Miami WR Mike Wallace Turned Down Monster Deal From Vikes
September 23, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) reacts after catching a touchdown pass against the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Steelers 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
An interesting development has come about recently involving the Miami Dolphins‘ new stud receiver, Mike Wallace.
Miami outbid the Minnesota Vikings among others for Wallace’s services during this year’s free agency period. While many thought Minnesota would throw the table at Wallace after trading away WR Percy Harvin, this was not the case.
Or so we thought.
According to Wallace’s father, Minnesota offered Wallace a contract in the area of $76 mill which is much more than the five-year, $60 mill contract Wallace agreed to with Jeff Ireland’s squad.
The reason in doing so? Wallace just wanted to be happy.
“In free agency, with so many great guys, when you get the prize deal, it’s always a good feeling,” Wallace told USA TODAY Sports after Wednesday’s minicamp session. “I just wanted to be happy. Money isn’t everything. A lot of people last year, when I held out in Pittsburgh, took it the wrong way, felt like I was just being greedy.”
On a side note, this is good news for Ireland and Miami fans. For what seems like the entirety of his tenure with Miami, general manager, Jeff Ireland, has been known as a “bad guy” as Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Safety Ryan Clark labeled him. Ireland struck out on numerous free agents including Clark, S Antrel Rolle, HC Jeff Fisher, QB Peyton Manning, and HC Jim Harbaugh among others.
It seems as though Ireland has finally figured out how to woo free agents after breaking the bank for Receivers Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, and Brandon Gibson, TE Dustin Keller, and Linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Phillip Wheeler among others.
Back to Wallace. The speedster also stated that the money is not a big thing for him [of course it is somewhat about the money – sometimes as fans we forget that this is their job and we all chase the money in our lives for the most part]. Realistically, he wants to be known as one of the great players of his generation by winning multiple Super Bowls and being named to the Pro Bowl on a consistent basis.
With a young and budding star at the quarterback position in Ryan Tannehill, did Wallace make the right decision turning down the money for a better situation?