A week ago, Victor Cruz made it clear that it was "very important" for him to stay with the New York Giants because of his family ties, community work and the organization's faith in him.
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Now, Cruz admits it was not an easy decision to give the Giants a hometown discount on his new six-year, $45.879 million contract.
"I'm not going to lie, it's tough," Cruz said on Sirius XM Radio's "The Opening Drive," via the New York Daily News, on Tuesday. "When you understand from a numbers standpoint, and the numbers you put up you feel like you deserve a certain amount of money ... and you want your team to owe that to you. You see guys getting these huge paydays and you feel like you're at the same caliber, if not better than some of those guys."
Cruz didn't want to play out the season on his restricted free-agent tender, facing questions about his future in New York. It wasn't worth it.
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"You ask yourself, 'Would you want to play for this amount in New York and play in the best city in the world and play football?'Â " Cruz explained. "Or do you want to take a big payday and go somewhere like, you know, Kansas City or Minnesota, where your family might not be able to come as often as you want and you're living in a city you're not too familiar with and it's an adjustment for you?"
We appreciate Cruz's candor. But he just signed the richest contract for a wide receiver in Giants history. Playing in the country's biggest media market also grants him more opportunities to pad his salary with endorsements. No one is playing the world's smallest violin for the salsa-dancing star.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
