Marshawn Lynch avoids hefty fine by saying he’ll talk to media now

Marshawn Lynch’s refusal to cooperate with the media has been one of the biggest stories in the lead-up to each of the past two Super Bowls, as crazy as that sounds when you say it out loud.

The Seattle Seahawks running back has come to media availability, mostly said nothing but managed to come up with some T-shirt worthy catch phrases (“I’m just about that action, boss” and “I’m here so I won’t get fined”). It’s strange how big the story has become, and it has continued. Lynch did not make himself available after last season’s NFC championship game so the NFL fined him.

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The NFL fined Lynch $75,000 for not talking to the media after that game, he appealed and they came to a compromise: The fine will be dropped if Lynch cooperates with the media from here on out, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said.

Aside from being surprised at how big this whole story has become, I haven’t really taken a side on it because I see it both ways. Lynch obviously doesn’t want to talk to the media, is uncomfortable in that situation, and there are plenty of Seahawks players who do talk a lot. So what’s the point in making him do it? On the other hand, the NFL gets an amazing amount of media coverage for a sport that has actual games to talk about roughly 60 days out of the calendar year. You see that coverage, and the resulting popularity for the sport, and you understand why players are contractually required to cooperate with the media. It is a small part of Lynch’s job, and we all have parts of our jobs we dislike, but clearly he doesn’t like it and it is just a waste of time for everyone for him to answer “Thanks for asking, I appreciate it” to every question.

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But we’ll see now if Lynch talks. He’s one of the iconic players of this era, a possible Pro Football Hall of Famer on one of the great teams this century, and has plenty of personality. Now he just has to be about more than just that action, boss, or he’s going to face that large fine again.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab