Sheldon Brown wants to be traded

[General_Failure]

That's what I'm thinking, yes. Smaller bonuses for stats, larger bonuses for playoffs, Scrooge McDuck vault full of gold to swim in for winning the SB.

[Rome]

Scrooge McDuck vault full of gold to swim in for winning the SB.

Consequences, schmonsequences... as long as I'm rich.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3993840447077465182

[MadMarchHare]

Union would never go for that.  The other problem is, no one would ever play for the Lions again.

[General_Failure]

There'd still be signing bonuses, and the draft. And there could always be that guy out there who decides to go play for the zesty team to make more on stats because nobody else on the team can do a damn thing.

[Eagaholic]

the very last line of that article is completely true and completely vomit inducing.  i would hope that the #1 issue for cba discussions is this massive double standard regarding contracts where teams feel they have no obligation to re-work contracts for players who have outperformed their deals but will also cut players simply to save cap space.....a deal that the team agreed to but for some reason isn't required to fulfill. 

on the flip side though, hold outs need to come to an end too.  even if the player is 100% right about wanting a new contract, it's not professional at all to simply stop showing up to work because you're unhappy with your deal. 

Sarge, I have to disagree with some of this.  There is a flip side to teams cutting players to create cap space. Guys like McDougle and Kearse cap-raped the Eagles for years and they couldn't be cut because of the cap hit. They got a lot of guaranteed money up front that couldn't be taken back even if they sucked ass (in McDougle's case) or greatly underperformed (in Kearse's case). Matthew Stafford as the #1 pick just got $42 freaking million dollars guaranteed up front before ever seeing an OTA.

Reggie Brown is still too expensive to cut (unless the capless year modifies that). Guys like Vick and Burress can get paid millions only to single handedly destroy their team for the year, and still get to keep much of their bonus even as their team takes a huge cap hit.

I don't think a guy like Sheldon Brown "outperformed his contract." That's agent-talk to bamboozle and spin things. He was given good fair pay at the time, in relation to what he had done and was expected to do in the future, as well as what similar players were getting. He decided to take some extra years in exchange for up front security. The Eagles incur the risk that he could become another Damon Moore or Ben Smith with a career ending injury, and Brown knew what he was signing on for. Since them he hasn't performed any better than he or the team expected. Sure they can look around and cherry pick a few guys recently getting huge bucks, but you never hear them talking about all the other players with comparable or greater performance getting less. All Pro Cortland Finnegan is making the same this year as Brown.

I do agree with this holding out stuff needs to stop, except in the case of tagged players.

[Sgt PSN]

Sarge, I have to disagree with some of this.  There is a flip side to teams cutting players to create cap space. Guys like McDougle and Kearse cap-raped the Eagles for years and they couldn't be cut because of the cap hit. They got a lot of guaranteed money up front that couldn't be taken back even if they sucked ass (in McDougle's case) or greatly underperformed (in Kearse's case). Matthew Stafford as the #1 pick just got $42 freaking million dollars guaranteed up front before ever seeing an OTA.

Reggie Brown is still too expensive to cut (unless the capless year modifies that). Guys like Vick and Burress can get paid millions only to single handedly destroy their team for the year, and still get to keep much of their bonus even as their team takes a huge cap hit.

everything you just said is exactly why the entire contract system needs to be completely overhauled.  ultimately, you got to the same point i did except you went from the opposite angle.  the way nfl contracts are structured are complete garbage.  the first couple of years of most contracts, the teams are at risk because the money is guaranteed to the player and if the player doesn't play up to the level of the contract, then the team is "forced" to keep him anyway because of the cap hit.  the latter years of the contract put the player at risk because now the money isn't guaranteed and if his base salary is taking up too much cap space, then they are free to cut him without honoring their end of the contract. 

take mcnabb for example.  he still has a couple of years left on his deal but after this season, the eagles likely won't renegotiate his contract (barring a superbowl win) but because he's scheduled to make something like 12mil next year the eagles will release him to save that money.  but this is the same front office that will tell sheldon brown to honor the contract that he signed.  is that not a major double standard? 

I don't think a guy like Sheldon Brown "outperformed his contract." That's agent-talk to bamboozle and spin things. He was given good fair pay at the time, in relation to what he had done and was expected to do in the future, as well as what similar players were getting. He decided to take some extra years in exchange for up front security. The Eagles incur the risk that he could become another Damon Moore or Ben Smith with a career ending injury, and Brown knew what he was signing on for. Since them he hasn't performed any better than he or the team expected. Sure they can look around and cherry pick a few guys recently getting huge bucks, but you never hear them talking about all the other players with comparable or greater performance getting less. All Pro Cortland Finnegan is making the same this year as Brown.

i don't think brown has outplayed his contract either.....at least not significantly.  although i can't say i blame the guy for wanting to talk about his contract because he knows that he'll never see the money on the back end of it. 

I do agree with this holding out stuff needs to stop, except in the case of tagged players.

completely disagree.  the players union agreed to the franchise tag and all of the rules surrounding it.  so every time a team excersizes their right to use the tag, then the player needs to stfu and go to work because his union felt that it was a fair deal.  every time a player hold out after the team uses a franchise tag on him, he's not thumbing his nose at the team.  he's thumbing it at the union imo. 

[ice grillin you]

you guarantee money not contracts....sheldon brown absolutely has outplayed his deal...so what you do is tell him hes going to make x amount of dollars over the next 2-3 years no matter what

[Rome]

That's exactly what they should do.  They won't because the Eagles are right up against the salary cap now.  Fo' rill.

[methdeez]

An article about Sheldon that adds absolutely nothing that we don't know already.

Under The Cap: The Eagles and Sheldon Brown
by J.I. Halsell

As we all know, Sheldon Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles is currently disgruntled with his contract and has openly voiced his opinion in this regard. The Eagles have a long history of giving extensions to young players who may only be two to three years into their rookie contracts. In the middle of his third season, for instance, Brown accepted and signed a contract for nine years, $7.5 millon guaranteed, and an average of $2.82 million per year. At the time of the signing, Brown was 25 years old; therefore, he agreed to be contractually bound to the Eagles until age 34. Now at age 30, Brown plays in the defensive backfield with a fellow corner in Asante Samuel, who inked a free agent contract for six years, $23.6 million guaranteed. It averages $9.5 million per year, and binds Samuel to the Eagles until he's 33.



Eagles CBs: Samuel vs. Brown
Player A.Samuel S.Brown
Date Signed 3/1/2008 11/5/2004
Accrued Seasons when Contract Signed 5 1/2/1900
Type of Contract Unrestricted Free Agent Extension
Term 6 years 9 years
Age when Signed 27 25
Age when Contract Expires 33 34
Guarantee $23,605,000 $7,500,000
Average Per Year $9,523,333 $2,820,556


Had Sheldon Brown decided to pass on Philly's offer of an extension in 2004, he would have become an Unrestricted Free Agent after the 2005 season (unless Philly chose to Franchise him at $5.89 million guaranteed for one year). In the offseason leading up to the 2006 season, free agent corners Brian Williams and Will Allen inked UFA contracts respectively with Jacksonville and Miami. Williams' UFA contract with Jacksonville was for six years, $10 million guaranteed, and $5.33 million per year; while Allen's UFA contract with Miami was for four years, $4.5 million guaranteed, and $3.25 million per year. So when you look at Brown compared to the corners who he would have hit the market with, he not only is under contract until a later stage of his career, but on a per-year basis he's making less in total contract value and less in the all-important guaranteed money. Simply put, in retrospect, it would have probably been in the best interest of Brown to be patient for another season and a half and then contemplate either an extension with the Eagles at that point or explore the free agency market, as one would think he would have gotten a better deal than the one he's currently saddled with.



Comparable 2006 UFA CBs
Player B.Williams W.Allen S.Brown
Date Signed 3/13/2006 3/20/2006 11/5/2004
Accrued Seasons when Contract Signed 4 5 2
Type of Contract Unrestricted Free Agent Unrestricted Free Agent Extension
Term 6 years 4 years 9 years
Age when Signed 26 27 25
Age when Contract Expires 32 31 34
Guarantee $10,000,000 $4,500,000 $7,500,000
Guarantee Per Year $1,666,666 $1,125,000 $833,333
Contract Average Per Year $5,333,333 $3,250,000 $2,820,556


The thing about locking yourself into a deal for so long is that, while you're "stuck" at $2.82 million per year in the case of Brown versus the corner market, the market for corners, and all positions for that matter, continues to escalate. The increase in the corner market is illustrated in the increase of the Franchise tender from $5.89 million in 2006 to $9.96 million in 2009; that's a 69 percent increase in three seasons.

From the player's perspective, there are not too many pros to signing an extension with the length of Sheldon Brown's. Surely receiving $7.5 million in guaranteed money is hard to pass up, when that's more than the total value of your rookie contract; so you're presented with the opportunity to receive an amount of money that is truly tantalizing. However, when put into perspective, is this $7.5 million today worth the under-compensation over the course of the contract in the long run? Definitely not, but it illustrates how a club can use the emphasis of guaranteed money on the part of players and agents against them. The biggest issue with Brown's contract is the duration of the deal. The fact that he sacrificed his ability to hit the market until age 34 is an egregious mistake on the part of Brown and his agent.

The Eagles signed Shawn Andrews and Mike Patterson to similar early extensions:



Some of the Eagles' Current Early Extensions
Player M.Patterson S.Brown S.Andrews
Date Signed 11/2/2006 11/5/2004 6/16/2006
Accrued Seasons when Contract Signed 2 2 2
Type of Contract Extension Extension Extension
Term 11 years 9 years 10 years
Age when Signed 23 25 23
Age when Contract Expires 34 34 33
Guarantee $9,000,000 $7,500,000 $10,000,000
Average Per Year $3,125,023 $2,820,556 $3,845,500


From the club's perspective, the pro to these types of extensions is obvious, in that you're getting players who you anticipate to be a significant part of your team at a compensation rate below market. So as the cap increases and as the players' respective position markets increase, you've locked in your labor at below-market compensation, thereby allowing you freedom in your cap management to pursue the Asante Samuelses of the world in free agency. Conversely, the con to doing these deals is that you run the risk of giving a player a significant amount of guaranteed money after they've only shown their ability for two years. The player could in the long run end up not living up to your expectations.

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An even bigger concern is that you eventually end up with players like Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, who eventually realize that they're being paid below market and become disgruntled as a result. So if players were simply assets without emotions, then this early extension concept would be perfect; however, since we're talking about athletes who are sensitive about their income status, this concept leads to acrimony in the locker room which doesn't exactly lend itself to the perceived harmonious team concept of winning teams.

To their credit, Philly is doing something right. They have been a consistent winner for the past decade (albeit without a Super Bowl ring). Having a legitimate franchise quarterback in Donavon McNabb helps (he may not be Peyton Manning, but he's no Bobby Hoying). After all, if you look around the league, those teams with solid and consistent quarterback play are the teams that succeed.

The quarterback in Philly, by the way, also signed an early extension in his career and has since played under a contract that has paid him $5.75 million per year; while quarterbacks like Marc Bulger, Matt Schaub, and David Garrard make in excess of $8 million per year, not to mention Matt Stafford's $12 million per year. So to his credit, McNabb has done a good job of biting his tongue for the most part and being a good company guy.

Other players who have signed early extensions across the league include Rashean Mathis, Devin Hester, Anquan Boldin, Osi Umenyiora, and Kevin Williams:



Other NFL Early Extensions
Player R.Mathis D.Hester A.Boldin O.Umenyiora K.Williams
Date Signed 8/23/2005 7/28/2008 8/1/2005 12/27/2005 12/26/2006
Accrued Seasons when Contract Signed 2 2 2 3 3
Club JAC CHI ARI NYG MIN
Term 7 years 6 years 6 years 8 years 9 years
Age when Signed 24 25 24 24 26
Age when Contract Expires 31 31 30 32 35
Guarantee $9,400,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $14,000,000 $16,000,000
Average Per Year $3,762,857 $3,838,671 $3,916,667 $4,230,000 $4,957,333


This concept of early extensions isn't unique to the Eagles; they have simply employed it more frequently than other teams. In Arizona, Anquan Boldin's grief is as a result of an early extension that now underpays him; it doesn't help that every time he lines up, he sees on the other side of him a wide receiver in Larry Fitzgerald who's making $10 million per year, while he's making $3.92 million per year and other top tier receivers are making $9 million per year. Kevin Williams in Minnesota may be a happy camper today, but when Albert Haynesworth is getting $41 million guaranteed and $14.29 million per year, he could easily have an Anquan Boldin type attitude in a few seasons.

The moral of the story is that no one put a gun to the heads of these players who have signed these early extensions; therefore, if you and your agent allow yourselves to be "bamboozled" by the early extension offering of a club (particularly one that defers your free agency until age 34), then you have no one to blame but yourself and you should honor your contract. Instead of signing a nine-year contract, go the route of Bart Scott, who played out his rookie contract, then signed a three-year extension that guaranteed him $6.5 million, but more importantly positioned him, due to the fact that it was only three years in duration, to receive another big payday this year at age 29 that pays him a guarantee of $13.5 million

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I don't believe that article makes it clear enough that the Eagles are 100% to blame for this situation.  fargin' J.I. Halsell.

[rjs246]

I also feel that Darwin Walker's deserved some ink there, but whatever. This guy's obviously a hack.

[Seabiscuit36]

how's his thigh?

[rjs246]

I haven't heard anything. You?

[Seabiscuit36]

I'm waiting for a tweet

[General_Failure]

http://twitter.com/lukethighwalker