His college career stats are those of a player destined to play in the NFL, in V-Tech he was THE starter at the edge cornerback position, plus top punt return man. Hall also received second-team All-BIG EAST tributes for both posts in 2002 and finished seventh nationally in punt returns that same year. Hall was awarded the fourth-team Freshman All-America title based on his exceptional coverage skills; a true football warrior his last college years at Virginia Tech.
Hall also returned 56 punts for 839 yards and five TDs. Ranking 839 yards on the Big East Conference, he trashed many personal records and campaign titles during his last years.
In 2004 Hall was picked on number 8 for the Atlanta Falcons, where his 3 year career did not went overlooked, as he was chosen for the 2005 Pro-Bowl and performed remarkably. Up until he was traded to the Oakland Raiders on March 20th of the present year, Hall’s fame and skills were filling his stats with juicy contracts and guarantee money.
The Oakland Raiders are famous for their tactical man-to-man defensive style and not too many “rookies” can adapt to this singular game technique; unfortunately Hall was one of those players and even though he is not a NFL rookie, he could not acclimatize to gaming mode.
Now, here comes the million dollar question, or perhaps the $70 million uncertainty. DeAngelo Hall had a $70 million contract, with a $24 million cash assurance and $16 million injury-guaranteed extras. Sounds like Hall was going to have enough financial support for the rest of his life, but here comes the tricky NFL part; since most of the original contract is paid by sponsors under the player marketing value, the team provides the rest of the asserted cash, but Hall was cut after only performing 8 games which means that under his contract he will only receive $8 million (not bad if you ask me $1 million per game).
Perhaps the only good news for Hall is the fact that if nobody picks his contract, he will become a clear free agent, especially because before signing with the Raiders, he had substantial offers from the Cowboys, Giants and Redskins.
Hall should know that becoming a free agent will fill pockets even more and a good example is the man he was supposed to shape with to become one of the top cornerback pairs in the league, superstar Nnamdi Asomugha. The 27 year old cornerback will get more than $9 million for only a year of play with the Raiders.
New interim Coach Tom Cable was condemn by his own players and media after cutting Hall of the team, after all many are questioning on who is next?
I believe The Raiders offered way too much cash on Halls contract and maybe it wasn’t the right amount to offer as Hall at some point during game times was being crush by anxiety, but their problem was that DeAngelo was worth every penny when they got him.
The reality is that at the present time the economic situation is under a warning sign for many teams and sponsors in the NFL.