URLACHER RETIRE? SEE YA…
So Brian Urlacher is threating to retire. Thanks for the memories.
When the initial story came out about Urlacher wanting to renegotiate his deal, I thought it was a brilliant move by his reps. He has a back issue and he’s coming off neck surgery. He’ll be 30 next month. A future contract after this one ends–4 years from now– is anything but a certainty. He’s trying to maximize his earnings before it’s time to call it a career. I get it.
But threaten to retire? From the Mike Mulligan column:
“One NFL insider laughed off the situation as the equivalent of a child taking his ball and going home or threatening to hold his breath until he passes out.
”Urlacher has no leverage,” the source said. ”He wants to be paid, right? If he takes a medical [retirement], then he’s got to prove he’s hurt. If he does that, he’ll never get paid. They’re not going to trade him. All he can do is be disruptive.
”It’s a joke. Players never walk away from millions. They threaten to, but they never do it.”
The Bears won’t even blink at this. Urlacher has 4 years left on his deal and not an ounce of leverage. I understand trying to get a new deal. But Urlacher comes off as a petulant brat. And at this stage of the game, one that has an over-inflated opinion of himself. He’s just not that important anymore.
