We always assumed that when pro athletes are waiting around for a team to sign them, they pass the time by practicing "making it rain" techniques on their cats, or perhaps finally getting around to painting a watercolor portrait of themselves, shirtless, lying on the hood of a red Hummer.
Such activities, it seems, might be limited to unemployed athletes such as Barry Bonds and Pacman Jones -- those who have had enormous checks deposited into their accounts monthly for more than a couple of years. If you're unfortunate enough to have been paid obscenely for, say, only one season, apparently you do what marginal NFL safety Courtney Bryan did before the Dolphins re-signed him last week: get a job at an equally marginal fast-food chain. Trade the helmet for a hairnet.
Sun-Sentinel got the scoop:
The five NFL teams that worked him out weren't biting because he had played too much to be stashed on a practice squad. Bryan couldn't get registered at New Mexico State in time to finish his degree.He eventually found a job at Arby's working the night shift.
"Yes, Arby's!" said Bryan, who is 11 credits shy of receiving his bachelor's degree. "It's hard out there. We're in a recession."
"It's not like I was broke," added Bryan, who spent all of last season with the Dolphins. "I was just bored. I couldn't go to the movies every day. I like to work. I have to do something with my time."
We say: Give him the damn ball. Being a male Arby's employee named Courtney for any amount of time is bound to make him the most motivated player in the NFL.
