Man, that Luke Kuechly knows how to party.
The Panthers middle linebacker, who signed a five-year, $62 million contract yesterday, had to hurry through his press conference, because he had big plans — watching Jaguars film.
“I haven’t been able to watch as much (film) today as I normally do,” Kuechly said, via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. “But luckily I’ve got some time left that I can grab something to eat, go sit in there and see what’s going on with Jacksonville.”
That might be Kuechly in a nutshell, a little bit square but committed to the game. And for his teammates, his value is clear.
“He deserves every cent of it, if not more,” teammate Thomas Davis said. “To me he deserves to be the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL for what he’s capable of doing and what he has done. . . .
“It’s like one of those things where you look at what Tom Brady does for the Patriots. That’s Luke to us. That’s how I view him.”
Of course, Kuechly doesn’t live in a world of lingerie models or disposable cell phones, and said the deal makes tangible his lifelong dream of simply playing in the league.
“I think when you’re a kid you don’t think about money or dollar signs. You think about when you wake up on Sunday mornings, it’s NFL,” Kuechly said.
That’s what you’d expect to hear from a guy who celebrates the biggest middle linebacker contract in league history by breaking down Blake Bortles tape.
