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In one breath, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis “doesn’t want to play anymore.” In the next, Mehta argues that Revis should approach the Jets about taking a pay cut next year.

But if he “doesn’t want to play,” a pay cut doesn’t matter.

What matters is the $6 million in fully guaranteed money that the Jets owe Revis for 2017. A $2 million roster bonus due on the second day of the league year forces the Jets to make a decision quickly on whether they’ll be cutting Revis (and giving him a $6 million parting gift) or paying the $2 million in March and a full $13 million base salary in 2017.

This is about much more than a pay cut. It’s about the $6 million in money for nothing that Revis will receive if he’s cut — and the $6 million in nothing for nothing he’ll receive if he quits.

But he has six million reasons to not quit, and the Jets have another two million reasons to cut him before March, if they’re willing to give him $6 million to not play for them. Perhaps most importantly, the Jets have another seven million reasons to squeeze him to take less for next season.

With Revis still not represented (he parted ways with his agents earlier this year), the Jets may be sending a message to Revis through the media. And the message is clear: If you don’t want to play, retire and let us keep the full $15 million we owe you for next year. If you want to play, let’s come up with a fair compensation package about the $6 million you’re already guaranteed to make.

Revis, from his perspective, doesn’t need to do anything. If the Jets cut him before paying the $2 million, he gets $6 million for 2017. If the Jets pay the $2 million, he has $8 million in hand and another $7 million fully guaranteed as of Week One.

All he has to do is not quit. Although he’s not the guy he once was, why would he quit? Quitting means losing $6 million the Jets already have committed to pay him.

So, basically, the Jets are in a box of their own making. They bet $39 million in early 2015 that Revis would still be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL for three more seasons. And they’re losing. And there’s not much they can do about it.

Other than to try to shame Revis into doing something he has no obligation to do.