Or at least he should have understood that was his priority.

Revis made it clear: He will not suit up until he is given a heavily guaranteed contract that makes him the highest paid cornerback in the NFL.

The cornerback is holding out until he gets a deal worth at least $15 million. This should be a no-brainer for Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

Revis, whose 2010 salary was a measly $1 million, is one of the best players in the NFL. He is the anchor of the Jets No. 1 defense and is single-handedly responsible for letting coach Rex Ryan use the unique-overload blitzes that he loves.

Surprisingly, Johnson is refusing to ensure that his team’s best player is in on the field. In a year without a salary cap, this is inexcusable.

I don’t want to hear about the league’s labor uncertainty and the possibility of a future lockout. After all, I’ve never heard this issue brought up in the argument for fans to purchase personal seat
licenses, those expensive licenses that only give you the right to buy season tickets.

Yes, Revis is under contract for three more seasons. And yes he was set to make a guaranteed $20 million in 2011 and 2012 had he shown up to camp on time. But in a gruesome sport where the average career lasts between two and four years, can you blame Revis for trying to get the most money he possibly can, especially considering he will likely never be worth more?

The NFL can be an evil business, one where management treats employees like objects as opposed to people. Revis knows this. Remember, his former teammate Leon Washington got cut following a serious injury last off-season, after Washington ended a training camp hold-out of his own.

Now the Jets are offering Revis a bogus contract with little guaranteed money. When it comes down to it, Revis is the best at what he does and he deserves to be paid accordingly.

Not to mention the Jets have no shot at winning without him. If Johnson truly wants a Super Bowl season, he should start writing a check.