TE Scott Sicko of New Hampshire
Can a NFL career be over before it begins? Scott Sicko things so.
Sicko played tight end for the New Hampshire Wildcats for the past four years, and had amassed some great number for a FCS (formerly Division I-AA) school, catching 160 passes for 2,014 yards and 22 touchdowns in his career. This past weekend, Scott and his family waited for his name to be called during the 2010 NFL Draft. 255 name later, his name was not called and Scott Sicko was never picked.
So Scott has turned his back on the NFL and has decided to move in another direction. Sicko was contacted by the Cowboys, Jets, Jaguars, Chargers and a few others, but he turned them all down.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King wrote,
He said he had no bitterness, no anger at teams for not picking him. But when he thought about a football life on the edge of a roster — possibly an itinerant life of an undrafted free-agent, working out day after day to try to get a shot in an NFL camp, or moving from one NFL practice squad to another, or possibly being on an active roster — it didn’t jibe with the life he wanted to live.
King goes on to write,
It’s nice, in the midst of a weekend when football seems more important than breathing to some, that we have a different kind of role model for our kids.
Seriously? A role model? I do not consider any player, superstar or not, a role model for kids, much less a player that has quit on a career he has been working towards his entire life. I have never and I will never ask that a football player be a role model, simply because of his celebrity status. I usually agree with plenty of what Peter King has to write about the NFL, but a role model for choosing not to follow your dreams? That just doesn’t seem right. After all, Scott Sicko said,
“I love football. I’ve been playing since I was seven years old, and playing in the NFL was always a dream of mine. I can’t say if I would have made it if I’d have signed with somebody and tried to make it as a free-agent. I don’t know.
However, in the end, this is what stuck with me the most. Sicko told the Albany Times Union,
“If I were to be drafted I would have had more confidence of a much longer career in the NFL.”
So the question becomes, “Did Sicko give up a chance to play in the NFL because he no longer has passion for the game, or because he lacked confidence in his abilities?” Did he get his feelings hurt because he was not drafted? So he was not selected in the draft, who cares? Being a sixth or seventh round draft pick is not much different than being an undrafted free agent. The point is, either way, you get a chance to go an compete for a job in the NFL. A job that only a select few have the opportunity to acquire. Nobody owes the NFL a thing, and a player is not obligated to accept a contract should one be offered to him. But to go back to school and not even try, seems like giving up.
Troy Aikman at UCLA in '09
Ever hear of Tony Romo, Kurt Warner, John Randle and Jeff Garcia?
You wouldn’t have, had they made the same decision Sicko just made. Those are just a few players that went undrafted and have gone on to have successful NFL careers. Randle will even get inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, in just his second year of eligibility. These guys all continued to chase their dream and not only made squads, they became household names. Sicko certainly flashed that kind of potential at New Hampshire.
I am not here to tell Scott Sicko that his decision is wrong, because ultimately, nobody can tell a man what to do with his life. This feels right to him, so he has made his decision. I have no problems with that.
What I do have a problem with, is others in the media sensationalizing this story to make it seem like this decision is honorable or even heroic. There was a challenge that was placed before Scott, a challenge that not everybody gets in life. Scott simply avoided this one challenge and moved on to a different path for his life.
Right now, Sicko might say that he will not regret this decision, and one can only choose to believe him. However, the football field still calls me, and I did not even play college ball or ever come close to get an NFL offer. For reasons which will remain my own, I had to stop playing in high school and there are still some days when I look back and say, “What if?”
I cannot help but wonder when those days will begin for Scott Sicko.
UPDATE: It now appears that Scott Sicko has changed his mind, again! Since I posted this yesterday, it has been confirmed that TE Scott Sicko has agreed to terms to join the Dallas Cowboys. Listen to the latest episode to hear Jeff and I further discuss this topic.
I totally am with you on this Steven. It’s unfortunate that Sicko feels that since he was not picked, he should just move onto another career. If it was his dream to play in the NFL then why not make that dream a reality? Looks like he would have signed as a UDFA with a team, but he turned them all down. Maybe he just doesn’t have any more passion, but it was his dream so I don’t see how that’s possible.
I feel for the kid, but he has to be crazy not to take up an offer from an NFL team! So many people would give anything to have the skills he has been blessed with and he needs to snap up the opportunity that has presented itself to him.
I agree with you. It does seem a little knee jerk. Im sure he thought long and hard about it, but turn away from the NFL and all your dreams! Surely you would give it a try for a year or two if you had the opportunity, then go back to school if it didn’t work out. Life has a funny way of turning out, you have to take any opportunity life throws you because they often only come around once.
I read King’s article yesterday. It also featured this quote: “I love American history, […] I love knowing where we’ve been as a country, and how we got to where we are today. I’ve had so many great influences as teachers, and I think it would be fun someday to teach, maybe in college.” IMHO this is a statement you can only respect. Choosing between two things you have great passion for is never easy. As a graduate student, with outlook on an academic career, and football player myself, I couldn’t make that decision instantly either. (Luckily I’ll never have to, I suck in comparison to US Kids. ;)) And there is a major difference between getting a degree a few years later and a real academic career. The competition isn’t easy there either. Bottom line, you may not understand/ agree, but I think you should respect his choice. AND GO PATRIOTS!!! :D
Im with Sicko here I think. Yes you here about the amazing undrafted players coming through like Randle or Romo, but you’re talking about a handful each year if you’re lucky. Given that most teams just signed about 8 or 9 undrafted players each, your odds are not exactly great. I mean, everybody during the draft kept saying that half the top round will probably be busts, and those are the ones who will actually make some money form it. So if its a choice between bouncing around a few practice squads and then being cut, or making the tough choice now to walk away and start a long term career, I think he’s making the right choice, and I think its wrong to say he’s ‘weak’ or ‘backing down’ by taking it.
I guess he looked at his options and thought that teaching would be better for him and his family. However as Steven pointed out he has chosen the wrong time and way of doing it. it does seem childish that because my name was not called I am not playing football.
What is the salary for a practise squad player? What are their health insurance options? When you factor all these options it may boid down to bling, does being a practise squad member help him provide more or being a teacher?
Had he been a EPL player then no doubt that a reserve in a Premier League side earns kerching!!!!
With all due respect, Yusuf, his decision seems mature rather than childish. The entire Peter King piece details his peace about the decision, his passion for education, and a love for learning and teaching that is admirable. You and I both are people who would be happy to spend a decade doing research and teaching. Having multiple passions makes him many times more likely to be happy. Good for him.
Well, with all due respect Jeff, I disagree with you. I don’t believe this decision was made because of his passion for education, but rather his lack of confidence because he did not get drafted. He even said he would have gone on to play football had he been drafted. That just makes me question his desire and passion for either career.
With all due respect, Steven and Jeff, carry it out on the next show! :D
With due respect to the guy, good luck being a teacher when your called “Mr Sicko”. The amount of cruel puns you could make on the name “Mr Sicko” is endless.
Well, he is now with your cowboys, Steven. :D http://blogs.nfl.com/2010/04/27/undrafted-sicko-changes-mind-agrees-with-cowboys/
Yeah, would be interested to hear your take on having this young man sign with your team, Steven. Whilst I agree with Jeff (shock, horror!) that it’s good he also has a passion for education and learning, I’d be dubious about his level of commitment were he to have signed with my Falcons…
On the face of it, having only read the Peter King article, I agree with Steven – this does appear to be an immature, mixed up kid, not a role model for future generations. Yet. Who knows how he’ll turn out and in what field(s) he might excel. I think we all tend to forget how young these guys are in the draft and how strange their lives have been as elite atheletes in the high school/college/pro system. There’s a lot more about all of that I think Steven (with his Cowboys background) and Jeff (with his professional experience) could talk about one day.
What really struck me in the quotes was this: “I think it would be fun someday to teach, maybe in college.” Fun? Not inspiring, not humbling, not a great opportunity to give something back, not something better than being a professional athelete. Fun. Hmmn. I hope he gets the wise counsel I think he needs, that he finds his path in life and that he fulfils his potential as a man. But just now he sounds to me like an immature kid who suddenly had to grow up when (perhaps for the first time in his life) he didn’t get picked for a team.