The power of leverage rules all in sports
SI.com's Peter King wrote Monday that football people doubt the Broncos will trade quarterback Jay Cutler.
They might be right, but they also might be underestimating the power of leverage.
About the same time that King's report emerged, another said the Jets have informed the Broncos they want in on any potential Cutler trade discussions.
If anyplace understands leverage it's New York. Hopefully Chicago, or more precisely Lake Forest, does, too.
Publicly or privately, the Bears should be uncharacteristically as aggressive as the 10 teams that allegedly contacted the Broncos about Cutler.
This issue began with Cutler saying he wants to be traded, but it didn't end with Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels saying over the weekend that Cutler is his quarterback.
Among the words to live by in sports - in life, for that matter - are "don't butt heads with somebody wearing a helmet."
Fans, the media and perhaps NFL insiders are debating whether Cutler or McDaniels is right in their ongoing dust-up.
Doesn't matter, folks.
Other words to live by include these: "There is no right or wrong in sports; there is only leverage."
Like in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal has it and Charlie Villanueva doesn't.
Each recently twittered in the locker room during halftime of his team's game.
Villanueva's coach demanded it never happen again and O'Neal's said he doesn't care as long as Shaq produces on the court.
Last year at this time the Bears' Brian Urlacher was campaigning for a contract extension worth big bucks.
Logic said Urlacher had no chance to get it. He was in the middle of a long-term deal and on the downside of his career.
The Bears had all the leverage.
Then it became clear that Urlacher might become an unhappy star who would blow up the club's chemistry.
Leverage shifted, and the Bears buckled.
Sports reside outside the real world. Sports people aren't like us. Sports etiquette is fluid.
So after Manny Ramirez tore apart the Red Sox, the Dodgers were thrilled to acquire him and give him $45 million. Why? Because he still can destroy big-league pitching as well as team harmony.
Premier athletes in the prime of their careers, or entering it, can get their way by being spoiled brats whining in the sandbox.
Talent will continue to provide them with leverage.
So Cutler - a third-year player coming off a Pro Bowl season with quarterback gifts to die for - isn't bound to the Broncos by something as silly as a binding contract.
That might work in other industries where your word, written or unwritten, might actually mean something.
In sports a signed contract is a starting point from which the parties can go in all sorts of different directions.
The Broncos can't afford to have their franchise quarterback and team leader have his head elsewhere, become a distraction and generally make life miserable for everybody around him.
So if Cutler wants out badly enough, he'll get out one way or another.
This dispute ain't over just because a 32-year-old head coach says it is. It ain't over until the 25-year-old quarterback with leverage says it is.
In the meantime, the Bears should surprise us by being poised to jump in just in case.
mimrem@dailyherald.com