RESPECT FOR PUTTING FAMILY FIRST

Before yesterday, I'd never
heard of Keith Fitzhugh.

There is a new football player who ranks among my all-time favorites, and I'm not sure I've ever seen him play.

Take a bow, Keith Fitzhugh.

If you haven't heard his story, earlier this week, Fitzhugh turned down an opportunity to play for the New York Jets. The Jets are a sure-fire playoff team (despite what the Patriots did to them on Monday night), and a rash of recent injuries left them short-handed at the safety position.

Why did Fitzhugh say, "Thank you, but no thanks?" Because he is more concerned about long-term job security and providing for his family through his current job as a conductor for the Norfolk Southern Railroad, a position he got in September shortly after being released by the Jets out of training camp. According to www.payscale.com, it's a position that pays about $49,000 annually.

With a father who is disabled and unable to work, Fitzhugh put his football dream aside in order to continue supporting his parents. He opted for the less lucrative, but more stable line of work.

It's really not an easy decision. There is big money to be made as an NFL player. Last season, the lowest salary paid to a New England Patriot player was $310,000. Using that figure as an estimate for the rookie minimum - which is what Fitzhugh likely would have received from the Jets - we can figure he could have made about  $77,500 over the next four weeks. Remember, he wouldn't get the full rookie minimum, but the prorated amount. With four regular-season games left, that's 25 percent of the full season.

However, there would have been more money to make, as the Jets are a near lock for the postseason. Each round that New York reached, all players would have received five-figure bonuses, win or lose. With each playoff victory, the size of the bonus increases in the next round.  In last year's Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, the winning players for the Saints reportedly received $83,000 each. The Colts players, despite the loss, got $42,000.

As a player on a legitimate Super Bowl contender, it's entirely possible that Fitzhugh could have earned nearly $200,000 over the next two months. 

But then what? Football offered no guarantee moving forward. As a borderline NFL player, he probably had a less than 50-50 shot at making a roster next season.

It would have been awfully difficult to criticize Fitzhugh for signing with the Jets and pursuing an NFL career. He has been so close to playing among the best of the best. So close to big money and the biggest stage in professional football.

But he put family and stability above everything else.