That's why it's called felony stupid

The New York Daily News has a story by Gary Myers about Plaxico Burress' new problems:

Plaxico Burress went out on the town with a loaded gun to protect himself because he apparently had a bunch of money in his pocket and was wearing lots of jewelry, but he couldn't have anticipated the night costing him nearly $30 million. The instant that gun went off late Friday night and ripped through his right thigh, Burress lost much more than the cash and bling he had with him at the midtown Manhattan club. He's about to lose his job. At the very least, the Giants are expected to announce as early as today they are either suspending Burress for conduct detrimental to the team (has there ever been a better example?) or placing him on the season-ending non-football injury list for the last four games.
In either case, he would not get paid the balance of his $3.5 million base salary for this season. Lost wages to Burress: $823,529. Forget the playoffs, too.
It's likely Burress has played his final game for the Giants, whether they cut him today, tomorrow, or after the season. And when that happens, it will void what remains on the five-year contract he signed in September that had a maximum value of $35 million. Lost wages to Burress: $27 million.
No price tag can be put on the cost to Burress' sinking reputation or the loss of his freedom if he winds up in jail. How humiliating is the picture of him being led into a police car Monday, handcuffed behind his back? Contrast that with his hands in front of him just 10 months ago catching the winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the Super Bowl.
Burress signed a new contract hours before the Giants opened the season against the Redskins, even though he had three years and $10.5 million left on the six-year deal he signed as a free agent in 2005.
According to Burress' contract, obtained by the Daily News, he had a split deal for this season only: His per-game pay was based on a $3.5 million base for any game he was on the 45-man active roster, but computed on a base of $2 million for any game he was not. His base salary next year is $1 million, followed by $3.5 million for each of the last three years.
The Giants gave Burress a $4.25 million signing bonus: $2 million payable within 15 days of the execution of the contract; $1.25 million within 15 days of 1 October; and another $1 million is due within 15 days of 10 December. There is no provision in the collective bargaining agreement that allows for the withholding of deferred payment, and it's not clear if the Giants are going to fight Burress on the final payment.
There is default language in Burress' deal that would allow the Giants to get back only $250,000 of the signing bonus based on "player's incarceration or detention by any law enforcement personnel" or if he is suspended by the Giants for conduct detrimental or suspended by the NFL for violating the personal conduct policy. New default language in the CBA prohibits the Giants from trying to recover more of Burress' bonus.
None of Burress' base salaries from 2009-12 is guaranteed. He also had non-guaranteed reporting bonuses of $500,000 in 2009 and $1 million in each of the last three years. He has a $2 million roster bonus in 2009 and workout/reporting bonuses of $325,000 a year from 2009-12. There are also $1.25 million a year in escalator clauses that would increase his base salary depending on performance. Again, none of the money is guaranteed. Assuming the Giants cut Burress before next season, he will count $4.4 million in dead money on their salary cap. But Burress' cap number for 2009 if he remains is $8.5 million, so letting him go actually represents a $4.4 million savings.
It doesn't help Burress that Mayor Bloomberg said Monday, "It would be an outrage if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law." If Burress felt so threatened that he had to carry an unlicensed, loaded gun, why didn't he just stay home and rent a movie with his wife? He knew having an unlicensed gun is illegal. He told me last year he couldn't bring his gun from Florida to New Jersey because he was only licensed in Florida.
"Situations happen in life that players have to learn from," Giants Hall of Famer Harry Carson said Monday. "Somebody has to set the tempo. Unfortunately, it happened to Plaxico. All ballplayers, celebrities and athletes should learn from it. I think what he did was stupid and ill-advised. He's going to have to pay the price."
The Giants waited only two days in September to suspend Burress after he skipped work and failed to call to let them know. They cannot let this wait much longer. Obviously, shooting yourself in a club with an unlicensed gun is a bit more complex legally that skipping work to take your kid to school.
Roger Goodell is likely to come down hard on Burress, too, for violating the personal conduct policy. Guns in the workplace violate the policy as well as "unlawful possession of a weapon outside of the workplace". Burress should expect a suspension letter with the NFL's return address at some point.
It was a costly night out for Burress. He would have been better off ordering in some food, having some wine and keeping the gun locked up.

Rico says $27 million is a hell of a price to pay for being dumb, even in New York...