Yeah, he can work 30 more years like the rest of us. Assuming he lives that long. Like Earl Campbell maybe? Oh, wait, Earl can barely walk.
Players should honor their contracts, but the teams don't really need to? Why should the players display character and honor if the teams have none? Because the players made a lot of money for a few years? Because they get to play football?
CJ has been one of the top RBs in the league since he came into the league, and signed a contract that he had no choice/say in. The draft/slotting system wasn't agreed to by the players, and CJ had no chance to find a better NFL job. He had no opportunity to apply at different teams, and make his own deal. The terms of his deal, even down to the length of the deal, are set before he even sits down to the negotiating table.
But that doesn't matter, right? All that matters is that he makes more money than us, so he should just be thankful and honor the contract he had almost no say in. (This is the part where you say, "Hey, if he doesn't like it, he can go and get a job like the rest of us....")
It's a ridiculously narrow-minded point of view. These players careers can end on any play. And if they do manage to play for a decent time, their life expectancy shrinks at an alarming rate. Which is just as well, considering many live in constant pain. These guys are in the entertainment business, and only get to perform for a few years, if they are among the best, it seems weird they cannot get paid like the best.
Especially a guy like CJ. A smaller RB? The Titans can make him play out his deal, maybe franchise him for a year, and then everyone can make noise about concerns about a smaller speed back at the age of 29, and he might not even get a big deal. Hey, he will still have made a lot of money, relatively speaking, but based on a draft slot he had no say in, he won't get what the market says he's worth.
Character, my eye. That's just stupid.
So do you have more sympathy for CJ3 than O'Brien Schofield? Most of you are probably asking yourselves, who is O'Brien Schofield? He's a senior OLB/DE from Wisconsin that was initially projected in the 2nd or 3rd round. Then he was named Defensive MVP of the East West Shrine game, and by all accounts was very impressive at the Senior bowl. He was very well on his way to making millions. Then he blew out his ACL at the Senior bowl. He may now go undrafted.
There's a lot of football players out there getting the shaft way worse the CJ3.
Please cite an example of a team not honoring a contract.
Let me help you out, you won't be able to. See, when teams pay the signing bonus they are paying for the right to have an option contract. If they choose they can pick up the options through the end of the contact, and if they choose not to, that is their right, bought and paid for. Exercising the latter bargained for choice is not dishonoring or breaking the contract, it is actually a contingency contemplated in the contract. Anyone who makes thed argument that owners do not honor their player contracts is misinformed and uneducated on the matter. I blame sloppy reporting for misleading people to belive this.