WE SIGNED HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tony Oday]

Hawk will be in camp baby!!!!!

[Tony Oday]

Packers reach $37.5 million agreement with HawkBy John Clayton
ESPN.com


The Green Bay Packers have agreed in principle to a six-year, $37.5 million contract with A.J. Hawk, the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.


The former Ohio State linebacker hopes to get the language of the contract done by Saturday morning so that he can practice. Terms of his guarantees haven't been finalized. Those will be done Friday night and Saturday morning.


Talks between the Packers and Hawk's agent, Mike McCartney, heated up Thursday afternoon when the Jets completed a similar deal with DeBrickashaw Ferguson, the fourth pick In the draft. The Packers reported to camp on Friday.


All of the Packers draft choices now have contract agreements.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

[Badgepack]

The Hawk era now officially begins :D

[gbpackfan]

Am I wrong, or has Hodge NOT been signed?

Will Hawk practice tonight? I LOVE that it is a 6 year deal!!!!!

[Oscar]

I'm glad to see that they got the deal done. Looking forward to some camp reports later tonight and some pictures to go withem. :D

[Fosco33]

Am I wrong, or has Hodge NOT been signed?

Will Hawk practice tonight? I LOVE that it is a 6 year deal!!!!!

Overlooked???

I'm glad we got this done. Good for the Packers; Good for Hawk - as good negotiations are supposed to take place.

TC starting; oooh it just feels so good. Now another 5 weeks and the real stuff starts :mrgreen:

[Willard]

More/different details on the Hawk signing:

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=7/28/2006&id=9279

Sounds like he will start practicing tomorrow.

[Fosco33]

More/different details on the Hawk signing:

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=7/28/2006&id=9279

Sounds like he will start practicing tomorrow.

I like this signing more and more every week.

First, he takes care of business w/ Laura so he's not 'living in sin.'

Now, here's some info from that article:


Hawk agreed to forgo a big signing bonus in order to allow more money to be written in over the course of the entire contract. He will receive a roster bonus of $1.91 million next week and base salary of $230,000. His big payday will come next March when he receives an option bonus of $11.8 million.

How many guys in the NFL would forgo early money to get more later? Not many...

He's definitely a 'Packer person' as M3 would say.

[BallHawk]

Hawk is a smart guy.

[BallHawk]

And Hawk will probably NOT be in practice, there is still details to be worked out. He will be in camp on Saturday.

[NewsBruin]

I've only seen them this year; what is an "option bonus," and how is it different from a roster or camp bonus?

[GBRulz]

Our local news station is behind the 8 ball.... they just said how all picks have been signed except Hawk. Stupid CBS, your "official Packers station".

Severe storms are coming into the state, but I think it's going to be north of us so practice should still be outside and not moved into the Don Hudson Center.

TC is going to be hell on the guys....highs near 100 and very humid..through next Wed.

[packrulz]

Isn't Hudson Center air conditioned though? No need to make them suffer right away, if at all.

[RashanGary]

Good deal, I'm glad to hear it. I figured it would get hashed out. There is nothing but love between Hawk and the TT's GB Packers. Thompson doesn't want to rip anyone off, he just wants to be fair. I think Hawk had the same mentality. TT is a new GM so it's not a huge surprise it took a little longer, they might have wanted to feel it out as to be completely fair.

Hawk is the new face of the franchise. He's getting paid like it anyway. The defense should be tough. One franchise playmaker is the difference between and average defense and a top 5 or 6 defense. I think we're going to see the best GB defense post Reggie White although it is not saying much.

I have a TON of respect for Brandt. The Packers give him alot of power in these negotiations. I get the feeling the way everything sounds that TT just lets him go at it and trusts his knowledge and judgement. I get that feeling about alot of the things in the organization lately. Not to rip Sherman, but he seemed to want to get involved with everything where as TT just does what he's good at *scouts* and hands off power to the guys who are strong in other areas. I like this approach better, but Sherm was pretty successfull. I liked him as a coach anyway.

[Lare]

Kudos definitely go to Brandt for doing his magic with 12 draft picks to sign. Next year it will probably be 17-18 if TT has his way and 25-30 the following year. To heck with winning games, I just love beating all the rest of the NFL teams at this draft pick game.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Does anybody knows if the last year is Void able. I hope not.

[BooHoo]

Glad to have him signed. Now he can concenetrate on football only.

[PackerPro42]

Hodge was signed along with Hawk and I'm sure both those guys will be in camp on Saturday. :smile:

[BooHoo]

I think Hawk will be the person we think he is. Can't wait for the season to begin. That is, after we figure out the kicking/punting game.

[AtlPackFan]

It is SO awesome to have everyone signed and in camp! Holdouts never work for the player or the team.

[AtlPackFan]

It is SO awesome to have everyone signed and in camp! Holdouts never work for the player or the team.


Hey, a quick off topic...that was my 100th post. Do I get to be another kind of rat now!? :wink:

[BallHawk]

Gotta wait till 200, my friend.

[ND72]

was at training camp tonight and Hawk never made it down to the field. I was little upset, was really hoping just to see him in street clothes out there....oh well.

[woodbuck27]

I came on-line tonight, hoping just to see this. The last two - Hawk and Hodge in the fold.

I am very happy that Andrew Brandt did such a fine job working with the agents of all twelve draft choices (some a part of OUR positive future) and signed them and making all of them available for the beginning of OUR TC.

Signing all twelve draft picks with the expediency that he did, can't be easy.

GO Packers !

[CaliforniaCheez]

I don't know where you get your information but Hawk is not signed.

While one side leaked the information that a deal is close, Hawk is not signed.

Almost everyone hopes that an agreement can be made this weekend and get it sent to the NFL home office for approval.

Hawk cannot participate in training camp until any deal signed is approved.

[Partial]

I don't know where you get your information but Hawk is not signed.

While one side leaked the information that a deal is close, Hawk is not signed.

Almost everyone hopes that an agreement can be made this weekend and get it sent to the NFL home office for approval.

Hawk cannot participate in training camp until any deal signed is approved.

Dude, its all over that he is signed. Where is your info from?

[Rastak]

I don't know where you get your information but Hawk is not signed.

While one side leaked the information that a deal is close, Hawk is not signed.

Almost everyone hopes that an agreement can be made this weekend and get it sent to the NFL home office for approval.

Hawk cannot participate in training camp until any deal signed is approved.

Dude, its all over that he is signed. Where is your info from?


He agreed to terms, he didn't sign and take his physical so it's 99.9% sure he'll be there tomorrow.

[GrnBay007]

It's the end of July coming off a 4-12 season......we'll take 99.9% and be thrilled!! :razz:

[CaliforniaCheez]

Here is the link read the John Clayton article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2532913

"Terms of his guarantees haven't been finalized."

"The former Ohio State linebacker hopes to get the language of the contract done by Saturday morning so that he can practice."

The Raiders first round pick signed the night before their training camp and had to wait over 2 hours in his hotel room the next day while the NFL home office approved his deal.

Unless you have a link saying Hawk has signed a contract don't say that he has.

[Partial]

Here is the link read the John Clayton article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2532913

"Terms of his guarantees haven't been finalized."

"The former Ohio State linebacker hopes to get the language of the contract done by Saturday morning so that he can practice."

The Raiders first round pick signed the night before their training camp and had to wait over 2 hours in his hotel room the next day while the NFL home office approved his deal.

Unless you have a link saying Hawk has signed a contract don't say that he has.

Touche. However, it's essentially as good as signing. Regardless of if he tears an ACL tomorrow, he gets his contract. He'll be in camp

[CaliforniaCheez]

Packer transaction list does not have Hawk signed.

http://www.packers.com/news/transactions/2006/

[HarveyWallbangers]

What the hell are you worried about? You think it's going to really matter if he misses a couple of practices?

[woodbuck27]

Packer transaction list does not have Hawk signed.

http://www.packers.com/news/transactions/2006/

Good Day.

Found this this AM - Saturday 29 July, 2006. Written by Tom Silverstein of JSOnline:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=477570

** The Green Bay Packers' first-round draft choice agreed to terms on a six-year contract late Friday afternoon . .

** Agent Mike McCartney would not reveal specifics of the contract, but a source familiar with the deal said it was worth $37.5 million and consisted of more than $15 million in guarantees. Specifics of the deal were still being worked out so Hawk was not allowed to take part in the Packers' opening practice Friday evening.

** Joining Hawk in reaching contract terms Friday was third-round linebacker Abdul Hodge, who signed a four-year contract.

** Once Hawk signs the papers and steps on the field, his status as a multi-millionaire will be all but ignored. The focus will be on getting the No. 5 pick overall ready to be a starter at weak-side linebacker.

GO PACKERS GO !

[woodbuck27]

Related Story:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=477570

PACKERS SIGN HAWK TO
6-YEAR $36M DEAL

By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com

Broken down.

Barring an unforeseen snag, linebacker A.J. Hawk -- the Green Bay Packers' first-round draft pick -- should be signed and ready to practice Saturday on the second day of training camp.

Hawk's agent, Mike McCartney, said Friday his client has agreed in principle to a six-year, $36 million deal, though the sides are working out details. The player picked ahead of Hawk, left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, signed a six-year, $37.5 million deal with the New York Jets that included about $17.5 million in guarantees.


"We're hoping to wrap it up tonight," McCartney said. "A.J.'s ecstatic."


Hawk's contract includes guaranteed money of about $16 million.

The guarantees consist of a 2006 roster bonus of $1.91 million, a 2007 option bonus of $11,856,250 and portions of his base salaries.

Hawk also has a minimum play-time incentive that will increase the value of the deal substantially and get it in the $36 million range. If he plays in 35 percent of the defensive snaps this year, or if he fails to do that but plays in 45 percent in any subsequent year, his base salaries for all remaining years increase.

If he reaches that incentive this year, which is a given barring serious injury, the value of the deal increases from $17.6 million over the first five years to $26 million, and in the sixth year he'll make either $10 million or the franchise tender for linebackers, whichever is higher.

That sixth-year salary will be guaranteed if he's on the roster on the first day of the league year, which usually is in early March.

Comment: Get errrr on HAWK !

GO PACKERS GO ! !

[Fosco33]

Live Press Conference Video Schedule
* all times Central and subject to change

The Green Bay Packers will hold a press conference to announce the signing of A.J. Hawk, Saturday at 12 noon CT.

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/29/2/f

[Guiness]

Hawk's contract includes guaranteed money of about $16 million.

The guarantees consist of a 2006 roster bonus of $1.91 million, a 2007 option bonus of $11,856,250 and portions of his base salaries.



Anyone figured out what an option bonus is yet? They seem to be including it in guaranteed money, so maybe it's his (Hawke's) option?

It must be something like that - it would be foolish for a Hawke to put what is essentially his signing bonus at risk, should something happen this year.

[MJZiggy]

I think this explains it fairly well, from PFW

"The inclusion of the guaranteed option bonus is based, mostly, on the fact that rookies are sacrificing their right to unrestricted free agency. Players collectively bargained to reach unrestricted free agency after four years, but no player drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft signed for less than five years. Free agency being a valuable right, players are adamant that they are rewarded for sacrificing that right with attainable “escalators” beyond their fourth season."

[ND72]

listening to local espn radio, they said yesterday all day, the packers and AJ and agent were in talks trying to finalize the deal. Around 5pm last night his deal was finalized in terms, which then the packers had to send the "agreement" on to the NFL offices for approvement. the NFL requires all contract settlements be finished 2 hours before a practice, which meant the packers would have had to send the contract in by 430 for AJ to be eligable to practice. He did sign his contract, it's all up to the NFL now. abdul Hodge had his deal done at 4pm, took his physical and made it to practice. that is the explaination from espn radio, and them doing an off broadcast interview with andrew Brandt.

[CaliforniaCheez]

My point was, in the words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over until it's over."

It was nice that the deal was getting close but

1) Hawk was not in camp on time.
2) His agent did not do his job but waited until the guy drafted before and the one after were signed. How hard is that?
3) The agent leaked the information that the terms of the contract were essentially agreed upon to prevent questions from fans like "Why the heck is Hawk not here?"
4) Fans wanted positive news obviously fell for it hearing a deal was done when it was not.
5) Read carefully these spins in the press and guard against premature congratulation.
6) I don't like to see young guys missing practice needlessly.
7) Now that it is over, Hawk missed one practice or he signed the weekend after training camp began. No need to worry about it now.