NFL's Mr. Irrelevant Somehow Signs $1m Contract
Chiefs kicker beats odds
By EAMONN BRENNAN
Updated 5:14 PM EDT, Mon, Jul 6, 2009
There is rarely any reason for anyone except the most die-hard football fans to stick around for the second day of the NFL draft. For one, yeah, there's a chance your team could select the next Tom Brady in the seventh round, really? Not going to happen. And if it does, do you really need to be there to see it?
Two, you have to stare at Mel Kiper's hair for another eight hours. That's just too much.
But there is one fun second-day ritual at the draft, and that's the annual selection of Mister Irrelevant. That playful title is bestowed upon the last overall pick in every year's draft. The player usually takes his brief -- and by brief, we mean, like, one day long -- moment of fame, reports to camp, is eventually cut, and moves on with his life. Rarely is a contract negotiation part of this story.
Not so for 2009's Mr. Irrelevant, former South Carolina kicker Ryan Succop. Succop is not merely sticking around Chiefs training camp. Oh no. He's done one better, reaching an agreement with the Chiefs on a $1.2 million contract. Not only is that not bad for the draft's final pick, it's not bad for a kicker, either, especially a rookie kicker. Succop's agent deserves an extra percentage or two for that. Or at least "Jerry Maguire" on Blu-Ray.
Succop's job isn't guaranteed; he's expected to compete with Chiefs kicker Connor Barth for the starting job. For now, though, he's no longer Mister Irrelevant. Daddy Warbucks is more like it.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 18, 2009 2:02 PM EDT on NBC Chicago
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