Jets coach Robert Saleh has some interesting theories on money and players.
With the draft right around the corner, Joe Douglas, Saleh and company are doing a deep dive into hundreds of college prospects.
And one big question they are trying to answer is how these young men will respond to getting paid good money to play football.
“I’ve always believed, money only makes you more of what you already are,” Saleh said recently in a conference call with Jets season ticket holders. “These young men are coming into this profession and they’re going to be getting money thrown at them. It’s very very important to dig deep and get to the root of who these men are as individuals. You have to understand when this person comes in the building, whatever you think the issues were are only going to exacerbate with money.”
So that is why Douglas, Saleh and many others on the Jets’ football side are trying to figure out which prospects will be negatively impacted by big money, and which ones will be just fine and continue to be driven.
“We’re just trying to figure out what makes these young men tick, why they play the game, do they play the game because they like it or because they love it,” Saleh said. “There’s a distinct difference between the two as well because when you look at guys who play the game because they like what it does to their brand.”
Saleh says Jets are looking for guys who play football “because they absolutely love everything about it.”
“They love the football part of it, they love the studying, they love rehab, they love training, the locker room, they love everything,” Saleh said. “Those are the ones that usually work out in this league. So, you study, you dig deep, and you try to figure it all out, and between now and the draft that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
*
To subscribe to the monthly Jets Confidential Magazine, call 1-800-932-4557 (M-F, 12-4) or go to jetsconfidential.com. The unfiltered bottom line about Gang Green delivered to your mailbox every month. Check it out!
