Tweet
Wahle, Rivera coveted; Packers in danger of losing both guards
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The, Feb 26, 2005 by BOB McGINN
Indianapolis A thin crop of free-agent guards, their own tight salary cap and the reputations of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera have left the Green Bay Packers in danger of losing not just one but both of their starting guards.
If neither player has a contract with Green Bay by the start of the signing period Wednesday, the Packers can forget about re- signing Wahle and probably will have a much more difficult time re- signing Rivera than they thought originally.
At 27, Wahle is five years younger than Rivera, but age isn't the only factor making Wahle the more attractive commodity in the eyes of many National Football League teams.
Despite the fact that Rivera has been voted to the last three Pro Bowls and Wahle has never gone, scouts covet Wahle because of his extraordinary athletic ability and less problematic medical history.
The Packers have been trying to re-sign Wahle but might be fighting a losing battle. Wahle probably is looking at a signing bonus of $10 million or more once he hits the open market.
"I really want to stay out of it as far as letting people know what's going on until things happen," Wahle said Friday. "I'm trying not to think about it."
Green Bay will have to release Wahle by the start of the league year Wednesday because his cap salary for 2005 would be an exorbitant $11.375 million. By doing so, the Packers would gain $11 million in cap room.
One would think the club could turn around and use that money to re-sign Rivera, especially given the tremendous loyalty he has shown for the organization. But Jimmy Sexton, his new agent, emphatically said loyalty wouldn't preclude Rivera from testing the market for the first time in his career as an unrestricted free agent.
"Having said that, he likes it in Green Bay a lot," Sexton said. "But just because you like it somewhere doesn't mean you don't look. You have to look."
Rivera parted ways with Ralph Cindrich, his prominent Pittsburgh- based agent for his entire 10-year career, shortly after the season ended. Cindrich said he made one final attempt at negotiating a deal for Rivera late in the season.
One source said one reason why Rivera selected Sexton was his track record for successfully negotiating contracts with Packers management, including vice president Andrew Brandt. Among Sexton's clients over the years were Reggie White, Harry Galbreath, Cletidus Hunt and Chad Clifton.
Also, it was Sexton who landed guard Randy Thomas a seven-year, $28 million free-agent contract from Washington in March 2003 that contained a $7 million signing bonus.
"We're in constant communication but neither side has sort of laid a deal on the table yet," Sexton said at the combine. "We'll do that in the next few days here."
If cut, Wahle would head the list of available guards. Despite being 32 with bad knees, Rivera might be No. 2 over Philadelphia's Jermane Mayberry, New England's Joe Andruzzi, former Denver Bronco Dan Neil and Pittsburgh's Keydrick Vincent.
Although some scouts have tossed about the possibility of a $3 million to $5 million signing bonus, it could be substantially higher if several teams join the bidding. Last year, the unrestricted guard market included Damien Woody getting a $9 million signing bonus from Detroit, Jeno James getting a $4.25 million bonus from Miami, Mike Goff getting a $3.5 million bonus from San Diego and Chris Villarrial getting a $2.875 million bonus from Buffalo.
"He's clearly the leader of that offensive line from an emotional, spiritual, however you want to say it standpoint," Sexton said about Rivera. "I think those guys are hard to come by. I think that's where he has value to teams in the league. I think teams that feel like they have a window in the next three to four years will be interested in a guy like him."
How did the Packers get into such an untenable situation with Wahle in the first place?
Early in the unrestricted signing period in March 2003, Wahle turned down an offer to play right tackle for Kansas City and signed a six-year, $18.4 million deal with the Packers. The deal looked good on paper for the agent, but in reality it was a three-year, $7.5 million deal because in 2005 his base salary skyrocketed to $5 million in addition to a $6 million roster bonus.
If the Packers had been willing to give Wahle more than $2.25 million in signing bonus at the time, the deal wouldn't have had the drop-dead point of March 2005. The team basically had Wahle at a reasonable rate for the last three seasons but always looming in the distance was the inevitable release of an outstanding player.
Barring unexpected events, that sad day for the Packers will arrive Wednesday.
Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)
Kinda blows my argument all to shit doesn't it. Still if they were $20Million over the cap in 2001 and were able to pull it off........maybe.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The, Feb 26, 2005 by BOB McGINN
Indianapolis A thin crop of free-agent guards, their own tight salary cap and the reputations of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera have left the Green Bay Packers in danger of losing not just one but both of their starting guards.
If neither player has a contract with Green Bay by the start of the signing period Wednesday, the Packers can forget about re- signing Wahle and probably will have a much more difficult time re- signing Rivera than they thought originally.
At 27, Wahle is five years younger than Rivera, but age isn't the only factor making Wahle the more attractive commodity in the eyes of many National Football League teams.
Despite the fact that Rivera has been voted to the last three Pro Bowls and Wahle has never gone, scouts covet Wahle because of his extraordinary athletic ability and less problematic medical history.
The Packers have been trying to re-sign Wahle but might be fighting a losing battle. Wahle probably is looking at a signing bonus of $10 million or more once he hits the open market.
"I really want to stay out of it as far as letting people know what's going on until things happen," Wahle said Friday. "I'm trying not to think about it."
Green Bay will have to release Wahle by the start of the league year Wednesday because his cap salary for 2005 would be an exorbitant $11.375 million. By doing so, the Packers would gain $11 million in cap room.
One would think the club could turn around and use that money to re-sign Rivera, especially given the tremendous loyalty he has shown for the organization. But Jimmy Sexton, his new agent, emphatically said loyalty wouldn't preclude Rivera from testing the market for the first time in his career as an unrestricted free agent.
"Having said that, he likes it in Green Bay a lot," Sexton said. "But just because you like it somewhere doesn't mean you don't look. You have to look."
Rivera parted ways with Ralph Cindrich, his prominent Pittsburgh- based agent for his entire 10-year career, shortly after the season ended. Cindrich said he made one final attempt at negotiating a deal for Rivera late in the season.
One source said one reason why Rivera selected Sexton was his track record for successfully negotiating contracts with Packers management, including vice president Andrew Brandt. Among Sexton's clients over the years were Reggie White, Harry Galbreath, Cletidus Hunt and Chad Clifton.
Also, it was Sexton who landed guard Randy Thomas a seven-year, $28 million free-agent contract from Washington in March 2003 that contained a $7 million signing bonus.
"We're in constant communication but neither side has sort of laid a deal on the table yet," Sexton said at the combine. "We'll do that in the next few days here."
If cut, Wahle would head the list of available guards. Despite being 32 with bad knees, Rivera might be No. 2 over Philadelphia's Jermane Mayberry, New England's Joe Andruzzi, former Denver Bronco Dan Neil and Pittsburgh's Keydrick Vincent.
Although some scouts have tossed about the possibility of a $3 million to $5 million signing bonus, it could be substantially higher if several teams join the bidding. Last year, the unrestricted guard market included Damien Woody getting a $9 million signing bonus from Detroit, Jeno James getting a $4.25 million bonus from Miami, Mike Goff getting a $3.5 million bonus from San Diego and Chris Villarrial getting a $2.875 million bonus from Buffalo.
"He's clearly the leader of that offensive line from an emotional, spiritual, however you want to say it standpoint," Sexton said about Rivera. "I think those guys are hard to come by. I think that's where he has value to teams in the league. I think teams that feel like they have a window in the next three to four years will be interested in a guy like him."
How did the Packers get into such an untenable situation with Wahle in the first place?
Early in the unrestricted signing period in March 2003, Wahle turned down an offer to play right tackle for Kansas City and signed a six-year, $18.4 million deal with the Packers. The deal looked good on paper for the agent, but in reality it was a three-year, $7.5 million deal because in 2005 his base salary skyrocketed to $5 million in addition to a $6 million roster bonus.
If the Packers had been willing to give Wahle more than $2.25 million in signing bonus at the time, the deal wouldn't have had the drop-dead point of March 2005. The team basically had Wahle at a reasonable rate for the last three seasons but always looming in the distance was the inevitable release of an outstanding player.
Barring unexpected events, that sad day for the Packers will arrive Wednesday.
Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)
Kinda blows my argument all to shit doesn't it. Still if they were $20Million over the cap in 2001 and were able to pull it off........maybe.
Comment