DOLPHINS: T Mays (Safety, USC)

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On 1/13/09, Richie Wohlers <richiewohlers at gmail.com> wrote:
> That's such an interesting situation.  It's one thing for a guy like Tebow
> to stay in school.  By all accounts there's a good chance that he may never
> be anything more than a backup in the NFL.

from a football standpoint, I agree

> But if Mays is the top rated safety, he could be passing up a lot of money
> if he stays in school.  Matt Leinart probably would have been the first pick
> in the draft had he come out after his junior year (I believe Alex Smith
> ended up being #1).  Leinart played another year, but wasn't quite as good
> as the year before and dropped about 10 spots in the draft.  That decision
> probably cost him $10 Million that he'll never be able to recover.  Of
> course, the money he is currently making in the NFL is probably enough to
> set him up for life.

Matt Leinart had an elbow injury that IIRC needed surgery and probably
would have seen his stock drop had he come out and not been available
for NFL teams to inspect

> It's probably even more risky for a safety to pass up the opportunity to be
> the first safety taken.  Where would he go this year?  Late first round or
> early second?  If his stock drops at all he could go to the 3rd round and
> the total contract difference has to be HUGE.
>
> I have no idea how the insurance works that some players get in situations
> like these.
>
> However, I would never ever tell anybody to leave school if they enjoyed it
> and wanted to keep playing.  I might advise that the NFL is the wiser
> financial decision, but playing another year of college football may be the
> more rewarding life decision, and I will never fault anybody for making
> sound life decisions.  Lord knows I haven't made many.

that was my point. From an NFL/money standpoint - it would be wiser to
come out now, but it's his choice as to what he wants to do. Not
knowing him personally, maybe there's something else to learn, maybe
he feels he's not ready, maybe he's another Ricky Williams. Either way
I hope he's getting some good advice and is at peace with his
decision.