As he sat on the medical cart, being wheeled off the field in Week 4, Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas’ frustration came to a head. He extended his middle finger at his own sideline in what became the top story of the week and an iconic image.
Now with the Baltimore Ravens, Thomas came clean about his thoughts at that moment. Talking with Peter King for his “Football Morning In America” column, Thomas pointed to the frustration of playing without the financial security he wanted and losing in a staredown with the Seahawks.
“A lot of frustration that day,” Thomas told King. “I was in a battle with the team, and I chose to play, and I was betting on myself. So when it happened, it just added to my frustration. I did what I did, and I saw Pete Carroll, and I just was like, ‘You won. You won.’ Just a very disappointing day.”
Thomas had been fighting with Seattle all offseason and into the regular season, holding out until Week 1. On the final year of his deal, Thomas wanted to either be given an extension to stay with the Seahawks or traded to a team that would do so. With a non-guaranteed salary for 2018, playing was a risk for Thomas, who was in a state of uncertainty after giving many years to Seattle while still believing he had plenty left in the tank.
By breaking his leg, Thomas’ free-agent hopes almost went with it. Few teams are eager to hand out big, long-term contracts to players that are coming off season-ending injuries, especially players like Thomas who are set to turn 30 in the offseason. In fact, the Ravens swooped in at the last minute when Thomas says he was set to sign a one-year, “prove-it” deal, likely for significantly less money.
While it’s hard for most fans to fully pity a player who has made millions of dollars throughout their career, it was a poignant reminder of just how fragile a career in the NFL really is and how players are often thought of as just cogs in the machine.
Thomas bet on himself and by getting hurt, lost at the time. Luckily Baltimore’s dire need for defensive help following their tumultuous early free agency put Thomas back in the thick of things. But he nearly lost tens of millions of dollars by playing a game of chicken with the Seahawks. There’s no doubt that, in the moment, there was a ton of frustration for Thomas and an immediate run of “what if”s going through his mind.
