NFL’s camps not all about football
I RVINE, CALIF. The catcalls directed at Trumaine Johnson came from the front row, where fans lined up behind a fence at the Los Angeles Rams training camp only a few feet from the practice field.
It was a small group of hecklers, but they were loud and relentless, their insults providing a piercing contrast to the smattering of applause and cheers after big plays.
A sampling: “Hey, 22! You don’t deserve that contract!”
Johnson, No. 22, is playing under the franchise tag for the second year in a row, which will pay $16.742 million this season and earns him the distinction of having the highest “average salary” of any NFL cornerback. Of course, Johnson was hoping to land a long-term deal from the Rams, maybe like something in the neighborhood of the fiveyear, $75 million contract that Josh Norman signed last year with Washington. But talks for that stalled, and the long-term contract deadline passed.
Meanwhile, the Rams’ best player, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, was nowhere to be found on the Cal-Irvine campus where new coach Sean McVay opened his first camp over the weekend. Donald — a two-time first-team all-pro with a strong case as perhaps the NFL’s most underpaid star player — is a holdout.
“You’re the reason Aaron Donald is not here!” one of the fans yelled at Johnson.
Welcome to training camp, another NFL season and … the business of football.
Johnson couldn’t help but hear the trash-talking fans during his stints on the sideline while rotating reps. At one point, he turned and smiled. Later, he walked up to the fence — during practice, mind you — and shook hands while engaging in small talk with one of the loudmouths. He took the high road.
“Good or bad, I love the fans,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports after practice. “So I love the interaction. That’s my personality.
“Of course, sometimes they don’t know the ins and outs of it. That’s why you just shake your head at the end of the day. But if they didn’t have freedom of speech, who would they be?”
Then again, deflecting criticism from screaming fans at practice is one way to get ready for passionate fans at road games.
“If I focus on them, I would not perform,” he said. “I’m not stressing over no fans.”
Johnson doesn’t expect to be with the Rams beyond this season, although there’s a possibility a long-term contract can be reached. He insists, though, that he will worry about that after the season.
The opening of camps provided undeniable reminders all across the NFL, which generated more than $13 billion in revenue last year, that pro football is big business. There are money stories everywhere.
While Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is absent after not signing his franchise tag tender ($12.1 million) or agreeing to a long-term deal, New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr., with two years left on his rookie contract (paying him $1.839 million this year), made headlines after stating that he hopes his next contract will make him the NFL’s highest-paid player — not just the highest-paid receiver.
On the flip side, the Tennessee Titans signed two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey to a four-year extension worth $60.4 million, with $40 million guaranteed. Sunday, Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes got a five-year extension worth $70 million, according to multiple reports.
Like Donald, Casey had two years left on his contract. Casey’s deal should seemingly add context for a new deal for Donald, whose $2.534 million average ranked 41st among defensive tackles when camp opened — a far cry from the $19.1 million that the Miami Dolphins’ Ndamukong Suh earns at the top of the scale for the position.
“I think people realize there’s two sides to the NFL — the game side and the business side,” Rams linebacker Robert Quinn told USA TODAY Sports. “Of course, I’d love to see Aaron here. I’m sure he’s working his tail off. When he does show up, I’m not worried about him being in shape.
“It’s just the business side. It sucks. You kind of deal with it.”
Donald is the first Rams holdout since Steven Jackson in 2008, when the team was in St. Louis. He’s also perhaps the team’s most respected player, a workaholic, which is why there’s not even a hint of ill will among teammates. His holdout wasn’t a shock to Rams brass, either, as Donald skipped all the voluntary organized team activities during the offseason, showing up only for the mandatory minicamp.
“I know how holdouts go,” Johnson said. “I know what it’s like to miss practices. But it’s always a business. I hope they pay him.”
After all, football is football. And business is business.