Jimmy Garropolo was not too long ago the next man up for the New England Patriots.
The theme of the next chapter in what has become a long novel of success for the NFL’s winningest franchise of the past two decades.
And then, after one mind-boggling trade to ship him West, he was gone. And it’s all because of loyalty.
Stupid, irrational, detrimental loyalty of Patriots owner Robert Kraft for Tom Brady.
As ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham reported, Kraft essentially forced head coach Bill Belichick’s hand when it came to the Patriots quarterback situation, as the owner’s perceived loyalty to his aging star quarterback ultimately led to Belichick trading his promising young backup to prevent further quarterback competition.
The Patriots returned a measly second round pick for what appears to be a franchise quarterback.
And why? Because of an owner’s loyalty to his player.
A loyalty that will ultimately cost the Patriots franchise in the biggest way possible — with wins.
It’s no secret Tom Brady plans to defy Father Time. And so far he’s been pretty successful at doing so. However, the fact remains that Brady can’t play forever, and he is far closer to his performance tailing off in a significant way than Garropolo.
Which is why the Patriots simply made the wrong decision in trading the budding superstar, proving further that staying loyal only compromises success.
For example, the other successful Boston franchise showed no signs of such loyalty to All-Star Isaiah Thomas by trading him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the much younger Kyrie Irving. As a result, the Celtics sit atop the Eastern Conference standings and are poised for success for the coming decade.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James have often been criticized for not showing loyalty to their former teams. However, if there is anything that we have learned as sports enthusiasts from the decisions of the Patriots and Celtics, it’s that there is no room for such loyalty in sports if a party’s main goal is to win. That’s why LeBron and Durant each won rings while their former teams have struggled to do so.
There are a lot of emotions involved in professional sports, and loyalty is the trigger point for a lot of those feelings. However if a team or individual wants to succeed, the fact remains that there is no room for loyalty.
Contact Zach Naidu at znaidu ‘at’ stanford.edu.