Understanding the Business of Sam Bradford

By Joe Darrah

Professional sports have, sadly, long been more about big business than anything else. As fans, you and I know this. We’re reminded of it each time an expiring collective bargaining agreement or player contract looms and creates the potential for strikes, lockouts and/or holdouts. More often, we’re reminded every time ticket prices increase or we pay $20 to park where we once might have been able to leave our cars sitting freely, or it costs $8 for a cold dog and $10 for a not-so-cold beer at the stadium. From salary caps and luxury taxes to inflated prices for jerseys that we never get refunds on when a fan-favorite or franchise player walks away or is traded, to whom our teams sign in free agency (or do not sign), to whom they draft (or don’t) — the business of sports dictates all the actions of the owners and the entire experience for fans regardless of how well the teams perform.

So why are so many people in Philadelphia still upset that Sam Bradford has been engaging in business tactics with his team, err, employer, the Philadelphia Eagles that resulted in a brief sabbatical and attempt to be traded to a team, err, employer he might have a future with? As a player, Bradford, the (depending on when you’re reading this) starting quarterback of the 2016 version of the Eagles, has long known the realities of the football business as well, beginning with one of the more harsh consequences a collegiate athlete can face in opting to remain in school despite being projected as a No. 1 overall NFL pick in an upcoming draft. It was in 2009 that Bradford’s injury history, which to date has been the (sorry) crutch that in many ways has defined him as a career man, first reared its ugly head when he returned to play his junior season at Oklahoma and promptly suffered a third-degree AC joint sprain to his shoulder in Game 1 against Brigham Young just one play after becoming Oklahoma’s all-time passing leader. He’d return four weeks later only to reinjure the shoulder during his second game back, this time requiring surgery, to officially end his college career in what really came down to a business decision: He could come back as a senior to try to improve upon what had become a perceived-to-be declining draft stock following the injuries, which hindered his ability to throw during the 2010 combine, or he could roll the dice on the assumption that a QB-needy team might invest its future business with him if he stood as their best investment.

Despite speculation that he would no longer be considered a consensus No. 1 pick, Bradford would be selected by the then St. Louis Rams to lead off the draft. Meaning, it was the right business move by him, apparently. On July 30, 2010, he signed a six-year, $78 million deal that provided $50 million in guarantees and a maximum value of $86 million, making it the largest contract for an NFL rookie at the time. It too became apparent the Rams had acted wisely as well: As a rookie Bradford threw for 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns while leading the team to a 7-9 record one year removed from a 1-15 abomination.

As one who’s since been threw the multiple knee injuries we all know too well about, which precluded him from being able to demand another contract before the expiration of his first deal, a true anomaly for starting QBs in the NFL, should it really be much of a surprise that he took a business-like approach to his participating in voluntary workouts after it became abundantly clear that his future with Philadelphia became suddenly null and void in the days leading up to the NFL Draft for what had nothing to do with any past or perceived to be injury complications? To label Bradford’s course of action over the last few weeks — up to and including Tuesday’s press conference following Tuesday’s first OTA session in which he acknowledged that the Eagles are indeed still the most sensible team for him to play for following a failed attempt at securing a trade — as anything more than business tactics at this point in time is to totally miss the point of what he’s trying to accomplish for himself as a businessman of the football filed (i.e. player). Bradford’s business is the business of playing football. Whereas Jeffrey Lurie’s business is the business of profiting from an organization he purchased 22 years ago and Howie Roseman’s business is the business of (once again) trying to ensure a competitive team each year, Bradford is in the unfortunate position of having to be business savvy in order to put himself in what he deems to be the best position so that he can play not just now but for what will soon become the start of his personal career second half, which as recently as March 1 he intended for that to be in Philadelphia. Let’s not forget that he’s 28 and won’t turn 29 until well into next season. He is in fact still eligible for somewhat of a long-term deal.

Don’t misread Bradford’s motivation all. It isn’t greed, stupidity or immature. Bradford wants to play. And he wanted to play long-term here. Ever since the accurate speculation that the Eagles would take quarterback Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick acquired by the on-again-off-again (sort of) GM Roseman in the trade with the on-again-off-again Los Angeles Rams, Bradford’s days in Philadelphia became numbered just as quickly as they had seemed to become somewhat solidified with his quasi two-year deal. Regardless of how well or poorly Bradford may play in 2016, Wentz wasn’t selected to play third string or even backup for that matter. That’s the business of football. Furthermore, it’s conceivable to think that Roseman et al simply want the also newly signed QB Chase Daniel around if for no other reason than to mold Wentz while Bradford presumably gives the club a competitive chance at winning what is still considered to be a very winnable NFC East in 2016. This isn’t a competition; this is an open invitation for Bradford to try to win with an offense that hasn’t necessarily been improved upon despite a host of moves orchestrated by Roseman this offseason. Adding fellow former Ram Chris Givens to the wide receiver corps has intriguing upside, but likely not enough to supplant what could have been a better-looking offense with a first-round lineman or skill position player ready to take the field immediately, which is the real root of the issue here. Bradford isn’t afraid of “losing” his job to a rookie. He’d just prefer not risk further injury for what has surely been set up as a lame-duck season, so he sought trade options — specifically to the Denver Broncos as explained recently by agent Tom Condon — but the Eagles’ price was most likely deliberately high because that made better business sense for them. It didn’t for the Broncos, and so Bradford’s next course of business has been to return to work after having missed only time classified as voluntary. He’s got little choice but to be all business about how he handles himself and his situation. And while it’s none of his business whom the Eagles draft this year or any other year, it is in his best interest to not just assume that it’s a good idea to watch an organization for which he already completed his “prove-it” season plan its future around him as opposed to with him.

This isn’t about the money per se. The GM has put him in a position to now have to think about a future with another team. Bradford’s actions reflect that. Too many Philly fans are choosing not to acknowledge that Bradford’s real displeasure here is that he’s not looked at as one who will be expected to stay.

But for reasons that aren’t easily explained and are even more difficult to understand, it seems Bradford was never going to get a fair shake at things by certain members of this fanbase. Not when there’s still some who’ve consistently remained dismayed that he cost the franchise a so-called insurmountable loss of a second-round pick in the most recent draft as part of the March 2015 trade with the then St. Louis Rams that also sent away Nick Foles, a QB who once threw for seven touchdowns in one game, and required the Eagles to pay about $13 million for the aforementioned rookie contract he was given before the NFL put the kybosh on rookie contracts.

A bad taste towards Bradford has lingered among many since his original arrival in Philly even as the displaced Foles (who’s potentially soon to be traded again) continued to play terribly for a Rams team that quickly proved Foles was not going to be able to remain in Philly playing on that cheap expiring contract. Bradford was never supposed to be the be-all end-all in Philly either. He was supposed to be someone you’d rather have in a contract year than Foles who had to earn whatever contract he might have earned. That was his business obligation and what he proved to be. Yet he’s been given little to no benefit of the doubt by his detractors, many of whom additionally took exception to the initial acquisition of Bradford, who came offered the Eagles and then head coach Chip Kelly a new lease on life at the QB position in that he’d only be on the books for one year if he played poorly and/or didn’t recover from his knee injuries in 2015.

It’s likewise confusing that any Eagles fan would be in approval of the recent trade with the Cleveland Browns by Roseman to move from the No. 8 spot in the draft to the No. 2 spot to admittedly draft a hopefully franchise quarterback.

Then there’s running back Darren Sproles and defensive end Fletcher Cox, both of whom are officially approaching “holdout” as they remain away from the team. What’s their excuse? Probably none of our business.