No Sentimentality

The New England Patriots declined the option on nose tackle Vince Wilfork. The two-time Super Bowl winner tweeted that out to his fans.

Anyone familiar with the Patriots and Robert Kraft's business model understood that an 8.9 million dollar cap for a 34 year-old nose tackle was an imbalance of biblical proportions. Wilfork's value to the organization was about toughness, dependability, and leadership at this point, more than production in the "Pro Football Focus" metric.

The Patriots have shown on numerous occasions (Lawyer Milloy, Wes Welker prominently) their willingness to move on from CONTRACTS they don't like. As fans, we have trouble distinguishing sentimental (endowment bias) from the abstract football value. The Patriots assign a number to everyone's production and adhere to it. When they've departed from that approach (e.g. Welker's 9+ million franchise tag), they've had buyer's remorse.

What's anyone's value? I'm sure that someone can put a 'tag' on my value as a physician, part-time basketball coach, market analyst, writer and blogger. I'm not delusional enough to think the number would be that high. It's harder to make those judgments if measured as a father, spouse, and sibling...because of the usual intangibles.

People spend thousands of dollars for some trinket from a celebrity or a piece of toast resembling the Shroud of Turin. Value is what you get and price is what you pay.

Of course, after testing the free agent waters, Mr. Wilfork may decide that he prefers to live and work here, do the good community work he and his family do, and swallow some pride and leave dollars on the table. At the end of the day, I know that he will do what is right for himself and his family.

But let's not confuse players getting paid with greed. Is anyone calling Robert Kraft greedy for being among the lowest in NFL cash payers the past few seasons or moving up 200 spots to 381 on the Forbes' gazillionaire list? Owners and entrepreneurs sometimes are held to a different standard than workers, even those highly paid professional athletes.

If the Wilforks depart, then we should miss them, for their passion, their consistency, and their authenticity.