Baseball America reported this morning that Kyle Parker turned down a $2.4 million offer from the Colorado Rockies to return to the Clemson Tiger football program. With about 3 1/2 weeks left before the signing deadline, the Rockies could still try and up the offer as negotiations are still ongoing. Parker, the 26th pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, threw for 2,526 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2009 as a Redshirt Freshman. Last season on the baseball field, Parker helped bring the Tigers to the 2010 College World Series by hitting .344 with 20 homers and 64 RBI.
I have a few questions in this scenario:
1) He’s passing up a signing bonus that is not much less than Royals #4 pick Christian Colon ($2.75 Million)
2) Is the challenge of leading a team without C.J. Spiller really so enticing that you’d turn down that type of dough?
3) Maybe he just likes football that much more and the experience of playing in a big time program is worth all the risk (money, injury)
4) Does not signing before the August 16th deadline make him lose all previous leverage?
5) Would the Rockies actually offer more than $2.4 Million to pry him from Clemson?
