This week marked the end of Shreveport quarterback Burt McGinnis's hold out. After suffering a 30-21 defeat to division rivals San Antonio, the Pride's GM, Raven Hawk, caved to the demands of the eight year quarterback from North Carolina and signed him to a five year extension worth $179 million dollars.
Three days after inking the extension McGinnis led the Pride to their first victory of the season, a 30-17 victory over the Texas Inferno. Despite missing training camp, the recent holdout completed 70% of his passes throwing for 263 yards, 2 TD's, and 1 INT.
Drafted in the first round in 2035 by the El Paso Rockets, McGinnis should have had an opportunity to prove himself early in his career. However, that opportunity never materialized in El Paso. The Rockets forced him to take pay cuts in 2036 and 2037, then was not re-signed after the 2038 season. The Pride picked him up in 2039's late free agency period and he rode the Bench in 2039, watching his new team squeak into the playoffs with a record of 8-8 and an appearance in the Conference Championship game behind the leadership of QB Rico Lynn.
In 2040, Rico Lynn retired and training camp featured an open battle at QB between McGinnis, 1st Round Draft Pick Warren Pritchett, 4th Round Draft Pick Antonio Thompson, and Kick-holder Colin Elliott. McGinnis won the battle and didn't look back, leading the Pride to a record of 11-5 and a Deep South Division title. The Pride lost in the first round of the playoffs to a strong Brooklyn team which has always given the Pride trouble. In the loss, McGinnis threw for 360 yards, 2 TD's, and no picks.
In the offseason, McGinnis declared his intention to hold out, stating that he had performed like a top 5 QB and wanted a contract to reflect that performance. He was due to make less than $3 million dollars in 2041. Shreveport management countered that it was a fluke season for him and that he was a product of the system. Regardless of whether or not he was a product of the system, he ran it better (QB Rating of 96.4) than his two predecessors - the aforementioned Rico Lynn (91.0) and Marco Bennett (91.1). The Pride hasn't had this effective of a quarterback since David Provance (98.9) left town after winning a championship and not getting a contract extension the following season.
You would have thought that top management in Shreveport would have learned their lesson following Provance's departure. It almost seemed like their own pride might have caused them to throw away the 2041 season. But, it looks like they have eaten a large portion of humble pie instead. If McGinnis keeps winning it will make it much easier for them to choke down their humility, however if the Pride start losing we expect the whole city of Shreveport to erupt into a battle ground of finger pointing.
