The NFL's MVHB

Here is a nomination for Kris Dielman as the National Football League’s Most Valuable Human Being.

Dielman is the starting left guard for the San Diego Chargers, so he will never be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, like his teammate LaDanian Tomlinson. But that’s okay. There’s an MVP named once a year. In professional sports, Most Valuable Human Beings come along once in a lifetime.

On Friday, Dielman was what the NFL calls a “free agent.” His contract with the Chargers had expired, and because of his tenure he was free to negotiate with any team in the NFL. It is incredible, I know, when measured against everyday values of what any job is worth, but Dielman was in a position to negotiate a contract that would pay him $50 million or more, to play left guard on a football team.

Two free agents, described as the top two, in terms of their worth as football players, had already come to terms with new teams, one, a defensive back, signing with San Francisco for $80 million, the other, an offensive lineman, signing with Cleveland for $50 million.

Dielman was in Seattle, negotiating with the Seahawks, who were preparing to pay him $50 million, the current, no less bizarre, top dollar for offensive linemen. The Seahawks front office had the contract ready to sign, when Dielman turned it down. He decided to stay in San Diego, remain a Charger, for roughly $40 million.

When a man is signing a contract worth $40 million, it’s hard for the average worker to feel warm and fuzzy about the millionaire leaving $10 million on the table, to do what he thought would make him happy. Thirty years from now – heck, five years from now - though, none of us will be able to remember how much Dielman signed for. Quick: how much did Joe Willie Namath sign for, in 1969?

What we will try harder to remember is how much Dielman didn’t get to spend, just because he wanted to play for his old team.

“I’m glad to be with my linemates again,” he said. “That would have been hard to leave that group of guys in that O-line room, and LT and Philip Rivers and Lorenzo Neal and all those guys.”

How many millions of dollars do you think that makes his linemates, and LT and Rivers and Neal, feel worth?

Kris Dielman didn’t start out a star. He played at Indiana University and came to the Chargers as an undrafted defensive lineman in 2003, signing a contract worth $7,500.
He was cut after the pre-season camp but stayed on with the practice squad, where he was switched from defensive to offensive guard. Early in 2005, he got a chance to start when the first-stringer, Toniu Fonoti, was injured. Dielman has been the starting left guard ever since.

Now he has one nomination for the NFL’s Most Valuable Human Being. It’s the only most-valuable nomination I know of, that cost the player money. “Money is nice,” he said, “but if you’re not happy, you’re miserable. It’s not really worth it, in my opinion.” In professional sports today, that is a really valuable opinion.