The New York Giants finally got their man, when they signed star wide receiver Victor Cruz to a six-year almost $45 million extension.
That’s pretty good money, but Cruz knows he left some money on the table, and as he told Sirius XM radio, he knows “he took less than he deserves.”
“I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. It’s tough. When you understand from a numbers standpoint, and the numbers you put up you feel like deserve a certain amount of money … and you want your team to owe that to you. But I think playing in NY, you can’t take that away. You have to hold that up to an account at some point when you’re going through these negotiations. You ask yourself ‘Would you want to play for this amount in New York and play in the best city in the world and play football, and — I’m a hometown kid — be close to home and your mom and your family? Or do you want to take a big pay day and go somewhere like Kansas City or Minnesota where your family might not be able to come as often as you want and you’re living in a city you’re not too familiar with and it’s an adjustment for you?’ So you have to take all those things into account as well. But I’m not going to say it’s easy when you see guys getting these huge paydays and you feel like you’re at the same caliber, if not better than some of those guys.”
Cruz gave the hometown Giants a discount, yes, but he should be able to make some of that up in marketing and endorsement deals.
I mean that is what Jay Z is around for right?