The game is more than gettin' paid

The NFL Rookie Symposium is going on right now in Florida, and beyond the images of rookies “iced” out in diamonds and necklaces — thanks to a little help with some money from their agents — and placing condoms on bananas, there’s something to be taken away from this week if you’re a rook — if you care to pay attention.

The issue with the symposium, or any function that rookies are dragged to, is an appreciation for the game itself — and its history.

When I attended in 2000, we were treated to a nice lecture — complete with raised voice — from Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen on the history of the NFL, because, well, most of the rookies in the room didn’t know the names of the NFL greats he was talking about.

APHall of Fame running back Marcus Allen

You see, the league in this decade — and most likely since the beginning of free agency — isn’t about the history or the guys who played before us.

It’s about “gettin’ paid.” And really, not much more.

But that’s just the reality that comes out of the symposium. Sure, there are plenty of lectures, plenty of speakers who tell these young guys all about how to handle their finances, how to balance a checkbook and how to avoid — at all costs — forming an entourage that follows you around and siphons money from your pocket, not weekly, but daily.

And it’s those exact opinions — ones that our Andrew Brandt discussed earlier today — that should be listened to. But, unfortunately, they are not.

But as a former player, I believe the most glaring aspect of this week is rookies’ general disregard — or maybe even disrespect — for the panel of veterans and/or former players who implore them to listen, learn and handle themselves like professionals.

In 2000, one rookie in the room actually challenged Allen about sticking with his boys back in his old neighborhood. They went back and forth on why a pro athlete should distance himself from his old issues back home — and this was coming from a guy, in Marcus Allen, who not only had longevity in his career, but a very productive one as well. Where is the respect?

Well, that same guy, the one who didn’t want to listen to Marcus, played about a year or so and ended up doing some jail time. Thanks for coming out, buddy, but you probably should have listened to the Hall of Famer.

APQuarterback Matthew Stafford was the first overall choice in this past April's draft.

The problem is that some rookies are glued to the idea that they’ve made it, based on the fact that they’re at the symposium and walking around with guys like Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. But in reality, they haven’t even put on a pair of pads or made an actual team.

And this is where listening to these panels of players, hearing their thoughts and paying attention — if only for a few hours every day at the symposium — can actually help a rookie make the transition to the NFL.

Warren Sapp has recently commented on it, and many of the veterans I played with did so every day in the locker room.

Because you never actually “make it” in the NFL. We’re all kicked out at some point — no matter how much money you’ve made, how many Pro Bowls you’ve played in or how many interceptions you grab.

Those are the facts, and if I could talk to those rookies, I would give them a simple message: Listen up when these guys talk because they’ve done something that none of you has experienced.

No matter how sweet you think you are — rook.

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