NFL Exec Calls McCaffrey, Fournette “Selfish P—ies” For Skipping Bowl

Conversely, on the marginal cost side, the potential reduction in lifetime earnings from a freak accident and severe injury while playing in the bowl game could be substantial.

“I still have things that I can put on film”, Jones said. “I still hope he makes the trip and enjoys the festivities we have for the teams”. They are simply eliminating risk. It is their choice, and teams have plenty of tape on both players. “I would think that it’s too early to say for sure, but when you factor in the type of financial considerations that these top-ranked players are facing, it may well be headed in that direction”. In the category of bowl overkill, I would include the Citrus Bowl (LSU) and the Sun Bowl (Stanford).

“No, one more game with my brothers is always special”, Elder said.

McCaffrey, who finished second in the Heisman voting last season, also had 37 receptions for 310 yards and three touchdowns and was ever risky on punt and kick returns. They struggled mightily over the final month of the season, giving up an average of 301 yards per game over the last four games, including 344 yards against the Citadel. And shouldn’t a player’s commitment to his team override that concern?

So we might not agree with his decision necessarily, but I certainly think most of us understand it. Fournette entered this season as the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy and McCaffrey finished second in voting a year ago.

Call me old-school or whatever.

Other marquee players with little to prove will undoubtedly follow Fournette and McCaffrey in coming years, undermining a 40-game bowl system already struggling for relevance under the weight of its own bloat. The questions would be, “What are they trying to hide?” They’re not going to help take care of his family. Will he want to sit out if his team is out of contention? He won’t play for the Cowboys this season as he works his way back from the injury.

How many times did you hear the phrase “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” when growing up?

McCaffrey also was bothered by an injury this season and missed the Cardinals’ Oct. 15 game against Notre Dame. McCaffrey will be paid precisely $0.00 dollars to play in this year’s Sun Bowl and he could potentially be risking millions. And, this new trend could transfer over to college football by skipping bowl games.

Maybe they have. The only difference is they’re not castigated like players. The last time that Stanford played in El Paso, they matched up against Oklahoma in front of a crowd of 53,713. Their reasoning is that they would be risking National Football League careers by playing in relatively meaningless games. The result is that Fournette and McCaffrey have created a bad look and opened up a can of worms for future players. Still, Richt feels players should remain true to their teammates.