Sicko (UNH) turns down Free Agency

[UAalum72]

Agent on local radio today said Scott made a "thoughtful, intelligent decision" - not a hissy fit, not a tantrum. Cowboys are still calling, but as of now he's "comfortable with his decision".

[putter]

Still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I will play if drafted, but I won't if undrafted. As mentioned before, Colt Anderson from Montana got a $20k bonus for signing an UDFA contract. I guess if teams were not that high on him and his agents were saying he would not have a shot at making the team I could see avoiding the beating but the Cowboys are still calling so they must think this kid has a shot on their team.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

This made no sense to me. Let me give you guys some background on Scott and his family. His father had been emailing media members about Scott for the last 3 years sending out links on his son and hyping him whenever he could. In fact he would even push to get his son on their draft boards. He would email people all of the time until Scott had a bad first half of the season. Once he started to heat it up his dad began emailing again. Then he went quiet for a while until Scott tore it up at his pro day. He then reached out to a few people then and talked a little smack, or at least it came off that way to the people I know. Then for his son to come off as whining that he did not get drafted is puzzling. I do know their camp felt there was no way he would not get drafted, especially with the Patriots having so many 7th round picks. I think this was a direct hit to his ego.

I'll give you guys another example of something similar. WIU CB Patrick Stoudamire's dad would constantly email links and information on his son. He really believed his son was a 3rd-5th round prospect for the most part and that even as recently as a few weeks ago felt he would go in the 5th or 6th round. I know it was a big hit to his ego for his son not to get taken.


For any parent on here who has a child in college now, please learn from these two and don't push your luck. While someone is going to get lucky one day it seems the parents who constantly put their children's names out are players who usually aren't as good as guys like Ducasse, Edwards, etc. I have noticed that parents of top 3 round selections have never emailed but lots of no name players or free agent and 7th round type guys have done it.

[FCS Go!]

Sounds like Sicko is sick of Daddy and is trying to be his own person.

[FCS Go!]

Sicko's choice lauded by Peter King:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... ft/1.html/

[AZGrizFan]

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.

You forgot one:

Ryan Leaf.

[dbackjon]

Sicko could have negiotied a $25K signing bonus, if not more.

[UNHWildCats]

Sicko's choice lauded by Peter King:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... ft/1.html/

Now for something completely different. Scott Sicko is a senior at the University of New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision (nee Division I-AA) first-team all-America tight end and an interesting NFL prospect. At 6-foot-4 and 251 pounds, he's a willing blocker with soft hands. He worked out privately for the Patriots. He was on radar screens around the league. Until last weekend.

On Saturday, he sat at home in Stillwater, N.Y., about a half-hour north of Albany, with his parents, girlfriend and some other relatives. They waited for hours, pick after pick after pick. His name wasn't called. A few picks before the final choice of the seventh round, he started discussing with his family what was in his heart.
scott-sicko.jpg
New Hampshire tight end Scott Sicko is looking forward to doing something he loves more than football.
AP

Sicko got a scholarship to play football at New Hampshire. But he always thought he was at college to get an education, then to play football. He majored in History with a minor in Political Science. He's set to graduate on time May 22, and he's considering returning to school to finish a double-major (taking more poli-sci courses), or going for a Master's in History, and then, if all goes well, maybe a Ph.D. in History. "I love American history,'' he said. "I love knowing where we've been as a country, and how we got to where we are today. I've had so many great influences as teachers, and I think it would be fun someday to teach, maybe in college.''

So with the final few picks winding down, Sicko told his family the truth: If he didn't get drafted, he wanted to go back to college full-time and see what direction the road took him. "I love football,'' he said. "I've been playing since I was seven years old, and playing in the NFL was always a dream of mine. I can't say if I would have made it if I'd have signed with somebody and tried to make it as a free-agent. I don't know. But this ... this just felt right.''

He said he had no bitterness, no anger at teams for not picking him. But when he thought about a football life on the edge of a roster -- possibly an itinerant life of an undrafted free-agent, working out day after day to try to get a shot in an NFL camp, or moving from one NFL practice squad to another, or possibly being on an active roster -- it didn't jibe with the life he wanted to live.

"I always lived my life for family first, education second and happiness third,'' he said Sunday afternoon as he drove from his home in upstate New York back to New Hampshire. "I've found the first two lead to the third. Being away, to some that would be an adventure, and I'm not saying it wouldn't have been fun. But let's say I made it for a couple of years. You always hear players say, 'I'm going to go back and finish my education.' How many of them really do? Not many. When I thought about where I was in my life and where I wanted to go, I figured most people don't make careers of it. I gave everything I could to football. I loved every second of it. But I love my family and school too. I just thought, I'm really excited about going back to school and seeing where real life will take me.''

But first there was a problem. Thirty-two NFL teams had his phone number. When the draft ends, teams start calling undrafted prospects to try to sign them to come to training camp. The Chargers called. Dallas called. The Jets, Jacksonville and Kansas City called.

"I told them, basically, 'I'm honored you called me, but I'm not going to play football anymore. I'm going to further my education,''' he said.

A couple of the teams were surprised, but he said they respected his decision and wished him luck.

"It was tough, telling NFL teams I didn't want to be in their camps,'' he said. "But it was the right thing.''

He knows people will think he's nuts. There aren't many athletes, given a choice, who would want to go work in the real world before giving their sport a major effort. To Sicko, it doesn't feel like quitting. It feels like just choosing to do something else he loves. There wasn't a sentence in a 25-minute conversation that had regret in it.

It felt logical to ask about why a mature kid like him wouldn't want to go to a camp, just to challenge himself and see if he could do it. Wouldn't he, for the rest of his life, question his decision? Wouldn't he wake up one morning 30 years from now feeling like some Moonlight Graham, a guy who'd give anything to go back for just one chance, to see if he was really good enough? He just didn't think he would ever feel that way. If I could convey how he sounded, happy and determined are the first two words that come to mind.

"How'd you feel when you woke up this morning?'' I said. "Any sadness at all?''

"No,'' he said. "I felt excited. It's been a long process in football, and it was all fun. This is going to be fun too.''

It's nice, in the midst of a weekend when football seems more important than breathing to some, that we have a different kind of role model for our kids. I hope they read everything Scott Sicko just said here.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... z0mEBniLBP" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription

[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.

You forgot one:

Ryan Leaf.

I purposefully left him off the list because he a fu*king loser.

[UAalum72]

Another interview with Sicko in the Troy Record

[UNHWildCats]

Apparently Dallas was persistent. Scott Sicko has agreed today to sign with Dallas.

[danefan]

Apparently Dallas was persistent. Scott Sicko has agreed today to sign with Dallas.

http://blog.timesunion.com/mcguire/sick ... boys/7574/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[grizzaholic]

Apparently Dallas was persistent. Scott Sicko has agreed today to sign with Dallas.

Great job by Sicko! Way to play the field. He walks away after the draft telling everyone that he won't/doesn't want to play football anymore. He gets paid for all of these interviews and whatnot, and then signs with Dallas for some more cash!


Great job!

[andy7171]

So he was having a crybaby tantrum, everyone called him out on it and he came to his senses.

[danefan]

So he was having a crybaby tantrum, everyone called him out on it and he came to his senses.

Yup and he won't at all get shit for that in training camp.

[clenz]

So he was having a crybaby tantrum, everyone called him out on it and he came to his senses.

[UNHWildCats]

Sicko said if he makes the Cowboys, he will take online classes in either Political Science or History to begin his graduate-school career. If he doesn't make the Cowboys' active roster or practice squad, he'll enroll this fall at one of the grad schools to which he has applied.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... z0mKD8Ep75" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription

[clenz]

Sicko said if he makes the Cowboys, he will take online classes in either Political Science or History to begin his graduate-school career. If he doesn't make the Cowboys' active roster or practice squad, he'll enroll this fall at one of the grad schools to which he has applied.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... z0mKD8Ep75" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription

And he couldn't have done the same thing by signing a contract right from the start? I was fishing some early in the thread but believed most of what I said. I still believe he was pissed he didn't get drafter so he was taking his lunch box and going home, figuratively speaking. Now that he was called on it by every major sports new network on TV and radio he realizes he made the wrong choice out of anger and frustration.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Apparently Dallas was persistent. Scott Sicko has agreed today to sign with Dallas.

Great job by Sicko! Way to play the field. He walks away after the draft telling everyone that he won't/doesn't want to play football anymore. He gets paid for all of these interviews and whatnot, and then signs with Dallas for some more cash!


Great job!

I don't think you get paid for doing interviews do you? If there is one guy out there that will open up his purse to get what he wants then it is definitely Jerry Jones. Did he get a sweeter deal than the normal FA? I obviously didn't read the Dallas article.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

And he couldn't have done the same thing by signing a contract right from the start? I was fishing some early in the thread but believed most of what I said. I still believe he was pissed he didn't get drafter so he was taking his lunch box and going home, figuratively speaking. Now that he was called on it by every major sports new network on TV and radio he realizes he made the wrong choice out of anger and frustration.

I'm sure you are basing on something that you know. I don't know how you know so much but it is impressive.

Let your emotions and your feelings guide you, they are always correct for you are from IOWA GOD DAMNIT!!

Sorry, that's my first Iowa rip but it seemed necessary for the escalation.

[grizzaholic]

Great job by Sicko! Way to play the field. He walks away after the draft telling everyone that he won't/doesn't want to play football anymore. He gets paid for all of these interviews and whatnot, and then signs with Dallas for some more cash!


Great job!

I don't think you get paid for doing interviews do you? If there is one guy out there that will open up his purse to get what he wants then it is definitely Jerry Jones. Did he get a sweeter deal than the normal FA? I obviously didn't read the Dallas article.

A lot of the time people get cash for doing interviews whether it be on Larry King or some other talking head.

[clenz]

And he couldn't have done the same thing by signing a contract right from the start? I was fishing some early in the thread but believed most of what I said. I still believe he was pissed he didn't get drafter so he was taking his lunch box and going home, figuratively speaking. Now that he was called on it by every major sports new network on TV and radio he realizes he made the wrong choice out of anger and frustration.

I'm sure you are basing on something that you know. I don't know how you know so much but it is impressive.

Let your emotions and your feelings guide you, they are always correct for you are from IOWA GOD DAMNIT!!

Sorry, that's my first Iowa rip but it seemed necessary for the escalation.

I don't know the situation any better than any of you, but I'm willing to bet that I'm not that far off with this.


They way this whole thing reads is that this was his reaction after not getting drafted




He then had to do with questions, pretty much non stop from media, friends, family, etc... and teams still calling him and he realized that "Damn, I can still make money and go to school. And if I don't get make the team I can still go to school. Going pro doesn't keep me from going to school because I lost my amateur status"

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I don't think you get paid for doing interviews do you? If there is one guy out there that will open up his purse to get what he wants then it is definitely Jerry Jones. Did he get a sweeter deal than the normal FA? I obviously didn't read the Dallas article.

A lot of the time people get cash for doing interviews whether it be on Larry King or some other talking head.

Didn't imagine that a FA candidate doing a sports interview would get paid for it but you learn something new everyday. I could see experts on a subject on CNN or something but I thought most were not paid outside of what they make off of book promotions and the like.

[houndawg]

And he couldn't have done the same thing by signing a contract right from the start? I was fishing some early in the thread but believed most of what I said. I still believe he was pissed he didn't get drafter so he was taking his lunch box and going home, figuratively speaking. Now that he was called on it by every major sports new network on TV and radio he realizes he made the wrong choice out of anger and frustration.

Could it possibly be that he realizes that there is a whole lot more to life than the NFL?


A high school teammate of mine was a 1st round pick, earned to Super Bowl rings playing with Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and co. There is a very ugly side to the NFL, and Sicko is right to have other plans if he's not looking at the big money, and it appears he isn't. I hope he stuck Jones for a hefty non-refundable "try out" fee.

Good job, Scott, make them play on your terms, and if it doesn't work out, the fun is just beginning.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I'm sure you are basing on something that you know. I don't know how you know so much but it is impressive.

Let your emotions and your feelings guide you, they are always correct for you are from IOWA GOD DAMNIT!!

Sorry, that's my first Iowa rip but it seemed necessary for the escalation.

I don't know the situation any better than any of you, but I'm willing to bet that I'm not that far off with this.


They way this whole thing reads is that this was his reaction after not getting drafted




He then had to do with questions, pretty much non stop from media, friends, family, etc... and teams still calling him and he realized that "Damn, I can still make money and go to school. And if I don't get make the team I can still go to school. Going pro doesn't keep me from going to school because I lost my amateur status"

Fantastic Picture!

You have a theory that lines up with what a shit load of people want to think about others and their motivations. It's all about putting your cynicism to work to resolve something that doesn't make sense to you.

It could be correct. I just don't see it as crystal clear and there could be not only a grain of truth to what he is saying but it could be the whole truth. Doesn't matter the feeling will just go around and soil the guy's rep whether it is right or wrong. That's what he gets for not doing what the public thinks he should have done.