Malik Jackson will face his former team this Sunday. Some of you might be asking yourself, “Should I know who Malik Jackson is?” or, “And this is relevant because…?”. Both questions would be understandable. He’s a former Denver Bronco turned Jacksonville Jaguar, who face Coach Kubiak and company in Week 13, and there’s been a lot of buzz circulating around the reunion.
Not necessarily because of who Jackson’s playing, but because of the things the defensive tackle said recently leading up to this week’s game.
But first it’s important to educate yourselves on the events leading up to this Sunday’s game.
Malik Jackson started his NFL career in Denver, being selected 137th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. After an uneventful rookie year, Jackson eventually found success in playing for the winning team of Super Bowl 50. He left Denver with 134 tackles and 14 sacks, hoping to make an even greater impact playing for his new team.
Not surprisingly, just weeks after winning Super Bowl 50, players and fans shifted their attention and focus to money. Instead of basking in the glory that comes with being the world champions and soaking it all in, it seems as though players make the soonest appointment with their agents to start talking contract negotiations and free agency.
On February 22nd, a Twitter user tweeted something along the lines of “Von, Marshall, and Malik better get their money we need everyone back”. He, along with other fans mentioned in an indirect way that if the Broncos organization wanted to keep as much of their world champion team, certain player needed to be offered enough money in the offseason.
We all know now that Von Miller, Super Bowl 50 MVP, was offered a pretty penny to stay put in Denver. And Brandon Marshall didn’t go anywhere, either. Jackson probably didn’t think twice when the Jags offered him his 6-year, $85.5 million contract, despite being aware of Jacksonville’s unfortunate history of losing.
What I want to know is why players with a high paying salary leave a great team for somewhat of a downgrade in surrounding talent and favorable stats but more pay. Do those players honestly feel they’re making a decision they’d be proud to include on their resume because of the team’s overall success, or do they think they have the ability to make such an impressive individual impact that it steals the spotlight from the team as a whole? I don’t think I’m alone in believing most players leave because of the second option.
But let’s not forget that Jackson isn’t the only one who ditched the Broncos after the big game. Former quarterback Brock Osweiler packed his bags and headed south to Houston, Texas in search more stardom and a bigger paycheck.
Osweiler has said some silly and sort of embarrassing things since leaving Denver, including, “It seems like they miss me,” when being asked about his former team.
Jackson surprised a lot of people with his feelings on the move to Jacksonville when he spoke to the media last week. “It’s kind of sobering because you realize every team isn’t winning 12 games a year. It brought me back down to Earth.”
So the effect of the Broncos’ triumphs left him seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Fair enough. But whether Jackson truly wanted to be brought back down to earth and slapped in the face by reality, or if he reluctantly chose a new career path just for the money alone is another issue.
And even though the sting of a losing season probably won’t come close to overshadowing a guaranteed $42 million, it proves once again that sometimes the grass, or should I say, the turf, isn’t always greener on the other side, even if you are moving to the Sunshine State.
