Wait a god damn second. That headline can't be right! There is no way an athlete would just walk away from $12 million.
Actually one did. His name is Gil Meche and instead of reporting to Kansas City Royals spring training in a couple of weeks he has decided to retire and essentially walk away from $12 million guaranteed if he just sat his ass on the bench.
“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche told the paper from his temporary home in Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”
“This isn’t about being a hero — that’s not even close to what it’s about,” Meche said. “It’s just me getting back to a point in my life where I’m comfortable. Making that amount of money from a team that’s already given me over $40 million for my life and for my kids, it just wasn’t the right thing to do.”
Talk about receiving a big ole slice of humble pie. All professional athletes are in fact NOT greedy pricks. I'm not going to lie and say I would do the same thing Meche did. I sure as hell would want the rest of my money because the contract stated it. But Meche isn't a dick like myself. He probably saves kids in Africa and donates money to shelters in his spare time while I sucker punch the homeless and run away with their change. My Durango can't pay for gas itself people.
HT to Dave
