Patriots DE Ty Warren Skips Off-Season Training for the Right Reasons
by Richard Hill on Mar 16, 2010 11:30 PM EDT
in News/General
10 comments
DE Ty Warren has better things to do with his time than go and train with the New England Patriots this off-season. In fact, he's leaving $250,000 on the table in order to stay away from the team. He's staying in Texas for a while longer and training alone. Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?
Until you know the reasons. Warren is staying in Texas this summer, his first summer away from the Patriots, to complete his degree. He'll be training in the morning at Texas A&M and will be taking classes later in the day. He believes that getting a degree is more important than collecting that $250,000 because he's setting an example for not only his children, but for children everywhere with aspirations for becoming successful.
"I try to put the kids in the best educational system possible and I think there is something to be said for their father, who has been blessed to play in the NFL and do something he's loved to do, going back and finishing what he started," Warren said from the campus of Texas A&M. "In the big picture, I think it's important for me to do what I'm doing. I can sacrifice that bonus for that."
You'll probably be seeing this quote everywhere- and often. He's such a high quality character that I hope all our young players look up to. So often we hear about players allowing their fortune to get to their head, that when a quality veteran like Ty Warren takes the time out of his career to go back school, more people should take notice.
In fact, some fan posters on Football Outsiders came up with a great idea. As a sign of acknowledgment and, hopefully, support, for Ty Warren's positive act, the Patriots should donate that $250,000 to create a scholarship fund, possibly for student athletes, promoting athletes staying in school and receiving a full education.
Oh, and if you're worried about his work ethic or his training tailing off due to his studies?
"Working out has never been a problem of mine, I do it regardless. I'm self-motivated," he said. "I've always been a working person. Ask anyone who knows me, I've been working and supporting my two siblings and now my own family since I was 13. No matter how much I have in the bank account, I'll always work."
I wouldn't worry about that.
So congratulations to Ty Warren for making a decision that should leave a positive mark upon Patriots fans everywhere. Congratulations for setting a positive example for your children.
Good luck getting that degree.
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Gave up the money for what?
Why is going to school and giving up 250k a good thing? College degrees are no longer nearly as important as they once were. I don’t get the feel good behind this maybe someone could help me out.
He could be doing online classes or something else. School is over priced already, but paying an extra 250k is insane.
He is entitled to do as he wish, but school can wait. In a few years when he retires makes more sense. A job in the NFL is not forever, make your money while you can, your college will still be there when you are done playing pro football.
I guess that's what the lesson he's trying to teach him kids.
I doubt his kids have a chance at being as successful as he is in football. He’s leading by example to show his kids how important he really believes an education is.
Oh, and he’s not paying an extra 250k. That’s the bonus he would have received from off-season work outs.
Also, there has been a buzz about “expiring credits” at his university. He already gained so many credits, but there’s a chance that the university won’t recognize those classes as credit hours anymore. He may as well finish now and get his degree as opposing to starting over again when he retires.
If the above is true, he wouldn’t get the 250k anyways- he’d either get his degree now and miss out on the 250k, or he’ll have to spend the 250k on education down the road.
by Richard Hill on Mar 17, 2010 3:15 AM EDT up reply actions
He might just have prolonged his career in the NFL with that move, though
Belichick and Kraft both love having ‘character’ players around – how much longer did Junior Seau’s career last because they loved having that guy in camp? Kraft himself just got awarded a few baubles for his extra-football Patriots incentive/teaching/training deal – Warren’s emphasising that by taking his non-football responsibilities and opportunities seriously. Hoodie is similiar; when Pepper Johnson was a player who said to Belichick that he was interested in coaching after his playing career, Hoodie took him aside and started training him in things from a coach perspective.
I don’t think either Kraft or Belichick will see skipping optional training camp as a bad thing; quite the contrary, in fact. And because of that, Warren might just have bought himself a slightly longer stay in New England, solely because he’s a good role model for the younger guys (as well as his own kids).
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Mar 17, 2010 6:37 AM EDT up reply actions
It's a good point.
When guys decide to stay in college and get their degrees rather than take draft-level money to turn pro, I always feel as you do. If getting your education is important to you, take $100,000 of that signing bonus and put it in some kind of interest-bearing cash account. School will always be there; a big paycheck won’t be.
At this point in his career, though, Ty’s probably at a different stage. He’s made enough cash that escalators and bonuses are more like kewpie dolls than actual incentives and if he wants to forgo them one to tie up a loose end that’s bugging him, then the peace of mind he has as a result could be worth the marginal value of the bonus money to him.
It’s less cut-and-dried is all I’m saying.
As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about. --Shaun of the Dead
by JohnHannahRules on Mar 17, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Grow a brain
I can’t believe that anyone would chastise this man for trying to better himself and complete his education. That is the epitome of why the US is lagging and soon to be displaced as the most important country in the world. What do you think made the US the largest economy? Post-secondary education and a focus on sciences, maths and engineering. Now you break a man down for trying to improve his post-football life by getting an undergraduate degree.
Are you aware that upwards of 80% of NFL players go bankrupt at some point in their lives? This is the case even if they had that extra bonus in their pocket. Why do you think that is? The majority of them have no degree to fall back on and no money-management skills, which leaves them open to being taken advantage of or prone to poor financial decisions.
Here is a man that is making an intelligent and mature decision about his future. Instead of “investing” his money with someone he doesn’t know in something he most likely knows nothing about, Warren is putting in the work to obtain his college degree in a field relative to him. A high school degree gets you absolutely nowhere in our economy. At least a college degree affords him some credibility in the real world where his ability to bench press or run shuttle drills is irrelevant.
And his degree is in agricultural leadership and development, something that the US economy relies heavily on and is continually losing ground in to other countries.
by gm1983 on Mar 18, 2010 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
A man with a plan!!
Think about it. He has kids and even though he’s making good money at what he’s doing, he’s setting the right example. This way, when he retires, he can put his degree to use right away. The 250,000$ is nothing compared to his salary and the bonuses he will still be making in the future and when he’s done playing, he won’t have to go back to school. The NFL could use more players like him.
Those of you who think you know everything just annoy those of us who do!!
Great example
I really believe if the soccer players did this kind of thing here, in Brazil, our educational situation would be different. But they usually born in hard social conditions, become soccer players, get rich and think “I have a lot of money, I don’t need education anymore”. And they are the examples to our kids, unfortunately.
We’re missing good examples here.
A Great Guy
I agree he is a great guy, clearly has very good character, but the expectation of a college degree is insane these days.
There is this idea that a college degree is crucial to survive and prosper in the world these days. What is most important would then be what is his degree in Communication, History, or some other useless degree.
The point of a college degree is to earn more money than if you only hold a high school diploma. In the real world not being him he may earn 10-35k more because of the degree. That means it would take up to 25 years to get his 250k back. Anyone with a college degree can tell that is a poor return on investment.
The other wild card is he does this, looks like a hero, and gets good press. This leads to more money. People love the story even though it is illogical and he ends up making more in the long run not because of the degree but because of the feel good story.
Not always
The point of a college degree is to earn more money than if you only hold a high school diploma.
It seems that you’re being pretty dismissive of the benefits of a college degree, basing your reasoning solely on money. It’s a fine reason to get a degree, but those who pursue it for that reason alone may be missing out on a load of other benefits – broadening one’s horizon’s being one of them that can make you an all-around better person, not just a person with a chance to earn more money.
Also, he wants to be an example for his kids and show them that finishing his degree was a priority. Why make assumptions that he wants to get good press and look like a hero? You could just as easily speculate in a less cynical direction.
Keep the faith!
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