“And then, after all is done, we’ll say that you decided not to take any of their offers because it wasn’t enough money to make it worth your while.” He dusted his hands off. “Easy.”
Jamar leaned back in his chair, physically recoiling at the blatant dishonesty in Micah’s plan.
He shook his head. “Something about this just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Are you kidding? It’s the perfect solution.”
“Knowingly deceiving the teams? Putting them through the expense of coming here when I know I won’t be signing anything?That’syour perfect solution?”
“Are you the team accountant now? Why do you care how much they’re spending? Besides, the only in-person scouts we’ll have are from Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans. These guys don’t care about the money. They see it as a free trip to Austin.”
“I don’t like it,” Jamar said.
“Fine, we make it all virtual. I can call the teams right now and tell them to cancel their flights and tune in to the livestream. How does that sit with your damn conscience?” Micah asked. “And before you give me any more of that bullshit about how this isn’t fair to the team owners, I want to make one thing clear. None of them are going to offer you what you’re really worth. The best you could have hoped for is five million for three years. Being that you have me as your agent, I could get you another half mil or so, but with the way the League’s set up these days, evenIcan only do so much.
“We can make it so that it looks as if you’re walking away from them, and not the other way around. Trust me on this,” Micah pleaded. “Remember, these are the same people who gave up on you. You don’t owe them anything.”
Jamar chewed his lower lip and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling roiling in his gut.
Even if he removed his aversion to deceiving the NFL teams from the equation, did he really have enough confidence in his knee to put it through that hellish battery of endurance tests? Was it worth the risks?
The better question: Was it worth the reward?
He considered all that he would gain if he signed on to Micah’s plan. The naysayers wouldn’t have any ammunition for their attacks, not if he showed them that he’d gotten back into playing form. More importantly, it would give him the chance to showcase Taylor’s work. He would give her all the credit and make sure it was understood that without her help, he would never have gotten through any of this.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong to hold this workout under false pretenses.
Unless . . . unless hedidn’thold it under false pretenses.
He could be up front with the teams from the outset. Or even if he waited until the end of the workout, he could immediately level with the scouts, let them know that he would not be entertaining any offers. If all it cost them was an hour of watching him perform the drills via a video stream—that wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Not if it meant holding up the end of his bargain with Taylor.
And, at the end of the day, he was still leaving the game of football on his terms. Even better, he could convince himself that he’d given all that he could to make the dream he’d taken away from Silas a reality.
He would eventually figure out what to do about Big Silas’s care. Maybe he could do as Taylor had suggested and downsize. Between the sale of the house and the couple million he had in the bank, he could take care of his family, Silas’s family, and Taylor, and still live comfortably until he figured out his next step.
He could do this. This final test, this final stand, would be enough. Ithadto be enough.
“Okay,” Jamar said, the word coming out in a raspy whisper.
“What was that?” Micah asked.
He spoke up. “I said okay. If it’s all virtual . . . ” He paused. “If it’s all virtual, I’ll go through with the workout. Hell, try to get even more teams to tune in if you can.”
“Excuse me?”
Jamar jerked around at the sound of Taylor’s voice. His eyes never leaving hers, he said, “Um, Micah, I’ll check in with you later.” He clicked the computer mouse, ending the FaceTime call.
“So you’re not canceling the workout? Even though, by your own admission, you could barely dance on Saturday night?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Taylor. It’s not what you think.”
“Really? So what is it? Based on what I just heard, not only are you planning to go through with this, but you want evenmoreteams there.”
“It isjustthe workout,” Jamar said. “I’m not playing football again, even if I’m offered a contract.” He explained his plan to her, underscoring how it would provide him with the opportunity to end his football career on his own terms.
“This will benefit you too,” Jamar pointed out. “It’ll be streamed live. The entire sports world will see the job you’ve done training me.”
“Do you really think I care more about my business than about you permanently injuring yourself?”
