Most images of Christian McCaffrey show him in a helmet and pads while carrying a football. But after his announcement Monday morning, I pictured him in a suit and tie while carrying a briefcase.
The Stanford running back tweeted that he will forgo playing in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30 so he can begin his NFL draft preparation immediately. And all I can say to that is _ great business move.
By most accounts, McCaffrey will be a late first-round pick next April. The former Heisman Trophy runner-up has racked up more than 3,600 rushing yards in his last two years with the Cardinal and nearly 1,000 yards receiving.
He has nothing more to prove by playing in a meaningless bowl game and certainly nothing more to gain. So he's skipping it. Turns out those Stanford kids are smart.
Of course, such a decision is going to draw ire from certain sectors of the public. This kind of thing has never really happened in college football before. LSU running back and fellow first-round prospect Leonard Fournette recently announced that he'll be skipping the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve, but he's coming back from an ankle injury. McCaffrey? He's perfectly fine.
That's why some critics accused him of leaving his Cardinal teammates hanging by sitting out this postseason exhibition game. They feel he is under an unspoken contract to play out the rest of the season due to all the work his comrades have put in.
More so, schools earn good money for appearing in bowl games and fans pay good money to travel. So shouldn't the main attraction feel obligated to strap it up one more time?
Um ... hell no he shouldn't.
Millions and millions of dollars swirl around the college football bowl season, but the athletes don't see a dime of it. There is no reason for someone such as McCaffrey _ who is set to earn millions himself as a pro _ to risk injury in what will likely be a forgettable game.
Remember former Notre Dame running back Jaylon Smith? He was considered a top-5 pick before tearing his ACL and LCL in last year's Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State, and ended up dropping to the second round. The plunge likely cost him close to $20 million.
Now, it should be noted that a cost/benefit analysis should precede these kinds of decisions. Obviously, a player would never bypass a playoff game, and you'd have to think McCaffrey would suit up if Stanford were in the Rose Bowl again.
But what about something like the Cotton Bowl? Would it matter if your team was on the upswing or downswing? What about if you were a projected third-rounder instead of a first-rounder? These are all things to consider, but the point McCaffrey proved is that it's the player's choice.
Coaches repeatedly miss their team's bowl games because they got a job somewhere else. They didn't feel so loyal to their programs that they ignored other opportunities.
So McCaffrey shouldn't feel any guilt about safely investing in his future. Worst-case scenario he gets hurt, and the best case scenario is ... he gets a win in the Sun Bowl.
Regardless of how you feel about Christian's choice, it sheds light on myriad issues in college football. One is that the bowl season has gotten so diluted that these types of games don't matter anymore.
Remember the 1979 Sun Bowl when Washington beat Texas, 14-7? That was a big deal around here. So was the 1986 Sun Bowl, when Alabama crushed the Huskies, 28-6, thus causing Don James to put an emphasis on speed when recruiting. These days, however, a result from the Sun Bowl (or something similar) wouldn't resonate in Seattle sports lore.
But the bigger issue McCaffrey's decision brings up is the lack of compensation for athletes responsible for driving millions of dollars of revenue for their universities. It's been a topic of debate for years, but not one that has seen much change. Why? Because the athletes have never had any leverage. Perhaps this is the start of them fighting back.
Saying "no thanks" to bowl games is going to be an increasingly popular trend for star football players in years to come. It might not sit well with the traditionalists, but the pragmatists will approve.
Some may argue that Christian McCaffrey is simply looking out for Christian McCaffrey, and maybe he is. But that's OK, because the NCAA certainly isn't.
