All is fair in love and war is the old saying. But now you might want to add one more to the list. All is fair is love, war and business.

When the Jets traded a 2025 third round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for star pass rusher Haason Reddick, they knew he was unhappy with his contract situation, and they knew they weren’t prepared to offer him a large extension. And according to a recent report from ESPN’s Rich Cimini, everyone was cool with that. Or so the Jets thought.

According to Cimini on a recent episode of his podcast, Reddick essentially lied to the Jets and is now attempting to hold the organization hostage while he attempts to secure a new contract.

“Reddick was also okay with the Jets' stance on the contract and basically the Jets were telling him that their stance was we aren't going to shut the door on an extension, but we'd rather wait until the season is over. Have a great season and you will cash in big time if not with us then somewhere else."

That seems like a fair deal for both sides, doesn’t it? Feeling good about that understanding going forward, the Jets pulled the trigger on the deal bringing in Reddick only for him not to show up to any of the offseason activities. He even cost himself a $250k bonus for missing OTAs and then missed mandatory minicamp. What changed? Simple: Reddick’s leverage.

After the Jets brought in Reddick after already losing Bryce Huff to that same Eagles team, the Jets also traded long-time Jets DE Jonathan Franklin-Myers to the Denver Broncos. Reddick and Jermaine Johnson were going to be the starters and the Jets didn’t have the room to pay JFM as well. With Huff and JFM gone, now Reddick went from a nice to addition to an important piece of the puzzle. So, he pounced on the opportunity after speaking to the Jets in good faith earlier this offseason.

I have said on multiple occasions that I am all for players getting their money when they can, but this feels grimy. This is an underhanded move that I think even players would view as less than the cost of doing business.

Reddick is due to make $14.25 million in base pay in the final year of his three-year deal he signed with Philly. Earlier this offseason I believed that Joe Douglas would make a good faith gesture that would ease the ego of Reddick and get him in for training camp. I thought Joe could convert some his salary to a signing bonus, thus giving him some guaranteed money. It seems like all peaceful negotiations might be over.

Frankly, I don’t know that Reddick has the leverage he believes he does. If he sits out, he is owed nothing by the Jets. His salary is not guaranteed this year so the Jets would be on the hook for nothing.

Second, he is almost 30-years old. It would be hard to convince a team to give you the kind of money you want, which is reportedly close to Danielle Hunter’s two-year $49million contract, when you haven’t played in over a year.

Lastly, if he holds out in training camp, he will be fined $50k per day, and it's "non-waivable" which means if he skips those days, Jets can't just give that money back.

Meanwhile for the Jets, not having Reddick show up would do nothing but force them to rely more on last year’s first round pick Will McDonald IV and more rotational guys then they planned.

If this report is true, and I believe that it is, then Reddick is painting himself into a corner and he is not going to come out well on the other side. Fans can forgive a contract dispute, but if your first action as a member of a new organization is to lie and use underhanded tactics, you will find that earning their respect an uphill battle.

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