Christl: Driver got ext w/2yrs left, why not Walker?

[Rivers Rutherford]

You can't renegotiate a rookie deal--it just isn't done due to salary cap reasons. As a franchise, you need to know you have Player X locked in for X years at X dollars so that you can go about building your team and plan for the cap's future appropriately. What would happen if every damn rookie wanted to renegotiate after 2 or 3 years and pulled the JW bs? Mayhem. You can't redo a rookie deal--espeically when the guy goes about it like JW did. Piss on him.

[pbmax]

You can't renegotiate a rookie deal--it just isn't done due to salary cap reasons. As a franchise, you need to know you have Player X locked in for X years at X dollars so that you can go about building your team and plan for the cap's future appropriately.

Seymour had his rookie deal redone, and it was redone twice. He held out of, or threatened to, minicamps last summer. They gave him a boost last year and promised a new deal this year, which they delivered.

Christl is right, there are no hard and fast rules. But I think he underestimates the role of the agent. Rosenhaus has been reported to be happy to create a media firestorm and get momentum out of declarations, false deadlines and a story a day.

The idea is to create public perception that something must be done, either capitulate and offer more money or deal the player.

[mraynrand]

Even more worrisome than any GB player's extention, is the fact that JSOnline is considering a contract extention for Cliff Cristl. Reportedly, there is no signing bonus.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Once the team decides that they want to secure his services for a given period, in this case four years, it becomes a currently value analysis. How much are they willing to pay now to secure future extended services. It has nothing to do with any "threat" from Driver. Players just do not have that kind of power over the team.

But the team already had Driver secured for the next two years, at a bargain rate. And they have minimal incentive to lock-up Driver for years 3 and 4, why take that risk now on a 31-year-old player who takes a lot of hard hits?
If the team held all the power, as you suggest, they would have just held Driver to his old contract and saved themselves about $10M.

[b bulldog]

Driver is a pro's pro.

[Tarlam!]

Re: Christl: Driver got ext w/2yrs left, why not Walker?

Thompson did not give Driver an extra $8M (or so) for these two years just to reward him for being a good guy, doing things right. That is a fairy tale.

Just because Driver did not make public threats does not tell the whole story of his real bargaining position.

Well, as all readers of this forum know, except HH, the above quote is absolute bull dust!

The TRUTH of the matter is, TT is an avid reader of these pages, and he has obviously come to regard my comments highly. As you all know, I have been pleading

ALL OFF-SEASON LONG


for this deal to take shape, and now that it has happened, I feel better nights.

You'all could show me a little appreciation for having driven this.

[Noodle]

F

Christl is right, there are no hard and fast rules. But I think he underestimates the role of the agent. Rosenhaus has been reported to be happy to create a media firestorm and get momentum out of declarations, false deadlines and a story a day.

Exactly right. Negotiations are a human interaction, and the personality of the humans involved can matter a lot.

At the same time, I agree with Christl (and HH) that Driver's rep for being a good guy had just about nothing to do with this deal. Driver's timing was impecable, and he had an agent who was smart enough not to make this a hefty nutsack competition with TT. But to think the Pack did this because DD is a good guy is delusional.

In the end, we we stupid not to do Walker smarter, and we were immature to let Rosenhaus get under our skin. But if TT has learned from this, then I'd have to say we paid a steep, but perhaps necessary, price in learning how to keep a team together in today's market.

And let's hear no more about "you can't do this or that because then the players are running the show." What a load of crap. You do what you need to do to keep your great players at home. The Lombardi days of trading Ringo to the Iggles are over. Too bad it cost us Walker for TT to figure that out.

[Green Bud Packer]

the pack renegotiated old number 65 mark tauscher's rookie contract because he was under paid. the pack re-did driver because he was under paid. the pack did'nt re-do walker cause he was being paid what a guy who was the 20th pick should be paid. thompson's doing fine in my world.

[Scott Campbell]

The Lombardi days of trading Ringo to the Iggles are over.

If that's true, then why is TO playing for the Cowboys this year?

You can't let one or two players dictate the structure of your salary cap, or the culture of your organization. The Eagles get it. The Niners get it. The Packers get it. I'd guess just about everyone in the NFL gets it.

Why can't you get it?

[Noodle]

Um, SC, have you been reading the posts. The Pack re-did Driver's deal. The Pack re-did Tausch's deal. Harris got his deal re-done. Seymore got his deal re-done.

What are you talking about with this "let a few players dictate you cap" bit? Favre counted for over 10% of the cap last year, dictating it greater than any two players combined (not sure, but that sounds cool).

Of course a few players are going to "dictate" your cap, whatever that means. The trick is to make sure that you are only paying the huge money to the guys who are worth it. But if they're worth it, you pay 'em if at all possible.

What are you saving your money for, a box of pez?

[Scott Campbell]

"let a few players dictate you cap" bit?

Why would you chose quote marks when that's not what I said?

[Scott Campbell]

The Pack re-did Driver's deal. The Pack re-did Tausch's deal. Harris got his deal re-done.

Exactly. These are all players that didn't throw hissy fits in the media.

[Scott Campbell]

Most teams get rid of trouble makers at one point or another.

[Scott Campbell]

What are you saving your money for, a box of pez?

And what's wrong with Pez?

[cosimoto]

I think it is becoming obvious that TT is not simply going to add talented players (or keep talented players) if those talented players come with huge ego problems. He is intrested in building a team, a particular type of team, one with players who are skilled, or who have the potential to become skilled, and who are willing to put the team first. TT has a vision, and he is prepared to make the tough decisions, like getting rid of Javon, in order to realize his vision. I for one applaud his approach. I think we are going to be in for some great years very soon.