Grant wants 40 million...

[gbpackfan]

6 years! 40 million! Even with incentives that is high!

Grant needs to come back to earth a little bit. He has started 9 games in his career. Or about that. He needs to tell his agent to get a deal done.

Is it just me or does Grant's agent rub you the wrong way? (insert perverted joke here)

[mission]

Grant seems twice as valuable to the Packers than Favre...






20 mil




x




2












I say "pay ze'man his money" (KGB/Rounders voice)

[Lurker64]

Grant seems twice as valuable to the Packers than Favre...

I'd say the important difference is that if the Packers sign Favre to this goodwill ambassador position, his job will be in a non-football capacity and won't count against the cap and won't impact what contracts we can offer both to free agents and as extensions. Grant's deal, however, will count against the salary cap and if the Packers blow it by overpaying him if he does burn out quickly, that will have negative repercussions as to the contracts we can offer other people.

I think the Packers are right in claiming that the incentive bonuses should kick in at 1250 yards and not 1000. 1000 yards rushing in the modern era is not a particularly notable accomplishment for a back who stays healthy.

I do think that 40 million is a exorbitant price to demand for a player in Grant's position, but I hope they can't be far from a deal.

[SkinBasket]

"A little bit of progress was made on Thursday," agent Alan Herman said Friday night. "For a team with $30 million worth of cap room, and Ryan's ability, I thought we would be much further along."

Jesus Fuck. I take it this guy was an ambulance chaser before he was an agent. The whole, "Hey they have money available, it should belong to me," attitude sits worse with me than the fact that he's spilling every detail of their negotiations to the press. How some of these people get, and keep, jobs is astounding.

[The Leaper]

Honestly, I don't think Grant's side is being as unreasonable as some on here make it seem. Clearly, the deal is very incentive laden...the $40M figure ain't happening unless Grant puts up 2000 yards on the ground in either 2008 or 2009.

If he does that, are you honestly telling me he isn't worth $40M over 6 years? You can count the guys in NFL history who have done that on one hand.

He's not asking for $40M based on last season. $40M only comes if he proves himself over the next two...both sides have apparently agreed that how he performs in 2008 and 2009 will mostly determine the course of this 6 year deal.

If the Packers want the escalation to start at 1250 yards...fine. However, if they indeed are offering quite a bit less incentive money on top of that, which is what Grant's agent contends, that seems cheap to me. I'm sure the Packers are pissed that Grant's agent is going public with details...but they've had months to get this hammered out, and at some point you have to expect the agent to play hardball.

[The Leaper]

Please note...I'm not saying Grant should get a boatload of cash. However, I think there is at least SOME truth to Grant's side saying the Packers are being stingy.

I really don't mind the Packers being stingy, though. However, I won't be happy if this leads to a decrease in performance on the ground this season.

[falco]

Please note...I'm not saying Grant should get a boatload of cash. However, I think there is at least SOME truth to Grant's side saying the Packers are being stingy.

I really don't mind the Packers being stingy, though. However, I won't be happy if this leads to a decrease in performance on the ground this season.

leaper - i don't like 99% of what you post, but i am 100% on board with you here

i also think the numbers are outrageous

but look at it this way - this will probably be grant's only blockbuster contract (he'll be 31 when it is done, so there is a chance for another, but how likely?)

assuming he puts up multiple 2000 yard seasons - one would have to argue that he would be worth $6/mil year

the real question has to be, assuming he does not perform, what are the base salaries, and what is the signing bonus

[imscott72]

Please note...I'm not saying Grant should get a boatload of cash. However, I think there is at least SOME truth to Grant's side saying the Packers are being stingy.

I really don't mind the Packers being stingy, though. However, I won't be happy if this leads to a decrease in performance on the ground this season.

leaper - i don't like 99% of what you post, but i am 100% on board with you here

i also think the numbers are outrageous

but look at it this way - this will probably be grant's only blockbuster contract (he'll be 31 when it is done, so there is a chance for another, but how likely?)

assuming he puts up multiple 2000 yard seasons - one would have to argue that he would be worth $6/mil year

the real question has to be, assuming he does not perform, what are the base salaries, and what is the signing bonus

Exactly. The incentives are one thing, but if the base and the signing bonus numbers are huge, you can't cut the guy 2-3 yrs into the deal without taking a fat ass cap hit. What we really need to know and what the article failed to indicate is how much of that 40 mill is guaranteed. The article did state that he wants a 4 mill bonus in year one and a 3 mill in year two, so we're already at 7 mill guaranteed in the first two years. I think that's way too much for a guy that played half a season. I agree with TT here.

[pbmax]

Getting to 2000 yards is rare even if your name is OJ, Terrell or Barry. Those numbers are for the agent's recruiting brochure.

Most to the point is the upfront money in years 1,2 and 3. The Packers are offering half of what is being asked in 1 and 2, he article doesn't seem specific about year 3.

The reason they may be offering less is the sticking point mentioned about triggering performance bonuses. If Hermann's first trigger is 1000 yards, that is quite common in the era of 16 games. The article mentions 186 over a recent period of time. The Packer's first trigger is at 1250 yards, less than half as common.

And the agent did not release this info, this is the Packers striking back. Seems like T2 has loosened the restriction of commenting when the agent slams your offer.

[RashanGary]

It's not too out of line. If he performs at those levels (I highly doubt) he'll be a bargain at todays prices.

If they can get it down to 6 years between 25 and 35 million depending on incentives and 3.5 million up front I think it would be pretty reasonable. The agent makes it tempting to just stop calling though. I think Brandon Jackson has a chance.

[pbmax]

The article states:

a source said Grant was seeking a signing bonus of $500,000 and a roster bonus of $4 million this season, in addition to a minimal base salary. In 2009, the source said the proposal included a $3 million roster bonus and a base salary of about $1 million.

Only the signing bonus is guaranteed. Roster bonuses are not necessarily guaranteed. They might be asking the Packers to do this, but since this is likely the Packer's (or someone Packer friendly) leaking this, if guarantees were part of an incentive laden contract, then I think they would have made their way into the article. Its not proof, but the absence is suggestive. I doubt seven million in the first two years is guaranteed.

Exactly. The incentives are one thing, but if the base and the signing bonus numbers are huge, you can't cut the guy 2-3 yrs into the deal without taking a fat ass cap hit. What we really need to know and what the article failed to indicate is how much of that 40 mill is guaranteed. The article did state that he wants a 4 mill bonus in year one and a 3 mill in year two, so we're already at 7 mill guaranteed in the first two years. I think that's way too much for a guy that played half a season. I agree with TT here.

[pbmax]

He might have chased ambulances before, but it was 25 years ago. He has been an agent since 1983.

His agency had sixteen players in this years draft and they were the agents for Brandon Chillar.

More than likely, rather that Thompson being obstinate, or Herman being an unqualified ambulance chaser, what is killing them is the lack of similar contracts so they have less unknowns to haggle over.

There aren't many undrafted 3rd year players who are in line for a substantial pay increase after 9 good games. And I don't think we want to look at Tom Brady's contract.

I take it this guy was an ambulance chaser before he was an agent. The whole, "Hey they have money available, it should belong to me," attitude sits worse with me than the fact that he's spilling every detail of their negotiations to the press. How some of these people get, and keep, jobs is astounding.

[The Gunshooter]

Grant's agent is asking for $8.5 million for the next two year BEFORE incentives. That is double what he is worth right now.

[Fritz]

PB's got a good point. There is a big difference in getting 1000 yards and getting 1250. If that's a major sticking point, meet in the middle: make it 1,125 yards to trigger stuff.

Another point worth mentioning is that part of the reason Grant is near his prime without much experience is that he's been hurt a lot in the past. Football-related or not, that's a factor since it's happened twice.

Or there's this: I don't know why TT can't load him up front this year, anyway. The money is there. You pay-as-you go - shell it out up front. If Grant is good, he's worth it. If he's not, he won't get paid after that. He won't be a drag on your sal cap in the future.

[RashanGary]

I would think Grant should get about 3 mil this year, 3 mil next year and then the bigger salaries would kick in after that if he performs well.

It's a hell of a lot better than 400,000.