Some pretty cool stuff

Sorry about no topic yesterday to my faithful readers, it was the first day of the new job and a tough one, then I went and hung out with friends all night.  Didn't have much of a chance to get it going.  Back at it today though, and today's topic is something pretty unique in professional sports.  It's about money, but in the opposite way you would normally hear about it.

Defensive End Jason Taylor has done something incredibly refreshing in pro sports:  he has essentially taken a paycut in order to play for the Miami Dolphins next season.  Taylor had played with the Washington Redskins last season and was set to make $8.5 million this year with his team, but he walked away from that deal on March 2, when he decided not to spend the offseason at Redskins Park.  He did this for the best of selfish reasons:  Taylor wanted to spend time with his family.

Now, Taylor has continued to be an excellent family member by staying near them by signing once again with the Miami Dolphins.  Taylor signed a one year, $1.1 million deal with the Fins earlier today.  He told the Dolphins to set up a deal that fit within their budget; it didn't matter to them how much money they were going to pay him.  This is some pretty amazing stuff for a professional athlete, let alone a potential hall-of-famer.  I mean, honestly, Taylor is probably the best defensive end of this millenium.  He has showed some character that is basically unheard of in the pros, where it is all about holding out for a bigger contract in the offseason.  This is one of the coolest things I have read about in sports in a long time.  It is good to know that there is someone out there who playing more for enjoyment and fun than money.  I can only hope more players take something away from this.