Sicko (UNH) turns down Free Agency

[danefan]

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/st ... TextPage=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scott Sicko proved to be a great high school and college player, possessing the rare size and speed and pass-catching skills necessary to be considered an NFL prospect.

But as the final day of the NFL draft progressed Saturday, and Sicko continued not to see his name pop up on ESPN, that easy answer to The Question grew hazier, then clearer.

And when the NFL finally called -- and called and called and called -- late in the afternoon, Scott Sicko's response shocked his agents, the teams, but in the end, not himself.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Instead of taking the first steps in an NFL career, Sicko is walking away.

[AZGrizFan]

That's just sicko.

[DJH]

huh?

[Uncle Buck]

Wow, hopefully he is doing what's best for him. Weird that he would go if drafted, but not as a FA. He definitely had skills.

[clenz]

I found this home video of Sicko post draft

[catamount man]

I applaud him. One wrong injury in the NFL could cripple him for life.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I applaud him. One wrong injury in the NFL could cripple him for life.

Not exactly different than any other NFL player there Cman. If he says "no" and wants to move on in some other direction then I wish him well.

[DJH]

I applaud him. One wrong injury in the NFL could cripple him for life.

What? C'mon man. He's been playing football for, i would assume, around 8-10 years already. Do you think he's worried about that?

[AZGrizFan]

I found this home video of Sicko post draft

Thats exactly the way I read this.

Fuckin' crybaby.

[JayJ79]

I applaud him. One wrong injury in the NFL could cripple him for life.

Me too. Not just because of the injury angle.

Yes, if he signs a FA deal with a team, he has a CHANCE to eventually play, but no guarantees.
Instead, he decided to continue his education and pursue a more realistic career in another field.

Most NCAA athletes do go pro in something other than sports.
Don't see how that decision makes him a "crybaby". Unless he held some sort of Tebow-esque press conference where he was bawling or something.

[clenz]

I applaud him. One wrong injury in the NFL could cripple him for life.

Me too. Not just because of the injury angle.

Yes, if he signs a FA deal with a team, he has a CHANCE to eventually play, but no guarantees.
Instead, he decided to continue his education and pursue a more realistic career in another field.

Most NCAA athletes do go pro in something other than sports.
Don't see how that decision makes him a "crybaby". Unless he held some sort of Tebow-esque press conference where he was bawling or something.

It's the fact that if he was drafted then he would continue, but since he wasn't he us throwing a fit. Even if he was drafted he only had a chance to play. Hell, unless you are a first round pick you are really garunteed playing time or making the team

[JayJ79]

Me too. Not just because of the injury angle.

Yes, if he signs a FA deal with a team, he has a CHANCE to eventually play, but no guarantees.
Instead, he decided to continue his education and pursue a more realistic career in another field.

Most NCAA athletes do go pro in something other than sports.
Don't see how that decision makes him a "crybaby". Unless he held some sort of Tebow-esque press conference where he was bawling or something.

It's the fact that if he was drafted then he would continue, but since he wasn't he us throwing a fit. Even if he was drafted he only had a chance to play. Hell, unless you are a first round pick you are really garunteed playing time or making the team

You must have more in-depth sources than I do. I didn't read anything about him throwing a fit. Only that he made a decision to pursue a career other than NFL football.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Me too. Not just because of the injury angle.

Yes, if he signs a FA deal with a team, he has a CHANCE to eventually play, but no guarantees.
Instead, he decided to continue his education and pursue a more realistic career in another field.

Most NCAA athletes do go pro in something other than sports.
Don't see how that decision makes him a "crybaby". Unless he held some sort of Tebow-esque press conference where he was bawling or something.

It's the fact that if he was drafted then he would continue, but since he wasn't he us throwing a fit. Even if he was drafted he only had a chance to play. Hell, unless you are a first round pick you are really garunteed playing time or making the team

Sure clenz but it is possible that he was unsure if he wanted to pursue football and made that one of his deciding factors. It's possible that he thought if he was drafted he would not let the team that drafted him down and would give it a shot and see how things turned out but if he wasn't drafted he wasn't gonna risk the head trauma and the bodily injury. He may have been watching HBO sports over the last year and thought to himself that pursuing his career outside of football was the wiser option. We don't know.

Thing is, it's his life and I doubt he made this decision because his feelings were hurt. Most people with that weak of character probably wouldn't turn down the money and possible fame.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

It's the fact that if he was drafted then he would continue, but since he wasn't he us throwing a fit. Even if he was drafted he only had a chance to play. Hell, unless you are a first round pick you are really garunteed playing time or making the team

You must have more in-depth sources than I do. I didn't read anything about him throwing a fit. Only that he made a decision to pursue a career other than NFL football.

I didn't read the whole article just what was posted so if he did throw a fit then OK, I get why someone would feel the way clenz does. If he didn't then maybe some are just projecting what they think is going on. That's a sure way to misread someone's intentions but...whatever.

[JayJ79]

I didn't read the whole article just what was posted so if he did throw a fit then OK, I get why someone would feel the way clenz does. If he didn't then maybe some are just projecting what they think is going on. That's a sure way to misread someone's intentions but...whatever.

no mention of "throwing a fit" of any sort in the entire article.

The one person (or group of people) that I could see having a valid beef with his decision would be the agents he had contracted with, as they put forth effort to arrange FA deals. But knowing agents, they probably have some clause in their contracts to cover their costs for services rendered if a guy turns down offers like this.

[UNHWildCats]

Me too. Not just because of the injury angle.

Yes, if he signs a FA deal with a team, he has a CHANCE to eventually play, but no guarantees.
Instead, he decided to continue his education and pursue a more realistic career in another field.

Most NCAA athletes do go pro in something other than sports.
Don't see how that decision makes him a "crybaby". Unless he held some sort of Tebow-esque press conference where he was bawling or something.

It's the fact that if he was drafted then he would continue, but since he wasn't he us throwing a fit. Even if he was drafted he only had a chance to play. Hell, unless you are a first round pick you are really garunteed playing time or making the team

how the fuck is he throwing a fit by saying he has decided to go to graduate school instead of pursuing a free agent deal? As for playing time and being drafted vs free agent. One would figure a team drafting someone has potential need at that position and he would atleast have a shot at winning playing time in camp regardless of what round you are taken in, you can earn playing time by proving yourself. As a free agent perhaps the teams that showed interest were deep at TE and there was virtually no chance to make a team. He looked at his options and decided it was best to prepare for graduate school and start on time as opposed to going to a training camp and being cut and then starting his graduate school late.

[clenz]

[DJH]

Yeah, thats what you were doing.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Dude can do whatever he wants and any normal guy with a decent head on his shoulders wouldnt give a fu*k what anyone else thinks about any choice he makes.

Still I think its stupid if you have the chance to go play in the NFL you would choose not to, hell you could just sign the contact and then lay down and not play just like:

Roy Williams
JaMarcus Russell
Akili Smith
Albert Haynesworth
ETC.............


Just by putting your name on a piece of paper would make you more money than anything else your going to do and would pay for a hell of a lot of school.

[dbackjon]

Cry baby whining quitter

[andy7171]

What a F'ing baby. Most players drafted in the 6th round would rather not get drafted so they have the choice of choosing where their best fit is.
fear of a life crippling injury, gimme a F'ing break.

Poor baby didn't get drafted. Who cares? This crybaby just lost out on living a dream.

[UAalum72]

Sicko's agents from National Sports Management were on local Albany TV last night. They said this was not a decision he made in haste, he had talked it over with his family for several days, and calls to him from several Cowboy officials couldn't change his mind.

[dbackjon]

Let's look at this - worked hard in the offseason. Said weeks ago playing in the NFL was his dream.
Didn't get drafted. UDFA is better than late round pick, in many cases. Doesn't get drafted, throws a hissy fit, takes his ball home and doesn't play...

[Appaholic]

Just by putting your name on a piece of paper would make you more money than anything else your going to do and would pay for a hell of a lot of school.

Not necessarily...my understanding (very limited mind you as I don't care about pro ball) is that NFL money, except signing bonuses, isn't guaranteed unless you make the team. Therefore, wouldn't any contract only pay off if he didn't get cut? And i imagine a signing bonus for UDFA would buy him dinner at Golden Corral for a week....

Anybody know the real deal regarding FA contracts?

[FCS Go!]

Some FAs get signing bonuses. IIRC Griz safety Anderson got multi-thousand $ signing bonus as a FA with the Vikes. Griz players Harris & Hilliard were in camps all summer before making practice squads so I'm sure they were getting paid something just to have a place to live and something to eat.