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Sometimes, things really don’t make sense.
From the beginning of the Tyrann Mathieu saga, many assumed it was about money. Clearly, it was not.
From the wording he used on his way out the door, to the newly signed contract with the Houston Texans, Mathieu was looking for something else.
What it is, maybe we will never know, but it wasn’t money.
A couple of days after being released by the Arizona Cardinals for refusing to take a paycut to a reported $8-9 million, he was signed by the Houston Texans to a one-year, $7 million contract.
I was wrong on Mathieu. He got a $4.5 million signing bonus and a $2 million base, not the other way around. I apologize.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 17, 2018
Mathieu is gambling on himself, but he also went to a team with quite a few established stars, but many have been injury concerns like Mathieu.
Add in that their young quarterback Deshaun Watson is coming off an ACL tear, and the decision may have been more about the prospects of the team moving forward.
Of course, maybe Mathieu wants to reestablish himself and sees the Texans as the perfect spot to do so.
No matter how you slice it, money was not the reason he left Arizona... Except for him not giving any up to the Cardinals.