Players continue to be rewarded for holdouts

[Kiwon]

Players continue to be rewarded for holdouts
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
dtomlinson@postcrescent.com

During the off-season, Javon Walker told anyone who would listen that he would never play for the Green Bay Packers ever again.

Rather than deal with a disgruntled employee, the Packers traded Walker to the Denver Broncos for a second-round draft choice. Walker then signed a five-year contract extension worth over $40 million.

Walker got everything he wanted.

During the off-season when Deion Branch wasn't satisfied with his contract, he refused to report to training camp until the New England Patriots traded him to the Seattle Seahawks for a first-round pick. Branch then signed a six-year, $39 million contract with a $7 million signing bonus.

Branch got everything he wanted.

Last season, when Terrell Owens was dissatisfied with his contract, he criticized his teammates and coaches until he was suspended or inactive for the final nine games of the season. During the off-season, Owens was released and signed a three-year, $25 million dollar deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

At least financially, Owens got everything he wanted.

Tantrums seem to carry a financial windfall in the NFL these days. While the Packers, Patriots and Eagles didn't have to get rid of their star receivers, they decided to cut their losses rather than have to deal with a high-profile disgruntled employee who can be a distraction to the rest of the team.

Walker proved on Sunday that despite missing almost all of last season with a torn ACL, he is still among the elite receivers in the NFL. No matter how much the Packers love rookie Greg Jennings, it's foolish to think that Jennings can be the same type of player that Walker is when he's healthy. It can be easy to forget that Walker scored 21 touchdowns during the 2003-04 seasons and was well on his way to being one of the best receivers in the NFL before he was injured last season.

When the Patriots dealt Branch their chances at realistically being a Super Bowl contender essentially went with him.

Without his favorite receiver, Tom Brady has looked remarkably ordinary this season. Without Branch, the Patriots top receiver this season has been tight end Ben Watson, who has a very pedestrian 143 yards. Think the Patriots don't miss Branch, a Super Bowl MVP?

The Eagles undoubtedly don't miss Owens' antics, but on the field, it's impossible to replace a player of his caliber. It's not a coincidence that the Eagles went 2-7 during the nine games that Owens missed last season. During Owens' only full season in Philadelphia, the Eagles made the Super Bowl. Without him, they're just another team trying to contend. Is Donte Stallworth likely to catch 14 touchdown passes, as Owens did in 2004? It certainly doesn't appear likely.

It's also got to infuriate the Eagles that they weren't even able to get a draft pick for Owens who is now playing for a divisional rival.

The Packers have been through this twice in the last three years. Before Walker it was cornerback Mike McKenzie who forced his way out of town three weeks into the 2004 season. After one season in New Orleans, McKenzie was rewarded with a five-year, $22 million extension that contained a $7 million signing bonus.

What's to prevent it from happening again? It's well-known that cornerback Al Harris is unhappy with his contract. What's to prevent Harris from forcing the Packers to trade him during the off-season? Harris was applauded for reporting on time for training camp this year, but if he didn't what would the Packers have done? Would they have traded him elsewhere so he could get his turn at a giant contract?

Sometimes players are rewarded for doing things the right way. The Packers did that for receiver Donald Driver when they gave him a four-year, $17 million contract this off-season.

It's just unfortunate to see players who use hold outs and trade demands reap such financial rewards in the NFL.
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This is just classic labor and management stuff. The bottom line is that the owners write the checks. They are the ones rewarding troublesome players.
You can't fault a player for wanting all he can get since the longevity of the average player in the NFL is just under three years. This is today's NFL and it's a business first and foremost.

For every Brett Farve or Donald Driver, there are probably five players that think they are being ripped off and should to be paid more right now. Remember all the noise coming from Grady Jackson the last few years?

Anyway, the owners are the ones holding the purse strings. Stop rewarding these guys and the mid-contract shenanigans will stop.

[Tarlam!]

Whilst I agree largely with it being the owners that start the ball rolling, Kiwon, the real problem is the fans.

Fans are fickle. They already love J-Walk in Denver. I assume MM is a fave in NO. And if T.O. has a breakout year in Dallas, the front office will be deemed as genius for signig him.

Secondly, the seller is at fault. Of course TT got bang for his buck by dealing J-Walk. But, he could just as easily have made him ride pine. Same with Philly in T.O., although I applaud them for at least banning him for part of the season.

Lastly, the NFL collective bargaining agreement allows this to happen. The framework is not in place to prohibit this type of dispute.

So, apart from the player's greed/ego/overestimation/value perception, a further 4 elements at least contribute to the sickness IMHO.

[the_idle_threat]

If owners really wanted to exercise control in this fashion, they would have to agree not to pay a player after his antics. But then they'd face a charge of collusion from the players' union.

[NewsBruin]

As part of the collective bargaining extension, a team can fine holdout players up to $14,000 per day. A holdout player does not count as part of the active roster, does not receive any money from the team (obviously), and his contract picks up where it left off when he was last part of the active roster.

To be a holdout player, one had better be a good player first, and an already wealthy player, at the rate of $70,000 per week of holding out. Hold out for a month, and the team has a quarter-million dollar bill coming to your house.

I'm not in favor of players holding out. I think a lot of it comes from agents who get in their clients' ears and tell them how unappreciated they are. I think there have been times where players were legitimately grieved by teams reneging on promises to renegotiate their contract. I think one of the best ways to prevent holdouts is to proactively renegotiate contracts.

I don't think owners "want to exercise control." They hate it when it's their player, but I'm sure they love it when they have cap room and know there's pressure on both a team (to get any kind of value for the season) and its player (from fines and lost wages) to come to an agreement. If this has become so severe, the league can address it when the CBA comes up for negotiation.

[MJZiggy]

I have a couple of problems with this article (now who could have seen that coming??!) First, JWalk did not get everything he wanted. He's not getting any more cash than he would have at GB this year. Had he stayed here, he likely would have gotten a similar extension to the one he got. He didn't really gain anything but altitude and cost of living by moving. Walker is right back to elite? Funny, I missed the game, but heard he had a few drops. Elite receivers don't have many drops. (can someone verify?) Why can't Jennings be as good as Walker? He's made some great catches and is pretty damned impressive as a rookie. Not to mention, I believe he has more yards and TD's so far this season, one of which was quite spectacular.

Also, they are assuming that TO is sorely missed in Philly, but their owner has repeatedly been quoted as saying that if he had a do-over on that one, he never would have signed him.

Other than that, I think that in theory it might be best to let them ride the pine, but at what cost? I think they're dealt when the cost overrides the message (no matter how badly I wanted him to sit).

[Sparkey]

Also, they are assuming that TO is sorely missed in Philly, but their owner has repeatedly been quoted as saying that if he had a do-over on that one, he never would have signed him.

Not too mention that through three weeks, the Eagles have the #1 rated passing offense in the NFL at 307 yards per game.

[Bretsky]

I have a couple of problems with this article (now who could have seen that coming??!) First, JWalk did not get everything he wanted. He's not getting any more cash than he would have at GB this year. Had he stayed here, he likely would have gotten a similar extension to the one he got. He didn't really gain anything but altitude and cost of living by moving. Walker is right back to elite? Funny, I missed the game, but heard he had a few drops. Elite receivers don't have many drops. (can someone verify?) Why can't Jennings be as good as Walker? He's made some great catches and is pretty damned impressive as a rookie. Not to mention, I believe he has more yards and TD's so far this season, one of which was quite spectacular.

Also, they are assuming that TO is sorely missed in Philly, but their owner has repeatedly been quoted as saying that if he had a do-over on that one, he never would have signed him.

Other than that, I think that in theory it might be best to let them ride the pine, but at what cost? I think they're dealt when the cost overrides the message (no matter how badly I wanted him to sit).

Javon Walker has had some drops; but IMO he's still a playmaker. The two plays he made would probably not have been made by Jennings or most receivers. We really do miss what Walker gave us, or Favre did. He's that guy that is long enough and leaps well enough to go up and beat a CB by catching the ball at it's top and coming down with it even when he's not that open. Not sure I'd call him elite now, but if he's not he's a half step under it.

Jennings can be an incredible WR as well; they are just different. I actually think Jennings will be a better route runner and be more effective over the middle and in running after the catch. Like Driver, and I'd certainly be happy if Jennings is equally as good as Driver. So they are just different. It's my view that Walker will probably be better than Jennings long term but I may be wrong on that.

But when people are glorifying WR's they flock to the guys who can make the great play on the deep ball.

I do disagree on one of your points.

Javon Walker felt disrespected in Green Bay by Ted Thompson. He did get what he wants. He got a one way ticket out of Green Bay.

He'll get his money, and he'll get it where he wants to play.

[packers11]

After we get Calvin Johnson... Favre will lead us back to Superbowl...

Driver, Jennings, Johnson, Fegy......

:mrgreen:

Thats even better than our 2003 line up.....

Would be best WR core for the packers in the past decade....

[Bretsky]

After we get Calvin Johnson... Favre will lead us back to Superbowl...

Driver, Jennings, Johnson, Fegy......

:mrgreen:

Thats even better than our 2003 line up.....

Would be best WR core for the packers in the past decade....


Calvin Johnson would be a great great addition

[KYPack]

Both the Walker and Owens deals are much smaller than advertised by this article. I don't have the numbers at my fingertips, but they are both essentially one year deals for about the same thing the Packers and Eagles would have paid those players.

Many pointed this out, how can you trust either player with a true long term deal?

These guys signed fancy one year deals that will NEVER be paid out over a five year span..

[Guiness]

Agreed KY, that they aren't making any more money than they would've. In both cases, you could argue quite conclusively that they are making more.

But, for arguments sake, let's say they break even. They want out - they get out, and aren't really punished for their actions - that's the jist of the article.