Cntrygal
05-23-2004, 02:59 AM
Unlike back in the day, when players and teams were wedded forever, that process has become a yearly proposition. Instead of retirement, which is what sent Sharpe to the broadcast booth, free agency and the NFL salary cap are now more likely to be the reasons leaders change teams.
Just two years ago, safety John Lynch was a mainstay on a record-setting Tampa Bay defense that routed Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII. This spring, with Lynch 32 years old and coming off neck surgery, the Buccaneers, unwilling to pay his $4 million salary, released him after 12 seasons with the team.
"I'm an idealist; I thought I had a chance to finish my whole career in one spot, and that appealed to me because it is so unique in this day and age," Lynch said. "But you've seen it so much in this league, to Jerry Rice and Junior Seau and Emmitt Smith, that you know no one's immune to it."
more... (http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~2166187,00.html)
Just two years ago, safety John Lynch was a mainstay on a record-setting Tampa Bay defense that routed Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII. This spring, with Lynch 32 years old and coming off neck surgery, the Buccaneers, unwilling to pay his $4 million salary, released him after 12 seasons with the team.
"I'm an idealist; I thought I had a chance to finish my whole career in one spot, and that appealed to me because it is so unique in this day and age," Lynch said. "But you've seen it so much in this league, to Jerry Rice and Junior Seau and Emmitt Smith, that you know no one's immune to it."
more... (http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~2166187,00.html)