In the NFL, you have a short shelf life. As a running back, if you're the first pick, and you're NFL life expectancy is only 3.5-6 years, your first big contract might not come until three years in - well, you might never get there. They need to get those signing bonuses up front because nothing is guaranteed.
Eric DickersonI run upright mostly when I see daylight, so if you watch film you'll see I don't get hit in the chest much.
Eric DickersonI'll tell you one thing about me: I'm very private. I always have been private. People think I'm callous, arrogant. I didn't like the media attention.
Eric Dickerson