven starts for the Browns but overall had little impact on the field.
If you consider the amount of money he's made as a Cleveland Brown and divide that by his on-field contributions (170 total yards netted for the offense), Stallworth earned $58,264 for every individual yard he gained.
Compare that gaudy number to $2,651 - which is the amount of cash paid out per yard gained in 2008 by the Steelers to former OSU Buckeye and Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes.
Allow me to reiterate.
Donte Stallworth made $58,264 for each receiving yard he produced for the Browns in 2008.
Santonio Homes made $2,651 for each receiving yard he produced for the Steelers in 2008. And all he did was pretty much single-handedly win the Steel City a Super Bowl. No biggie.
I don't know what else to say right now other than the fact that I am thoroughly disgusted - as a Browns fan, as a fan of the NFL, and as a working American citizen.
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!
The NFL is regularly touted as being one of the most well-run big businesses. But really, Mr. Goodell needs to seriously re-evaluate some things, starting first and foremost with the judging of character of those who fill the uniforms, and secondly by determining their monetary value.
