"Contracts" Archive

When Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said the Ravens wouldn’t break the bank repeat their Super Bowl win he wasn’t lying. Thus far, the Ravens have let multiple starters and key players to their run last season go: Anquan Boldin, Dannell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger, Bernard Pollard, Cary Williams, and possibly now their most well known and beloved active veteran Ed Reed.

As I type this, Reed is back at the Houston Texans’ Reliant Stadium after spending most of yesterday with the Texans including a dinner that lasted well into the night. If he doesn’t sign with the Texans, the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts are still calling.

Yesterday, Reed told Comcast Houston the following:

“I think, as an organization, they kind of want things on their terms. Seeing how things have transpired over there right now, it’s like wow, I just kind of can’t believe how things are happening from a business standpoint when guys give you blood, sweat and tears and give you everything. And try to do the best for the team. Players definitely did that. Baltimore is a great organization over the years as we all know, and do the right things for the organization. You’ve got to respect that. Every organization does it.”

Reed is right, every organization wants things on their own terms and the Ravens’ refusal to extend Reed long before now seemed a clear sign that their commitment was waning. In fairness, Reed often publicly flip flopped on the possibility of retiring and thoroughly mishandled his off season last year. All in all, leaving the Ravens could be good for both parties despite the hurt feelings that are clear in Reed’s statement. If Reed leaves, the Ravens don’t have to face the likelihood that Reed pulls a Ray Lewis and angles to continue to play long after his effectiveness is gone and Reed gets to play for a likely contender with a great fan base the rest of his career (2  moreyears lol!).

How could I forget to post my op-ed this week on HLNTV.com regarding Goodell’s silence during the referee lockout? I was passionate about this issue because even if Goodell is only a spokesperson for the owners during the lockout he wasn’t even doing that. Goodell spoke only through VP Ray Anderson, memos, statements, and his favorite mode of communication-fines.

In fact, right before a deal was reached, Anderson had an op-ed published in USA Today. I didn’t understand why Goodell couldn’t at least sign his name to an op-ed on the subject.

I really think Goodell needs a new title — the word commissioner makes it seem as though Goodell does what’s good for the game. And that when he’s in the room with the owners, the game, the fans, players, coaches, and refs have an advocate in the room. The reality is none of us do. When Goodell meets with the owners no one else has a voice in that room besides the owners, apparently. Goodell is just owned.

Check out my piece criticizing the Commissioners lack of leadership here.

Now that the lockout is over Goodell had plenty to say yesterday but much of it only reflected why he probably stayed silent in the first place. A lot of things he says simply aren’t helpful. One thing that stuck out to me is when he said he didn’t watch the last play in the Seahawks/Packers game closely enough to give his own opinion.

But the commissioner has power to over turn. A power that the league said in a statement he wasn’t going to use. But if he didn’t watch the play closely enough, how can he know whether or not to use his authority to over turn? How can you decide NOT to use an authority on a situation you haven’t seen? And if you don’t need to see it to make a decision, why release a statement explaining what happened?

Cary Williams is betting a lot on good health and great play.

Football is not a game for the faint of heart. Not only is it physically dangerous and mentally taxing, the decisions players have to make to maximize income carry a high risk. The choice Ravens CB Cary Williams has made this season is a perfect example.

Cary could have signed a longer term contract with the Ravens to stay on with that awesome secondary of Ed Reed, Lardarius Webb and Bernard Pollard. But instead he chose to play out the remainder of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent in 2013. Why? Because if he has a good season this year the market will be much kinder next year than the Ravens would have been this year.

[To read more about Cary Williams contract potential click Read More]

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As players like Maurice Jones-Drew learn, unfortunately your contract is not just about you.

Since the Jags and Maurice Jones-Drew entered their standoff I’ve been reminded of a few things that people don’t seem to understand about contract negotiations and I wanted to quickly address them here.

1. Owners don’t want to be told how to conduct business

2. It’s not just about how  ”great” a player is but whether his presence on the team makes “enough” of a difference with all things considered 

3. The value of a player can go up or down with a contract already in place prompting either side to request a restructure. 

When negotiations and hold outs happen too often people are focused on the fact that the player was given a FAIR deal in the beginning and whether or not the player is “worth” more money based on play alone. But these other factors I’ve mentioned matter just as much and more in many cases.

[To finish reading about why these other factors matter in negotiations click Read More]

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Earlier this week it was reported that the NFL fired official nine refs that were to train replacement refs. The replacement referees would take official ref’s places should the lockout of the officials continue into the season. Now the NFL is saying that it did not fire those 9 refs they simply replaced them. A league spokesman told the LA Times that those officials who refused to train replacements were “seasonal employees who have decided not to work at this time.” He went on to say, “We asked for their NFL-issued laptops back so that those who are working right now can use them.”

Great spin, NFL. For the record, I’ve already complained about the seasonal employee status of official refs. Yes the NFL only operates September - February, but still officiating is a high stress, high skill job and it should be considered such. NFL refereeing affects lucrative business such as betting lines and even fantasy stats. The NFL’s statement is just a way to make it seem as though officials are like people who go work at retail stores to make money around Christmas time. Their impact and necessary knowledge is much greater. 

The longer this referee lockout goes on the more I get concerned. I read a stat the other day that said official referees throw 15-17 flags in a game and in the past replacements have thrown between 1-5. That’s a lot of missed holding, offside, chop block, helmet to helmet, and pass interference calls. It would give a new definition to the phrase “let them play.” 

Sidenote: The NFL is a 9 billion dollar tax exempt entity. I refuse to believe they needed those laptops back!