There are so many ugly moments in the NFL. Players get badly hurt. They get concussed. They get released. Their careers are shorter than yours and mine. Most don’t have job security. Then something happens that reminds you why this sport, despite all the ugliness, can at times be beautiful. Jadeveon Clowney on a rainy Saturday in Baltimore showed us why it can also be joyful.
Clowney was playing in the regular season finale in a game that meant nothing to Baltimore because the Ravens have the top seed in the AFC wrapped up. But to Clowney what happened was profound.
There was under a minute left in the first half and Clowney sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph. That gave him 9.5 sacks on the season. That sack triggered a $750,000 bonus. Seven. Fiddy.
But it was what happened next that caught the attention of everyone, including the announcing crew. After the sack, Clowney started dancing. A joyful dance in the rain. His teammates high-fived him and laughed. The announcers smiled. Word seemed to circulate among the Ravens crowd and they joined in with Clowney’s celebration. Or maybe they didn’t know and just saw a player happy and liked seeing it.
The celebration lasted some 30 seconds.
‘I didn’t know I had a sack and then they told me,’ Clowney said. ‘I was like, ‘Oh yeah,’ and you just start turning it up right now. I had a good time on that.’
When asked what he would do with the extra cash, he added: ‘I will put it with the rest of my money. Under the mattress, in the bank. I got three kids. I got to continue to … look after them. Football’s going to be over one day.’
The money is important and why Clowney was so happy. But the money also likely represents something else. Part of it is about respect.
It wasn’t so long ago, at least by NFL standards, that Clowney was college and NFL royalty. While at South Carolina, he made what remains one of the most remarkable hits in recent college football history. He was fast, physical and went first overall in the draft to Houston and would make three consecutive Pro Bowls there.
Clowney has been a good player but it’s fair to say he hasn’t necessarily lived up to being the No. 1 overall pick. He’s bounced around the league. A season in one city, moving on, playing in the next. In fact, the Ravens are his fifth team in six years. He’s played for the Texans, Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and the Ravens. This is his 10th year and he’s never reached double digit sacks and the last time he reached nine was 2021. Last year in Cleveland he had just two.
Clowney is only 30 years old and seems like one of those players who has been around forever. Maybe because he has been. He’s one of the more persistent, staying forces at the position but it was thought he’d lost some of his fire and skill. Then he went to the Ravens.
Baltimore signed him in August to a one year, $2.5 million contract. That’s essentially veteran minimum wage. And, yes, people will say that’s generational wealth, and it is to normies like you and me. But to NFL players in a league worth billions that is small change.
What usually happens in these situations is that teams load up contracts with incentives. That’s meant to both inspire and show some respect to a vet like Clowney. In many cases, however, some of the incentives are almost impossible to hit. It’s a contractual game that few players like but they all play because they mostly don’t have a choice.
So it looked like Clowney signed his small contract and he was going to play in Baltimore and he’d break out. Or he’d play like he did with some of those other recent teams, making minimum impact, and moving on once the season was over.
What happened? The Ravens’ defense became the smartest and most athletic in the NFL. Clowney was a big reason why. He regained some of the speed and ferocity that hasn’t been there before. Much of the credit goes to Clowney, of course, but some of it also goes to the Ravens coaching staff that always seems to know how to get the best out of their players.
Clowney had already gotten a bonus of a million when he hit seven sacks and the nine triggered the $750,000.
The cash is important and, sure, it inspired the joy. But the joy itself was wonderful to see. Look around the sport. Look around the world. We needed that.
