Yankees Make a Bi-Sport Trade, Acquire Drew Henson From NFL (Humor)
July 26, 2009 · Sam Fogelgaren · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Just five days shy of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, the New York Yankees made sure to stir up the market, as they made a move that would forever go down in history.
In a bi-sport trade, the Yankees acquired Drew Henson from the Detroit Lions in exchange for C.C. Sabathia, Brett Gardner, and $4 million in cash.
The trade went down in the early evening of Sunday, and it was cleared by Major League Baseball and the National Football League later in the night.
“This is a project we have been working on for quite some time, and we think that we can really transform the way people look at sports in general,” said Bud Selig and Roger Goddell in a joint statement.
The NFL and MLB are joining together to create a program they are calling “Borrowers of the Future.” The goal of this program is for players of one sport to be able to accomplish their dream of playing the other sport.
The program was started when both leagues looked at players such as Bo Jackson and Brian Jordan and realized that they could accomodate these guys needs by simply creating a program with this goal.
“We feel that this will enhance the skill of our leagues, and thus create a more competivite environment for our sports,” MLB and the NFL said.
This is Henson’s second stint with the Yankees. After playing quarterback at the University of Michigan, where he split time with Tom Brady, Henson was a third-round pick of the Yankees in 1998.
Over the course of two seasons, Henson struggled, hitting just .111 in eight games.
Then, Henson turned to his other sport, football.
In the NFL, Henson spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and most recently the Detroit Lions.
Though Henson was released by the Lions and according to the NFL, his rights no longer belong to the Lions, the rules of Borrowers of the Future state that, “Even if a player is released by a team of a former sport, the rights to that player still belong to the former team.”
C.C. Sabathia, the main player in the trade, was an all-conference tight end in high school. USC had offered him a full scholarship, and he had a verbal commitment to play at Hawai`i, but he decided to play baseball.
“We are incredibly excited about the acquisitions of C.C. and Brett,” said Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz. “When you look at C.C., he brings a load of size, durability and talent to the table. When you look at Brett, you see a ton of speed and strength.”
“Getting Drew back is a great step forward for us,” said New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. “His efforts in New York the first time around were appreciated, and once again they will be appreciated.”
It is reported that Gardner will play running back for the Lions, who finished last season 0-16.
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