Television maven Don Ohlmeyer once said of professional sports, "The answer to all your questions is money."
In analyzing Darrelle Revis' deteriorating relationship with the New York Jets and why he was traded Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that certainly was the case.
"It became quite evident, to us, there was a substantial difference with Darrelle's view of his value and ours," Jets general manager John Idzik said Sunday in a conference call. "It was never our goal to have Darrelle to leave the Jets. On the contrary ... we wanted Darrelle to remain a Jet long term, ideally."
Revis made it known that he wanted to become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Salary cap-strapped Jets owner Woody Johnson had no intention of shelling out that kind of cash for a player coming off anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Realizing Revis had the ultimate trump card with the Jets' inability to wield the franchise tag in 2014, Idzik and Johnson never made a serious attempt to sign their best player to a contract extension.
Revis' biggest NFL booster, Jets coach Rex Ryan, said Sunday that the cornerback "gave everything he had" to the organization and was a "tremendous player." A resolute and borderline delusional Ryan also insisted that the standards for the Jets' defense will not be diminished now that Revis is gone.
Johnson joined Ryan in the flight of post-Revis fancy.
"We're committed to putting a team on the field that's a winning team, and doing it in a deliberate and sound way," Johnson said. "I'm encouraged. I'm extremely optimistic."
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
