NFL
Seahawks' Thomas 'standing strong' on contract holdout
The Seattle Seahawks need to offer Earl Thomas a contract that will "take care of him" if he is hurt, he says.
Earl Thomas is determined to hold firm on his contract holdout with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks safety has not so far got what he is looking for in negotiations with Seattle and so he has made his situation clear.
Thomas wrote a piece titled "Here's What's Actually Going On" for The Players' Tribune, published on Thursday, in which he outlined his wish to agree a deal that suits him or be traded.
"I’m not a very talkative person. One of the reasons I’ve always played so hard is because I want my actions on the field to be able to speak for me," Thomas wrote.
"A lot of people talk about how short the average NFL career is. They’re right. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of talented players come and go. What you discover pretty quickly is that, in order to survive, football demands everything of you - not just physically and mentally, but emotionally as well.
"If you’re risking your body to deliver all of this value to an organisation, you deserve some sort of assurance that the organisation will take care of you if you get hurt. It’s that simple.
"This isn’t new and this isn’t complicated. It’s the reason I’m holding out - I want to be able to give my everything, on every play, without any doubt in my mind.
"And it’s the reason why I’m asking the Seahawks to do one of two things. Offer me an extension or trade me to a team that wants me to be part of their future."
And Thomas believes he has shown himself to be worthy of a better offer.
"I’m standing strong on this because I’ve got to," he wrote. "I’m standing strong when it comes to getting what I deserve.
"I’ve been one of the best defensive players in this league for the better part of a decade, and the numbers show that this team plays much better with me than without me.
"Beyond that, I still have some great years of football left in my tank. I’m not even close to slowing down. I’m still working to get better."
Thomas, 29, was selected by Seattle with the number 14 overall pick in the 2010 draft. The three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection missed three games last season with hamstring and heel injuries but still logged 88 combined tackles.