August 22nd, 2022 at 3:03 PM ^
Yup.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:03 PM ^
He definitely should have stayed if he wanted to play football for any length of time.
Maybe he is and was fine to move on to something else in life. No idea what his major was, but I assume he got his degree.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:16 PM ^
Left after his true JR year. No guarantee he got his degree.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:27 PM ^
He'll keep playing football if he wants, if not on someone else's roster, on a practice squad. But the pay for a practice squad is meager. Probably lower than he would have (should have) made at Michigan.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:53 PM ^
From what the Googles tell me practice squad pay isn't too bad (all relative I guess), but it looks like a bit under 170K. I don't know what DTs are making in our transformational system, but I doubt it would be more than that.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:31 PM ^
If you get called up they have to pay you a prorated amount of the league minimum 705k or 41K per game and I think they get a three game minimum.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:48 PM ^
I humbly stand corrected. A friend of a friend played on a practice squad in the 00s and he was making like $65k per year. Inflation is a hell of thing (also, damn that was 15 years ago).
Mark it down though: someone on the internet is admitting to being wrong.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:00 PM ^
Meager on a relative scale, for sure. But let's be real, even on that salary he'd probably still be in or close to the top 5% of all earners in this country.
Its meager for an NFL player. It ain't meager for the rest of us plebs.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
Yeah, but you're only gonna make that for a few years until your body gives out. I hope he's working on some other marketable talents, because that won't be enough to retire on.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:14 PM ^
Money may be nice, but I can't imagine life on a practice squad is comfortable living. I'd be worried about getting cut all the time. My guess is that he's not far away from obtaining his degree if he has to go that route for a living.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:47 PM ^
Top 5% is a hair below $343k/year. Top 10% is a hair above $173k/year.
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:25 PM ^
Yea this looks like household data not individual earners.
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:20 PM ^
Hot take: He probably has a Plan B.
His dad played in the NFL and his parents seem more sophisticated than most. I'd guess that this is Chris giving football a quick try just to rule it out, followed by a job or grad school.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Did we ever get the story on why he left early? Was it just bad advice?
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:10 PM ^
Hal Steinbrenner promised to teach him how to hit a curveball.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
Staying another year would have been better for him but what's done is done. I hope he catches on with another team
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:20 PM ^
I have no idea why he left, but from the way Isaiah Hole is talking it will have a negligible effect on the team.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:28 PM ^
I wonder if he worried about getting passed, a la Baldwin, and decided now was the best time to strike for the NFL.
Hope he catches somewhere.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:34 PM ^
Eh, Baldwin didn't really have a spot last year, ie didn't have a starting spot to lose and he had already played five years in college. It was time to move on for him.
This one makes a lot less sense after just three years. And if you can't win a starting spot on a college team, especially at that position, how in the world can you expect to make an NFL team? If that was the reason, seems like a bad choice.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:30 PM ^
Sounds like the usual pre-season bluster. But hopefully that's correct. Would require Jenkins and/ or Benny to be as good or better, right? Guess it's possible but there's no way we wouldn't miss the depth at the very least.
A fourth year former five star that was a very solid starter last year at a position of need would have been nice to have back.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
DT is arguably one of the deepest on the roster. Between Mazi, Jenkins, Benny, Welshof, Goode, and newcomers Grant and Graham, I don't think there will be a meaningful drop-off. Arguably those minutes going elsewhere could improve the overall production.
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:01 PM ^
Eh, Welschof isn't even playing DT anymore (he dropped a bunch of weight to kick outside), we don't know if Goode is going to be any better than the transfer last year, and if true freshmen are in the rotation, you are by definition not very deep.
Even relying on Benny as the third guy is a little iffy IMO. I think he's going to be good but Mazi and Hinton were also brutal their sophomore years (which is the major reason that 2020 defense was so terrible).
Yes, it's deeper than LB and EDGE but would be in a lot better shape with last years starter back.
August 23rd, 2022 at 9:49 AM ^
Chris Olave leaving last year would have had a negligible effect on that team. He was well compensated to stay I’m sure, but he passed up a year of earnings to get a first rd contract.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:21 PM ^
Dang, this remains what seems like a big NIL failure. This guy is far more valuable to Michigan than he is to an NFL practice squad. Should have made sure he got paid like it.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:31 PM ^
I am speculating here, but given his father's background, I assume that NIL money was not a big factor. The dream of following in his father's footstep was.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:48 PM ^
I seriously doubt he was hurting for money with his dad's background. Seems like you're reaching hard to blame NIL here.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:24 PM ^
Why does everyone assume that because his dad played in the NFL that he is just going to give all his money to his son? Hopefully it wasn't his dad that gave him the bad advice to try and jump to the NFL. Some of these kids think that just because they were a 5* coming out of high school that they have a golden ticket to the NFL. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. You still have to work hard and prove that you belong. Not sure how others feel, but I just did not see somebody that was ready to make an NFL roster last year. Another year of building strength and playing against top competition, all the while making some NIL bucks on the side would have been good for him. Just appears he either got some really bad advice or thought he was something he wasn't.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:35 PM ^
Feel bad for him. Hopefully he catches on somewhere but it did felt like he was hell-bent on going to the NFL ASAP and it didn't matter what his actual NFL future looked like.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:44 PM ^
I always was puzzled by Chris Hinton and family. I don't know who was giving him advice, but his family had to be involved. And his dad should have known better, given his own football pedigree. But what's done is done: no use crying over spilt milk.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:56 PM ^
His dad is a multi-millionaire. It's pretty easy to move on from the brutal physical toll of football when you have financial security.
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:20 PM ^
Exactly, the guy took his shot and missed but has fall back options. Everyone assumes his stock would improve with another year but 1) that's not guaranteed whatsoever, he could just as likely get hurt and drop and 2) maybe he just didn't want to wait another year of playing for free (or whatever NIL gives).
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:56 PM ^
By that same reasoning he should have stayed until getting a graduate degree (or any degree)
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:59 PM ^
I wonder if in the post NCAA world that I expect we will all be living in within a decade if guys like this could reenroll/not lose eligibility after being drafted (like many other college sports). Probably not after being signed and practicing but just generally seems wild that guys have to make this huge of a decision with so much uncertainty. I feel for him. I hope he lands on his feet somewhere.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:55 PM ^
I’d love a college hockey or college baseball model towards the draft, but I highly doubt the NFL would agree to that.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:04 PM ^
Ernest Shazor Part 2
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:17 PM ^
No surprise. Underwhelming at UM too. He got awful advice (presumably from his dad who should’ve known better).
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:18 PM ^
He should have stayed posts are weird. Hope he catches is on and does well in the league. I'll be rooting for him.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:27 PM ^
well, the USFL has a second season coming.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:32 PM ^
I honestly think we will get more production this year vs last at his position but his experience and depth would have been good to have. The assumption being he would have improved.
August 22nd, 2022 at 5:41 PM ^
Pretty much everyone seemed to understand that.
August 22nd, 2022 at 6:59 PM ^
Thunder was saying he should have stayed in 1 more year. Well, a lot of people were saying that.