Taylor Decker Ezekiel Elliott Darren Rovell tweet
NFLBy Andrew Bucholtz on

Criticizing ESPN’s Darren Rovell on Twitter is a common theme, but it’s interesting to see athletes get in on it. Detroit Lions’ left tackle Taylor Decker did so Tuesday, and the criticisms he lobbed at Rovell were well-deserved.

Decker went after Rovell after the ESPN reporter conveniently left his name out of a tweet, a rather dumb tweet that suggested Decker was more happy to receive an opponent’s jersey than upset about his team’s loss. The tweet in question was about Decker swapping jerseys with former Ohio State teammate Ezekiel Elliott after the Lions-Cowboys game Monday night.

Rovell would undoubtedly argue he left Decker’s name out only thanks to Twitter’s character limit, but there are plenty of ways to make that tweet work with Decker’s name. Here are a few (with as little modification of Rovell’s tweet as possible) that all come in under 140:

Cowboys-Lions winner? Former teammate & offensive lineman Taylor Decker who traded his jersey for Zeke’s https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0uPW4AWgAANJZ4.jpg

Winner in last night’s Cowboys-Lions game? Former teammate & OL Taylor Decker who traded his jersey for Zeke’s https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0uPW4AWgAANJZ4.jpg

Winner in Cowboys-Lions? Former teammate & offensive lineman Taylor Decker who traded his jersey for Zeke’s  https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0uPW4AWgAANJZ4.jpg

So, there are plenty of ways to make that work. That’s a problematic tweet in general even without the omission of Decker’s name, though,  as it seems to be arguing that Decker would be more happy about getting Elliott’s jersey than upset about his team losing (unlikely). When asked to explain, Rovell said he meant that Decker got a worthwhile jersey:

That suggests a vast disparity between the players which really doesn’t exist. While Elliott (picked fourth overall this past year) has had a phenomenal rookie campaign, so has Decker; when he was drafted 16th overall, many thought the Lions might move him to the right tackle spot (at least at first), but he won the LT job in training camp and has played well there all season. Yes, he’s not as hyped as Elliott, but he’s an NFL star in his own right. Yes, his jersey isn’t worth as much, but who really cares?

Even if Decker wasn’t a star, though, the idea that collecting a jersey from an opposing star after a loss would be more satisfying than a win doesn’t seem to fit with many NFL players. It certainly isn’t the case financially; yes, if they decided to sell an Elliott jersey, they could make a few bucks, but not all that many. Is Elliott’s jersey really worth $25,000? The highest-listed game-worn NFL jersey on eBay right now is a Jerry Rice one for $5,000, and every other jersey is under $1,000.

Presuming that it could actually be sold for $25,000, though, that’s still not much even for those on the NFL minimum salary ($450,000 in 2016). It’s much less for the likes of Decker (who’s set to make $10.9 million over four years). Beyond that, these guys are elite athletes with high competitive drives; you really think they care more about jersey collection than winning? The jersey exchange was a nice moment between former teammates, but not something to overshadow the game. Rovell made it a story it wasn’t, and added insult to injury by leaving Decker’s name out. His defense? Decker’s name is on his jersey in the photo:

Rovell’s often criticized for reducing everything in sports to dollars and cents, and sometimes that’s unfair. His job is sports business, after all, and he comes up with some good stories about the financial aspects of sports. This was a ridiculous and insulting one, though, and one where the financial element not only was forced, but where it’s such an utter pittance next to these players’ salaries that it’s not worth mentioning. Maybe someone should ask Rovell if he goes around trying to trade clothing with higher-paid colleagues like Jon Gruden…

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

View all posts by Andrew Bucholtz