New York Jets, Brandon Marshall Bet Big on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
After setting the New York Jets passing touchdowns franchise record in 2015, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was shunned by the team for the majority of the offseason. Despite a history of mediocrity, Fitzpatrick felt entitled to one of the massive contracts other quarterbacks in the NFL have come to enjoy over the past few seasons.
The Jets finally gave in, signing Fitzpatrick to a one-year deal worth $12 million. Quite the investment in a man that has pretty much hit the ceiling.
Don’t tell wide receiver Brandon Marshall that, though. The 32-year-old believes in his quarterback, enough so that he’s willing to bet his Porsche that he has more receiving yards than Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who is arguably the best in the league right now.
Marshall’s wager is simple—if Brown wins, he gets the Porsche; if Marshall wins, he gets Brown’s brand new designer Rolls-Royce. Not exactly a one-to-one.
“The RR is about $100K up [from the Porsche’s value],” said Brown to TMZ. “If he is really serious, call me…I’ll gladly accept. Don’t internet it.”
Whether or not Marshall is serious is unknown. In 2015, he fell 332 yards short of Brown’s 1,834 receiving yards, racking up 1,502.
“I just love competing,” said Marshall at Jets’ training camp. “I love competition. There are games within the game if you follow me. There are a few guys in the league that really take pride in their work; it’s their life’s work, and they want to push. You always want to advance the position. You always want to advance what the guy did the year before or the generation before.”
The smart money, in this case, is on Brown. So, with Marshall being the underdog, maybe the Porsche for Rolls-Royce is a fair wager. I also trust Ben Roethlisberger a lot more than I do Ryan Fitzpatrick. Either way, the bet would be fantastic for fantasy owners everywhere.
Sadly, it doesn’t look likely.
“He too old to be doing that,” said Brown, throwing it off as a publicity stunt.
I’ll bet my Honda if anyone wants, though.