49ers’ Goodwin gets random drug test after winning 40 Yards of Gold

A week ago today San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin won the “40 yards of Gold” event by defeating Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson in the final. Since then, every piece of news that came from the event has been negative. Last Tuesday it was reported that all participants couldn’t cash their checks until July 5.

That same Tuesday, Goodwin was randomly drug tested by the NFL:

What a joke. Goodwin winning should not have been a surprise. We are talking about an Olympic athlete. Goodwin trains for this. I can’t imagine he was too upset; he did win $1 million, after all.

Don’t go cashin’ those checks just yet

Speaking of money, the participants from the event still haven’t received their payment. That was the case as of late Friday evening. This is turning into a disaster. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jeff Badet’s agent said he still hasn’t received the $25,000 he was promised. Will Sarubbi--Badet’s agent-- stated, “the contract was explicitly clear. Jeff was an independent contractor who was promised $25,000 upon arrival. That has not been paid as of 5 p.m. today.”

A lawyer representing one of the players told Sports Business Daily that the players were later told not to cash the checks and instead to provide bank account numbers to receive payment in the form of wire transfers. In a surprise to nobody, that didn’t happen, either.

The worst part about this is just another example of the industry taking advantage of professional athletes. Situations like these are why I’ll always side with the players in any contract dispute.