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The theory was an easy one to speculate about: Dante Moore didn't want to play for the New York Jets.
But is that true?
"Not at all," Moore said in a new interview with The Athletic.
It was at least somewhat surprising that Moore chose to return for another season as Oregon's quarterback rather than going to the NFL.
The operating assumption is that the Las Vegas Raiders were settled on picking Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.
If that remained true with Moore in the draft, then he would've been the most likely pick for the Jets at the No. 2 overall pick.
The Jets, of course, haven't done great work with QBs.
According to that story in The Athletic, though, Moore wasn't thinking about that.
“Of course there was $50 million on the line, a lot to help support my family, but at the end of the day, I don’t play the game for money,” Moore said, in part referencing that Fernando Mendoza's rookie contract with the Raiders is for $57 million. “I play the game to tell myself I’ve got a lot to improve. I had a chance to come back and learn more. So when I take that next step next year, I’ll be more prepared for those moments in my life.”
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His agent told The Athletic something more blunt: "He didn't want to let $50 million get in the way of $600 million."
And while some could take that to mean the Jets would hurt his chances of a big second contract, the implication is instead that if Moore enters the league as a better player, he'll have a better chance of maximizing his value by that second deal.
The additional reality is that Moore can't guarantee the Jets aren't in a position to draft him again this year anyway.
All he could do was follow the path he felt would be best for his future, and that's what he chose to pursue by returning to the Ducks.
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