Bill Barnwell over at Grantland has come up with a rather interesting topic with training camps around the NFL getting into high gear, and that’s players that have bad contracts that hurt their teams.
His piece – “The All–Bad Contracts Team” – does have one Steeler on it.
Safety Troy Polamalu.
The ‘hair’ is a player whose contract flaw, according to Barnwell, is Falling in Love With a Player They Shouldn’t Have
Here’s the paragraph about Polamalu’s deal, and what Barnwell says is a bad deal for the Black and Gold.
Polamalu was a force of nature when healthy, but since he signed this extension before 2011, he hasn’t been the same guy. Teams were able to pick on him during the second half of the 2011 campaign, when he was clearly struggling with an injury and far below 100 percent. Last year, he played just seven games and 386 snaps, a mere 39 percent of Pittsburgh’s defensive opportunities. The instincts will still be there in 2013, but at age 32, can Polamalu’s body hold up? Pittsburgh is paying him like the answer is yes.
While I agree that it sure would help the Steelers if Polamalu’s deal would be worth less, the bottom line is Dick LeBeau loves him as a player, and when he’s close to or at 100 percent, he’s a game changer.
Polamalu inked a deal worth $36.5 million with $10.55 million guaranteed, right before the 2010 season.
Barnwell can call it a bad deal, but he’s the face of the defense this season, and the Steelers will still look to him to make big plays.
5 Comments
Leave a Reply
Show Your Team Spirit
Get Your Steelers Tickets
Steelers Gab Newsletter
Sign up to receive our Steelers Gab newsletter, and keep up to date with all the latest Pittsburgh Steelers news.
Jason Scholze
July 30, 2013 at 9:35 pm
Troy deserves every penny of that contract. Has he been hurt? Yes. But he is a steeler and we love him for the way he plays and the man that he is.
Daniel Grifin
July 30, 2013 at 9:43 pm
i believe troy aught to get anything he asks for because without him our defense is a joke!!! troy is the best safety in the nfl and even though i only get a little over 700 dollars a month i would give 25 dollars a month just to keep him where he needs to be!!! if i controlled the huge steelers payroll, i would add 10% to troys!!!
HE’S THAT GOOD!!!
Glenn Gilbert
July 31, 2013 at 8:57 am
I would help pay for Troys salary also
JJ
July 31, 2013 at 10:47 am
This article is good news to Steelers fans. Whenever some sports writer second guesses the Rooneys, when the season is over it’s the Rooneys who end up holding up THE TROPHY.
CyberVinnie
August 19, 2013 at 8:06 pm
What a ridiculous premise; his contract hurts the Steelers because he’s been injured, but when healthy he’s a game changer. So I guess a player’s contract is dependent on his health, which means any player who’s injured hurt their team contract wise regardless of how much it’s worth.