10 Giants and NFL Observations: Daniel Jones vs. Carson Wentz, and COVID News Around the NFL
By Ryan Messick
2. Maskless Gate
By now everyone knows about the incident involving Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones clubbing maskless in Manhattan. There have been no recent developments, but hopefully the Giants and the league are able to get to the bottom of it and either vindicate the two Giants stars (unlikely) or hand down an appropriate punishment to put an end to this kind of risky behavior that could derail the NFL season.
If too many players keep this up, the NFL is going to inevitably see an increasing number of outbreaks that cause more and more games to be postponed, adding weeks to the schedule and creating a significant competitive imbalance.
It’s not the only risk of competitive imbalance due to COVID-19, I’ll address the other later on in this piece.
Personally, I think the most frustrating thing is the resources these guys have available and the options that gives them to socialize during the age of COVID-19 without risking their health, their team’s health, and the franchise’s well-being in terms of draft picks.
Daniel Jones is on a four year, $25.6 million contract. So far he’s collected a little over $18 million from that, according to Spotrac. Barkley is on a four year, $31.2 million contract. According to Spotrac, he’s made about $26 million so far. Rapid tests for COVID-19 can be had for under $100 as a regular person, and outdoor propane heaters can be bought for as little as $250 dollars. Fire pits can be had for as little as $300.
In other words, you can have a pretty safe outdoor hangout spot for peanuts relative to these guys’ salaries, and you can get a couple of friends to isolate and test in order to minimize any risks. Why chance it to party in a closed-down night club?
It’s selfish and stupid, and it was a poor act as teammates by Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.