I love this thread. I totally get both reactions, but have to say, I absolutely agree w/ CM here. And I bet you that many Stanford grads have taken enough business courses to know that this is absolutely the right economic decision for CM, his future, and his family. When you're weighing millions of dollars, potentially enough to set yourself and your family up for life, over the Sun Bowl, it's pretty hard to ignore the math. I respect players who choose to finish it out, but absolutely understand why CM made the decision.
Very few of us are fortunate enough to be blessed with a multi-million-dollar talent like his, and there's no shame in wanting to make sure you get a chance to reap the rewards of that before your career ends. Yes, a scholarship is not nothing, but as others have pointed out, it is dwarfed by a) what the NCAA/Stanford makes off him, and b) what he has an opportunity to attain if he doesn't get hurt.
That being said, he has to know that his teammates will remember it. Some will understand, some won't, and a lot (particularly the ones who don't have NFL prospects) will resent it, especially if the team loses. That's the cost of making this decision. And if he's a grown man who can handle the consequences of his decision (including any consequences it has in terms of how teams, fans, or teammates view him), how does that make him a p*ssy, or soft?
Part of being an adult is making hard decisions and living with the consequences. In fact, decisions like this are likely to be a much larger portion of the rest of his life than anything directly related to football. Get back to me if he whines about people resenting him for it, but I'm guessing he won't.
