THERE IS LITTLE loyalty in sports anymore, and the days of players spending their entire careers with one team are a thing of the past.

San Diego won’t soon embrace another Tony Gwynn and Baltimore shouldn’t hold its breath waiting for the second coming of Cal Ripken Jr. Ambassadors like those two gentleman are also a thing of the past. 

 Athletes live nomadic lifestyles these days, and jerseys become irrelevant months after they’re purchased. Blame the constant movement on whatever you’d like, but the biggest reason for the Gwynn-less and Ripken-less days ahead is a lack of loyalty amongst players.

Allegiance to a team, particularly in football, is as old-school as being able to hit the quarterback. Players who care more about the club that gave them an opportunity than they do their income are no more.

And then there is Ladell Betts.Betts, a backup running back for the Washington Redskins the past five seasons, is the antithesis of the new-school athlete. A 2002 second-round draft choice who would have become a free agent this offseason, Betts decided on Friday to re-sign with the Redskins.

On the surface, his decision to ink an extension with the Redskins may not sound like a big deal; a backup choosing to stay with his current team doesn’t sound like all that classy of a move. Realize, though, that Betts passed up the opportunity of becoming an NFL starter.

Betts’ time with the Redskins’ first-team offense has always been scattershot: He’s started a game only when the player in front of him on the depth chart had suffered an injury. The deal he signed, a less-than-lucrative five-year pact worth a reported $11 million, is likely less than one he may have garnered as a free agent. But that wasn’t what mattered to him.

It’s a good thing I’m not a betting man, because if I were, I would have wagered that Betts’ days in burgundy and gold were at an end. His back-to-back 100-yard rushing efforts against the Panthers and Falcons further emboldened my confidence that Betts would be on the move.

Apparently, he doesn’t employ a Jerry Maguire-type agent, be-cause the last thing Betts was worried about was another team “showing him the money.”

“They were the first team to give me an opportunity to play in the NFL, so I’m loyal to that,” Betts said at a press conference at Redskins Park this week. “I’ve had nothing but a good experience since I’ve been here.”

Betts’ loyalty to the team that drafted him is commendable. Not only is he more faithful than the majority of the players he calls colleagues, Betts is also a better man than I.

While I’d like to think I’d show love to the team that initially hired me, I don’t know that I would have made the same decision Betts did. It takes a lot of character to ignore a chance at obtaining a starting role and more of the green stuff.

In his last two games, the 28-year-old career backup has rushed for 259 yards. He’ll look to build on that total against the Philadelphia Eagles today as he further thanks the Redskins for being the team that gave him a chance.

If you ask me, though, the Redskins should be the ones thanking him.