Paging Jerry Maguire.
After contract extensions to Bears mainstays Tommie Harris, Robbie Gould, Alex Brown, Desmond Clark, and most recently, Brian Urlacher, Hester believes he deserves his share too.
With spectacular returns, fleet feet, and the big-money swagger of a Hurricane, Hester brings an element to a regimented Bears scoring attack unlike any other player with a GSH emblazoned on his jersey sleeve.
I'm usually one to disagree with a player over contract negotiations, especially last-minute calls on the eve of Training Camp. However, Hester makes a convincing case for himself. Next year he is due $445,000 in the third year of his rookie contract, roughly the equivalent of "cats" drafted in the sixth or seventh round who have not laced their cleats yet, according to Hester. (He is also due to lose $15,000 a day in fines for missing the Bears' mandatory practices - he better move as quickly at the negotiation table as he does on the turf.)
Hester has twelve, yes, a dozen, returns for touchdowns in only two seasons - numbers no other NFL player in history has amassed in such a nascent career. He controls the game plan of defensive coordinators and special teams coaches by forcing them to kick away from Hester, giving the Bears optimal field position on almost every possession. He also electrifies the Soldier Field faithful every time he shakes his hips and dreadlocks before every punt or kickoff. Heck, he even holds the record for being the only player ever in the Madden NFL video game series to earn a perfect 100 speed rating.
If this were a MasterCard commercial, the tag line would be, "Devin Hester's impact on the Bears: priceless."
In today's dollar-first NFL, unfortunately, success comes with high-valued price tags. As much of a prima donna Hester may seem to be, he is severely underpaid in relation to his value to the team. He may not deserve top billing (like a similarly sized Steve Smith, making over 10 million next season), but he is indeed worth more than $445K.
Hester said Lovie Smith called him today and said the team does not have the same feel without his presence. That makes a lot of sense considering his deep-threat potential and speed to bolster a hit-or-miss (miss) WR corps, not to mention his record-setting returns.
The precedent has been set in paying the cornerstones of the franchise. Hester has proved to be the future face of the franchise, and if the Bears want him to stick around, they best show him the money. No more pussyfooting. This is serious business. Without Hester, the Bears may just average nine points a game, maybe 11 if you throw in a safety here and a defensive touchdown there.
It is really simple math: Hester = points. QED.
The number 23 has always been respected in Chicago. Let's keep to it. Take his word for it, Mr. Angelo; his words that say, "Pay me like I'm one of a kind."
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