Darrelle Revis saw the New York Jets as an ATM, and the Jets saw their star cornerback as a bargaining chip. No more, no less. It was strictly a business relationship -- ice cold from day one -- and that's why he's now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This marriage was doomed by greed and mismanagement. You put those two together and there's no chance for a "happily ever after" between player and team.

Everybody says you never trade your best player. In a perfect world, that's true, especially when your best player is only 27, still in his prime years. But this is a best player coming off major knee surgery and still rehabbing a shredded ACL. Yet, in his diminished state, he still wanted to be paid like a healthy, franchise quarterback.

Darrelle Revis is taking his talents to Tampa Bay. AP PhotoTom DiPace

The Jets had to make this trade, and they had to make it now, because they had a nice bird in the hand -- the Bucs' first-round draft pick, 13th overall. It would've been too risky to wait until after the draft because they probably would've lost their only suitor. The Bucs are clearly a desperate franchise willing to take a wild gamble.

Owner Woody Johnson decided, correctly, that it made little sense to pay $16 million a season for a cornerback, especially in a flat-cap era. There was no room for negotiation because Revis, Inc., and his hardline agents never were going to budge.

Technically, the Jets never offered a long-term contract, but you never walk into a Mercedes showroom unless you're willing to pay big. They knew the cost of doing business with Revis, Inc., and so they walked past the showroom without stepping in.

Revis, Inc., signed a six-year, $96 million contract with the Bucs to receive exactly $16 million in each season. Surprisingly, there's no guaranteed money, but there's a tacit guarantee of $32 million because Revis knows it'll be at least two seasons before he gets cut. The Bucs would never drop him after a season, not after surrendering a first-round pick.

He would've signed the same deal with the Jets, according to a source, but that deal didn't make sense for them. Think about it:

The salary-cap charge is $16 million per season -- 13 percent of this season's total cap. The franchise tag for a cornerback is $10.8 million, so the Jets would've been paying 150 percent of the franchise tender. Every season. You can't build a team that way.

Revis is good, but he's not that good.

Once they decided to pass, the Jets had two options: Let him play out the final season of his contract (and, in all likelihood, lose him for nothing in free agency) or trade him.

If the Jets were coming off a playoff season, with a roster built to win now, the right call would've been to keep Revis, take their chances with the contract and go for the ring.

The Jets were that team two seasons ago, but not anymore. They're rebuilding, and they saw Revis, Inc., as a chip – a "tremendous asset," according to general manager John Idzik. They decided to go to the cashier and see what they could get for that chip.