Avril Free Agency

Social networking and ignorance: Two things that, when combined together, can be volatile. Social networking applications like Twitter are not going away any time soon and unfortunately for those of us who use Twitter in any way shape or form, ignorance is a constant companion.

On the positive side of this coin is the unique way that Twitter can give insight into the lives of people you find interesting. Perhaps in this case someone we watch make a living on Sundays.

One such person I have followed is Cliff Avril. He’s active and, as I have recently discovered, is pretty open in his tweets. He also happens to be on the free agent market in the NFL this off season and if he plays at the level he did this year or improves, he will certainly be regarded as one of the premier defensive edge rushers in the league. While showing improvement in each of the 4 years since he was drafted, this year was a bit more of a breakout year for Cliff. Not only did he register a career high 11 sacks, he forced 6 fumbles and had a memorable interception for a Touchdown late in the season. Those numbers and countless pressures on opposing Quarterbacks make him a valuable asset on the outside of the defensive line.

At 25 years old and what one would consider a good character guy who wouldn’t want him on their team? There is a lot of upside.

Enter the ignorance. Recent criticism has been leveled at Cliff calling him greedy, suggesting he should give the team a discount or telling him he won’t have the same success anywhere else, that Detroit “made” him. Interesting ways to think of the situation, but they are wrong.

Let’s address these issues

Is it greed? It may be hard for people to wrap their minds around it when players in the league make the salaries they do, but you have to put the exact dollar figures aside. Expecting to be paid on par with your performance shouldn’t be a strange concept. If he did not perform he wouldn’t be paid at all. There are plenty of players who can attest to that, many who’ve tried and failed and been replaced. There are players loaded with talent who have been injured and had their careers cut short and with that their earning potential went to zero.

A player looking to get paid based on what they’ve accomplished and what they can accomplish should not be a foreign thought for any of us.

What about the home town discount? What exactly does this mean? Do people truly expect that any player should play for less than their value simply because they are with the team that drafted them? Keep in mind the “home” town isn’t the town and the streets where most of these players grew up and even if they did, why should the play for less? We’re not talking about a guy looking to gouge his current team and threatening to leave them if he’s not over paid. This is just a guy who’s expecting to make what his peers on other teams make for doing the same thing he is here.

Detroit made him or he won’t succeed elsewhere? Keep this one in perspective, Detroit drafted him. Cliff made himself. Playing for the Lions may help facilitate a dream and he may play in a system that suits his talents well, but you’re looking at someone who’s earned everything up to this point. Detroit didn’t pay him for 4 years of nothing and in a wise business move (for them), they locked his contract in last year at a very reasonable rate for his production on the field.

While you never know what would happen in other systems, I think it’s fair to say that there are at least two dozen teams that would be pleased, very pleased to add a player of this caliber to their defensive line. He would improve just about any defense he plays on. Playing on a team without as many complimentary players on the D-line might produce lower stats, that is all it would do. It won’t diminish the player he is or the impact he has.

Maybe the difficult part for some people to comprehend is the NFL pay scale in general. Putting this into a real world perspective might help. Imagine you worked hard to earn your degree and landed an entry level job at a big company, you made 25k a year and you were happy to have a job. You knew you were better than that and worked hard over the next few years. You learned everything you could. Your employer recognized this and wanted to keep you. They offered a new position and a pay increase, putting you at 50k, however the position they put you in, that you’ve worked hard to attain, routinely pays people 100k a year. In fact you know of several openings which could put in that salary range.

Do you give your company that home team discount? Do you consider them responsible for all that you are now? Would they be able to fill that position for the amount they offered you? Are you greedy for expecting to be paid what others who can do what you do are paid? Sounds like four “No’s” to me.

What we have here at this point in time is a business decision and a contract negotiation. Detroit has to try and spend money in a wise manner. They have to evaluate the talent they have on their roster and what it costs them, they have to explore what it might cost to compliment that talent and make the team better. Do not think for a moment if they felt that Willie Young could produce like Cliff has for the next 2-3 years at half the cost that they wouldn’t let him move on. They would and they would back fill the position with a young player from the draft, free agency or a practice squad. It would be a business decision and the Lions would be no more greedy than people want to accuse Cliff of being. Cliff has earned his position and the opportunity to secure a longer term contract.

As a fan, as a Lions fan following Avril’s rise, I truly hope that something can be worked out. I want to see him wearing the Honolulu Blue and Silver next season. I want to watch the electrifying speed around the edge catch the tackles and quarterbacks unaware. It was such a delight to see that ball ripped from the hands of a QB who had to be wondering how he got back there so fast when one of their best linemen was lined up in front of him with the sole purpose of stopping him.

Will I be disappointed if he leaves? Yes. As a true fan, we all should feel the loss. We would have lost a good guy. But don’t hate the Lions or Avril because of it. It’s a game we watch on Sunday but behind the scenes it’s a business. Don’t run it like one and it will run you.