Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons had been in a bit of a contract back-and-forth leading up to training camp.
That’s not unusual this time of year; NFL veterans only have so many opportunities for leverage, and as NFL contracts tend to be flexible in ways that hurt players (via non-guaranteed money), a holdout or even the specter of a holdout can sometimes twist that flexibility in their favor. However, some people tend to view that as inherently selfish behavior by players, even star players like Jones who have given plenty to the team and their fans, while also being so good at what they do that they could probably skip most of training camp and be fine for Week 1 anyway.
It’s not just fans who take that attitude, either. There are plenty in the media who have no patience for holdouts. On Tuesday, for example, FOX 5 Good Day Atlanta anchor Buck Lanford tweeted this to Jones:
Dear @juliojones_11,
My 10 year old son is a huge fan. The pic below has been his long time screen saver.
Tonight, he told me he is changing it to a solo shot of @M_Ryan02 or @devontafreeman.
Just thought you should know.
Sincerely,
BL@AtlantaFalcons @GoodDayAtlanta pic.twitter.com/ocjmPAPYIp— Buck Lanford (@BuckFOX5) July 25, 2018
As you may have guessed, the ratio on that tweet was a great one, for obvious reasons.
I just learned that most athletes (at least the good ones) makes long term financial decisions based on pre-teen computer screen images.
— Marc; pronounced Mark♉️⚜️🖤 (@therealpaisant) July 25, 2018
Last night Julio Jones and the Falcons agreed to a contract adjustment that will see Jones in camp:
About Julio Jones’ contract adjustment: Falcons converted some of his base salary for 2019 into a bonus for 2018, approximately $2 million, a source told @TheAthleticATL
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzATL) July 26, 2018
And while that could have been the end of it, the Falcons Twitter account went back for some shade:
Just in case anyone needs a new phone wallpaper or desktop screensaver… pic.twitter.com/Mj2EeoLhBQ
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 26, 2018
That’s the good stuff. For his part, Buck seems to be taking it in stride:
— Buck Lanford (@BuckFOX5) July 26, 2018
The whole thing is a nice reminder that Twitter can, sometimes, still be fun.
