BJ RAJI

[PlantPage55]

It's really not a problem with Raji, it's a problem with the whole top 15 this year.

When you combine "bad economy" with "weak draft" teams are hesitant to give ridiculous deals. But traditionally, teams just work up from the back of the first round and you give the n-1st guy slightly more than the nth guy, with some premiums included or removed for elite positions like quarterbacks. You can also go the other way, so if the nth player is signed, give the n+1th player slightly less money.

But Raji?

The 6th pick is not signed.
The 7th pick signed a ridiculous (Raiders) contract.
The 8th pick is not signed.
The 10th pick is not signed, and is looking for ridiculous money.
The 11th pick is not signed.
The 12th pick is not signed.

So it's not just that the kid doesn't want to play football, I'm sure he does, it's that neither the Packers nor Raji's agent has a good idea about how much he should be paid.

This will be ignored, because people prefer to talk negatively about the Packers. Especially the media.

[Cheesehead Craig]

It's not a big deal at this point if he misses a few days. He's a DL and not a CB, QB or a major skill position that has a ton to learn. If he stays in shape, he's going to be fine for when he does come into camp.

[Rastak]

I agree Lurker, but the real problem is the entire system.

I can't do a deal until this guy does his deal because if I go first and then the contract looks bad in comparison then I might lose future business.


It could be circumvented from the player side by saying "I want you to ask for a 5 year deal that's 10% better than #9 last year. If the team says yes, then work out the terms and do it".

The agent's going to balk because of what I said earlier. Who works for who?

The system is broken and needs fixing badly.

[Lurker64]

Yeah, the real problem is if Raji really, really wants to play and says his agent "listen, I'll just play for whatever contract the #9 pick got last year" the agent will try as hard as he can to talk him out of it. Since around the time players are declaring for the draft, agents are competing for top clients and the main selling point agents have is "I get great contracts for my clients."

So if the agent does what Raji hypothetically wants and just gets him some kind of contract that may not be the best Raji could possibly receive, he's hurting his chance to get elite clients in the future. This is what drives agents like Eugene Parker to encourage his clients to engage in long holdouts (watch out Crabtree!).

I agree entirely that some sort of slotting or guidelines are really necessary, at least near the top.

[Rastak]

I know Florio has speculated before that if a player demands that sort of thing the agent will drop him before doing a deal that might screw him for future deals.

Again, who works for who here? The agents have their own agenda completely seperate from the players and the teams. They need to eliminate the factors that allow this 3rd agenda in the next CBA.

[Lurker64]

Would it be problematic for the Packers in future negotiations if they said to Raji:

"Hey, drop your agent, and we'll give you 10% more than the #9 player from last year (6 years, 25.3 million dollars) with the standard package of defensive lineman incentives. Plus, without an agent, you can pocket all of it and nobody takes a 10% cut. So you're actually getting, before taxes, 20% more than the guy from last year!"

I'm assuming that's considered dirty pool.

I mean, if the agent would drop a player for demanding that he just get a contract because he wants to play, can't a player drop his agent because he just wants a contract so he can play?

[Rastak]

I'm saying if the player pushes hard and says this is what I want you to do, would the agent revolt and drop the guy rather than follow his wishes, knowing that it might hurt his future business? Could be.

I think that if the agent wants to quit that's a perfectly legal thing to do. Fuck him. Somebody else can get the agent % of the contract, although there is a certain waiting period after a player fires an agent which could screw the player when camp has just started.

[pbmax]

Re: BJ RAJI

Holdout

Sign the dam deal B.J,
Sign the dam deal !!

Not looking good per report this morn on ESPN

Sounds like he's going to milk things out with the rest of the top 10

Why don't we argue that the Packers should cave in to Raji's demands? I doubt they have even exchanged offers yet, certainly not the Packers. Why negotiate when you aren't sure what the terms of the deal should look like?

And its not a hold out if you don't have a contract. Easterbrook claims its the same since in either case services are withheld, but as usual he misses the forest for the trees. While he sees the term equally applicable according to the dictionary, one is a case of ignoring a contract. One is not.

[Patler]

I'm saying if the player pushes hard and says this is what I want you to do, would the agent revolt and drop the guy rather than follow his wishes, knowing that it might hurt his future business? Could be.

I think that if the agent wants to quit that's a perfectly legal thing to do. Fuck him. Somebody else can get the agent % of the contract, although there is a certain waiting period after a player fires an agent which could screw the player when camp has just started.

I don't know for sure, but I doubt if there is a waiting period if the agent quits. If the player agrees to an offer, I think the agent is duty bound to go along with it, whether the agent likes it or not. The only alternative is for the agent to withdraw from the representation.

[Bretsky]

Re: BJ RAJI

Holdout

Sign the dam deal B.J,
Sign the dam deal !!

Not looking good per report this morn on ESPN

Sounds like he's going to milk things out with the rest of the top 10

Why don't we argue that the Packers should cave in to Raji's demands? I doubt they have even exchanged offers yet, certainly not the Packers. Why negotiate when you aren't sure what the terms of the deal should look like?

And its not a hold out if you don't have a contract. Easterbrook claims its the same since in either case services are withheld, but as usual he misses the forest for the trees. While he sees the term equally applicable according to the dictionary, one is a case of ignoring a contract. One is not.

You seriously think they have not even exchanged an offer yet...even verbally ?

[Scott Campbell]

Re: BJ RAJI

Holdout

Sign the dam deal B.J,
Sign the dam deal !!

Not looking good per report this morn on ESPN

Sounds like he's going to milk things out with the rest of the top 10

Why don't we argue that the Packers should cave in to Raji's demands? I doubt they have even exchanged offers yet, certainly not the Packers. Why negotiate when you aren't sure what the terms of the deal should look like?

And its not a hold out if you don't have a contract. Easterbrook claims its the same since in either case services are withheld, but as usual he misses the forest for the trees. While he sees the term equally applicable according to the dictionary, one is a case of ignoring a contract. One is not.

You seriously think they have not even exchanged an offer yet...even verbally ?

I think everybody has a reasonable approximation of what he's worth based on last years slotting.

[Fritz]

Everybody wants BJ to be a slot, but he's not that easy.

[pbmax]

Re: BJ RAJI

Holdout

Sign the dam deal B.J,
Sign the dam deal !!

Not looking good per report this morn on ESPN

Sounds like he's going to milk things out with the rest of the top 10

Why don't we argue that the Packers should cave in to Raji's demands? I doubt they have even exchanged offers yet, certainly not the Packers. Why negotiate when you aren't sure what the terms of the deal should look like?

And its not a hold out if you don't have a contract. Easterbrook claims its the same since in either case services are withheld, but as usual he misses the forest for the trees. While he sees the term equally applicable according to the dictionary, one is a case of ignoring a contract. One is not.

You seriously think they have not even exchanged an offer yet...even verbally ?

Not necessarily. The most common scenario is the agent passing along numbers and the team deciding to either A) counter offer, B) suggest they take some time to rethink, C) say nothing.

And that list is in ascending order of number of day to wait for a deal to be complete. The Niners, for instance, are reported to have decided NOT to counter-offer Eugene Parker's first numbers. So they are not talking.

The Packers cannot be much further along if they don't know the number Raji's agent wants to beat.

[Fritz]

I hear tell that Teddy is dangling a free Packerrats membership and Raji is pressuring his agent to take it, pronto.

[pbmax]

Re: BJ RAJI

I think everybody has a reasonable approximation of what he's worth based on last years slotting.

Exactly, the question is by how far are you going to increase the total dollars and the guarantee. And it can be weirder if that draft position has an odd contract history. The 14th pick Jenkins is rumored to want a voidable deal like Revis got two years ago. It cost him money but he has an option to end the deal after four years. The guess on Jenkins is just Florio's take on a possible reason for a delay even though the picks before and after are done.