Giants receiver Victor Cruz joined PFT Live Thursday and made a few noteworthy remarks. Cruz earned only $450,000 last season while setting the franchise record for receiving yards in a season with 1,536. He feels he is due for a raise.
“I think I was paid relative to where I came in this year and, you know, I came in as a free agent so that’s the salary I was on, so I don’t feel like I was underpaid,” Cruz said. “I feel like after my performance this year I deserve to be paid more money at this point. But that’s something I’ll let my agents and those people take care of and I’ll just go out there and play the game.”
Cruz is set to make $490,000 next season. In the same spirit that teams ask players to take pay cuts, the Giants should give Cruz the raise he’s earned. Maybe signing him to a long-term deal is the way to go.
Cruz also weighed in on Rob Gronkowski, who made headlines when videos and pictures showed him dancing like a madman after the loss. Cruz, who’s become known for his salsa dancing touchdown celebration, says he probably would have left the gyrations at home.
“I don’t think so,” Cruz said when asked if he would have been dancing after losing the Super Bowl. “I think I would have been in my room, watching TV, soaking in the moment. It’s not every day you make it to a Super Bowl, man. . . . Some guys play 15, 16 years in this league and don’t make it the Super Bowl. Or even the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. I would have been home soaking in the moment, I probably wouldn’t have been partying too much after that.”
Who knows how Cruz would have responded has his team lost. He should just be happy he wasn’t in that position.
