Peyton Hillis: Browns lied to me, turned the fans against me

by Will Gibson

Tuesday marks the release of Madden NFL 16, which always inspires thoughts and writing about the video game’s cover athletes, past, present, and future. Madden has been around in various forms since 1988, and since 2001 the game’s cover has featured a prominent NFL player.1 The New York Giants’ Odell Beckham, Jr. gets the honors this year, continuing a proud legacy of star players like Eddie George, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick…and Peyton Hillis.

Hillis had a huge 2010 season for the Browns, totaling 1,654 yards and 13 touchdowns. He rode that momentum all the way on to the Madden NFL 12 cover thanks to a fan vote. The rabid Browns fan base hit the ballots early and often, and Hillis bested the likes of Ray Rice (then without legal trouble), Matt Ryan, Jamaal Charles, Aaron Rodgers, and Michael Vick in successive rounds of voting. He remains the only Brown to ever grace the cover.

2010 was a dream year for Hillis. After backing up Darren McFadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas and being used primarily as a fullback in the NFL, he became the bell cow and a folk hero for the Browns.

Hillis’ time in Cleveland did not end happily. A wicked case of he-said, she-said broke out amid tense contract negotiations between he and the Browns front office. The now-former NFL running back told Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon all about it.

The Browns went 5-11 in 2010, and head coach Eric Mangini was fired at the season’s end, replaced by Pat Shurmur and his West Coast offense. At the same time, the Browns reached out to Hillis to discuss a new contract — he was scheduled to make $550,000 in 2011, the final year of his rookie deal. Between the Browns front office turnover and the 2011 NFL lockout, however, the negotiations went nowhere, and Hillis told Gagnon that he didn’t think the team was truly interested in re-signing him to a fatter deal.

Hillis missed the third game of the season with strep throat, a move his agent suggested. He later missed action with an injured and then re-aggravated hamstring injury, limiting both his playing time and effectiveness. Rumors swirled that he was sitting games out in an attempt to build leverage. Hillis chose not to take the negotiating battle to the newspapers, in part out of fear that the team and media would railroad him.

Hillis praised Browns fans,2 and says that the team turned them against him.

In addition to the front office, Hillis’ missing time did not endear him to those in the Browns locker room. Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas later spoke out about Hillis in less than loving terms.

There’s plenty more to the story, including Hillis offering some mild mea culpas and saying that he would apologize to Thomas, and it’s worth a read if you’re interested in NFL mudslinging.

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