Matt Ryan: Count Your Cash and Stop Talking

www.athlonsports.com

Normally, I support a hometown boy.  Heck, I'll even put my homerism in overdrive and be totally subjective.  But THIS hometown boy should learn his place.  Matt Ryan should keep his mouth shut.  Who cares whether or not he respects Goodell's opinion:

Matt Ryan isn’t apologizing for benefiting from a system that allows top NFL draft picks to receive massive contracts. Even so, he appreciates where Roger Goodell was coming from last week when the commissioner questioned paying millions in guaranteed salary to rookies who have yet to play a down in the league.

"You can also understand the other side of it, the concern of veterans who have been in the league 10, 12 years and proven themselves but not seen the money," Ryan said in a phone interview Tuesday. "I can understand both sides."

To be fair, everyone is entitled to an opinion.  Ya know, when you've been around for a while, it's expected that you can speak out about what's going on.  And Matty has thrown...wait.  0 TD's in the NFL.  0 completions.  C'mon, has he even made a single handoff in an NFL game?  Nope.

Matt's 6 year $72m with $34.75m guaranteed is, in a word, nauseating.  Top flight rookies are demanding ridiculous cash.  Matt Ryan, Jake Long, and Darren McFadden all got mega deals without ever playing a minute of NFL football.  Insulting to the vets?  Yup.  Should some sort of rookie salary cap be instituted?  You betcha.  The NFL is in dire need of a sanity check for rookie salaries.  The NBA Rookie Scale Contracts keep salaries at a reasonable level until a newbie proves himself.

Why does this happen?  First, NFL rules, or lack thereof, allow them to happen.  Second, desperate teams hang their futures on a few stars.  They throw wheelbarrows full of cash at these young, college studs in hopes they can drag their sorry butts out of the dregs and back to relevance.  These teams will never learn.  It's not the player.  Well, maybe not.  There's probably a few examples of a player rescuing a team, but I would argue it's short lived.  It's the SYSTEM, my friend.

Players WANT to play for successful systems like the Patriots and the Colts.  These franchises have a sensible front office, great coaches, and seasoned veterans a rookie can learn from.  That's the mark of a great team.  Give me that any day over a team throwing cash at unproven "stars".

So Matt, even though you're a hometown boy, keep your mouth shut.  Just because you're newly rich and have a pulpit doesn't mean you should open your mouth and have an opinion.  Show me something, dude.  It's a shame we don't play Atlanta in 2008.  It would've been cool to see Shawn Crable or Jerod Mayo flatten you.