San Diego Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa is a very familiar face to Ohio sports fan as a result of Bosa's dominant three year career at Ohio State. Bosa ended his 31 day holdout with the Chargers when he signed a four year deal last Monday.
Bosa has taken a lot of heat for his holdout. Many fans thought that he was acting selfish because the current rookie salary system has a pretty specified price based on where you are picked.
There have not been many holdouts since this system has been around. So, the question is whether Bosa was in the wrong or not?
I think you can make a case for Bosa and the Chargers. Both sides have good reasons for how things played out. However, I think this holdout will end up hurting Bosa in the short and long term.
First off, Bosa missed some key reps with this holdout. He is an incredible talent that can compete against anyone, but the speed and skill in the NFL are a different animal.
It takes everyone time to adjust to the speed and skill in the NFL. It will take Bosa time to adjust and make the impact that he is capable of. This holdout could prevent him from being a real difference maker the first month or so in the season.
This holdout could also make things complicated in future negotiations between Bosa and the Chargers. For example, when Bosa is due for a new contract, San Diego might not give him everything he wants.
If Bosa ends up being the player many think he will be, he will be seeking a rich contract that has a lot of guaranteed money. If the two sides struggled to get a rookie deal done, I find it hard to imagine the next contract negotiations being smooth.
With the NFL having the franchise tag in place, San Diego will probably never let Bosa get to free agency. He will likely have to deal with the Chargers for most, if not all of his career.
In the end, it is great to have Joey Bosa back on the field. It will be fun watching him wreak havoc in the NFL like he did in college.
Mike Smith is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. How do you feel about Bosa's holdout? Let Mike know by emailing him at ms983012@ohio.edu.
