Victor Cruz and the New York Giants are happy to have gotten the 26-year-old’s contract situation squared away, but that does not mean he feels he was compensated fairly. Once a player signs on the dotted line, he no longer has a right to complain. No one forced Cruz to sign a five-year, $43 million extension with New York, but the Pro Bowl receiver was quick to point out on Monday that he feels the Giants got a hometown discount.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. It’s tough,” Cruz told Sirius XM NFL Radio, via Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News. “When you understand from a numbers standpoint, and the numbers you put up you feel like deserve a certain amount of money … and you want your team to owe that to you.”
In other words, Cruz thinks he could have gotten more. His deal includes $15.6 million guaranteed, which is close to the $17.8 million in guaranteed money Greg Jennings got from the Minnesota Vikings. However, it falls well short of the $30 million in guaranteed money Mike Wallace will receive from the Miami Dolphins as part of his $60 million deal. Does Cruz think he could have gotten that much?
“I think playing in NY, you can’t take that away,” Cruz said. “You ask yourself, ‘Would you want to play for this amount in New York and play in the best city in the world and play football, and — I’m a hometown kid — be close to home and your mom and your family? Or do you want to take a big pay day and go somewhere like Kansas City or Minnesota where your family might not be able to come as often as you want and you’re living in a city you’re not too familiar with and it’s an adjustment for you?'”
Again, he signed the contract. But that didn’t stop Cruz from basically admitting he wanted to be paid more like Wallace.
“But I’m not going to say it’s easy when you see guys getting these huge paydays and you feel like you’re at the same caliber, if not better than some of those guys,” he added.
Through two seasons in New York, Cruz has caught 168 passes for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those are elite receiver numbers, but every team’s situation is different. The Giants would also like to keep Hakeem Nicks, and they’ll need a good chunk of their salary cap to do that. Considering he is locked into a winning franchise for several more years, Cruz’s deal sounds pretty good to me.
