First, let's say this about Austin Seferian-Jenkins: He inspired many with his brutal honesty and openness with regard to his drinking and how he's battling to overcome the problem. You root for guys like that, and no one was happier for his success than the New York Jets' organization, which gave him a second chance and watched him rehabilitate his career.

Now, let's turn to the business side of things. In the NFL, especially free agency, even the warm and fuzzy stories have a cold, sharp edge. The Jets took a hard-line stance with Seferian-Jenkins, and he wound up signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday -- a two-year, $10 million contract, a source confirmed.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins recorded a career-high 50 receptions for the Jets in 2017. Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

The Jets were in the financial ballpark. For a long time, their offer was two years, $8 million. It's unclear if they sweetened it at the 11th hour, but they obviously didn't extend themselves to keep Seferian-Jenkins, a 25-year-old tight end coming off a 50-catch season.

This represents a shift in philosophy by general manager Mike Maccagnan, who suddenly is playing hardball with his own free agents -- and I like it. The new Maccagnan puts a value on a player and tries not to deviate -- i.e. overpay.

Maybe we should call this the Muhammad Wilkerson Lesson. Or the Ryan Fitzpatrick Lesson. Maccagnan mishandled those negotiations and wound up overpaying for both players, and the end result wasn't pretty.

This offseason, Maccagnan is holding the line. It may have cost him three players who had good years in 2017 -- Seferian-Jenkins, linebacker Demario Davis and kicker Chandler Catanzaro -- but the fourth-year GM should be commended for his financial discipline. Hey, they went 5-11 with those guys, so it's not like he's breaking up a championship team.

The Seferian-Jenkins situation is a bit curious because, unlike Davis (29), he's entering the sweet spot of his career. So why did the Jets say goodbye to a terrific comeback story? When they removed the emotion from it, this is what they based the decision on:

They have a tight end in the pipeline, Jordan Leggett, whom they believe can be a better version of Seferian-Jenkins, which is to say an athletic pass-catcher who won't wow anybody with his blocking. This is a small leap of faith because Leggett, a fifth-round pick last year, didn't play a lick as a rookie due to a knee injury. Maccagnan is trusting his draft reports on Leggett. He also has Eric Tomlinson, a steady blue-collar type.

Another thing about Seferian-Jenkins: He benefited from the franchise's recent tight end crisis. For years, they got no production out of the position; it was embarrassingly bad. That made Seferian-Jenkins' 50-reception total look bigger than it actually was. Take a closer look: He had no 100-yard games. He was a nonfactor down the stretch. He scored only three touchdowns.

The Jets will never say it publicly, but his personal issues had to be in the back of their minds. If they truly believed in his upside, they never would've let him go to Jacksonville.

But let's not make this a one-sided breakup. During the season, Seferian-Jenkins talked about how he wanted to remain with the Jets because he felt indebted to them for helping him through a tough time. In the end, he wasn't willing to take a hometown discount. It goes both ways in this business. To his credit, he posted a farewell to the Jets on social media, thanking everybody in the organization.

Nothing personal, just business.

And so a heartwarming story -- the New York version, anyway -- comes to a cold-blooded conclusion.

That's the NFL.