Jones Still AWOL
Jets RB Thomas Jones missed Monday’s conditioning meetings … the team’s second week of ‘voluntary’ offseason workout program.
Jones’ agent Drew Rosenhaus has refused to talk to the press about the matter, as has Jones. It’s clear that Jones won’t be attending any of the unrequired team meetings, but it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll attend the mandatory ones. I believe there is one scheduled for shortly before the draft. By the draft, the Jets will know what they’ll need to do for the draft.
Losing Jones would be a tough blow to a team that is intending to run the ball extensively this season and has other immediate needs to fill through the draft … adding one more won’t help. I think Jones will participate in mandatory activities, but for him to be welching on his contract now seems pretty weak.
52 Responses to Jones Still AWOL
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JustAGreenGuy says:
I didn’t see him give money back when he only got 2 tds. Spoiled brats.
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we qwill take a rb in rd 1 mark my words especially if moreno or wells is still on the board at 17
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Jets-Fan-4-Life says:
Come on TJ drop this already and get yourself to camp!
The only good thing about this situation is that Leon will reap the benefits.
If I understand correctly from what I’ve read, Coach Ryan will push other players more during the season who attend vs those who do not.
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ramble914 says:
This is why you can’t give in to the Chris Bakers of the world. I’m sure TJ will only go so far with his holdout, knowing full well the consequences if he does.
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ED says:
He averages 5mil a year. His first year he earned about half his $5mil, last year he earned his $5, plus another $2mil. I’d say his deal is exactly where it needs to be. If he persists, trade him. We can replace him relatively easily. RBs are a dime a dozen.
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neauone says:
Jones is gone, he will be traded on draft day for a number 1 or 2, the jets will use that to move up the board or to pick up a young RB. The Jets would be set at RB even if Jones returns, they have a full house.
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Cabras says:
Why do you guys have a problem with a guy looking for his last big payday, the owner would cut him in a minute for no reason. Get Paid TJ, do whatever you have to do. The owners in the NFL are equivalent to slave owners.
What would you guys do if you were 31 and knew that you were not going to be able to make big money again?
And then if you had a serious ailment later in life your union who you supported throughout your career dropped you like a bad cold?
Look at the big picture! -
JerryB says:
We can only hope to get a #4 for TJ, more likely a #5 or #6. 31 year old RBs are not in demand. The O-line got him to the probowl.
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JonK says:
Just pay the man
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Cabras- I get that owners and money men have no loyalty, souls, and are like snakes but I’m not crying over anyone’s 20 million. That much money could feed the poor of a 3rd world country. I’m sure TJ will do alright and find a way to get by.
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JAGG,
Read the article in SI, 78% of NFL players are bankrupt 2 years after they retire. Taxes are a bitch, the agent gets his cut. I am not crying for these guys but have no problem with them wanting to get paid at any cost. I will never knock a guy for holding out in the NFL.
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Yeah, I read the article too. They go bankrupt, because they are dumb and have no concept of money. Yes the agent gets their cut, a very large and underserved cut. I also know they can file an injury grievance immediatly after leaving the league whether they are banged up or not that will provide assistance. I also know that 20million, we will say 15 million after agent, can buy 60 million chicken mcnuggets and that you can buy a nice house for 500,000 dollars instead of 13 million. If you or I can get by they can too.
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umm says:
If that statistic is true, then 78% must be morons. They don’t need to live such lavish lives. The money they make should make them set for their lives. You don’t need 10 houses, a mansion, or 10 cars. Buy nice stuff and save.
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JetsFanforLife says:
Agree with the free market, get whatever you can philosophy, but people need to honor their deals.
As to the point on the financial Wonderlic scores, are any of you really shocked? Of course, 78% are financial moron’s and I’d venture to say that 21% are just lucky they have someone looking out for them, with perhaps, just perhaps, 1% having some clue – they’re all 20 somethings that have no clue about real world cost of living, let alone living on a normal income.
Easy solution – NFL union should require contracts be written with mandatory asset management training and structured with untouchable deferred comp schemes to assure these guys have decent annuity’s well into their later years…
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They may be dumb, but they are still slaves. It is easy to say what you would do from the outside, but I still have no problem with the players wanting to get paid.
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Igs says:
The guy made a lot of money on the front end of his contract. I don’t see this working out in his favor. And rightfully so. I think both owners and players in the NFL should do a better job of honoring their contracts.
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They aren’t slaves. They can retire. Slaves only had one way out and that was death. I’ll be a slave for league minimum any day of the week. Slavery for 20 million are you nuts? Seriously, I highly doubt any sports player has built a pyramid, worked fields, or manufactured equipment. I’m not against people trying to get their share, but how about they stock shelves at a food store for a week. I wonder which lifestyle feels more like slavery. When they don’t get gold diggers chasing them anymore and no one cares who they are. I couldn’t disagree with you more. They are paying the price for stardom and wealth. Waa f’n waa.
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JustAGreenGuy – absolutely right!
Cabras – that’s insane, SLAVES??? Very poor choice of word. Players beg for the opportunity (as would most anyone)
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Jetsfanforlife,
What other sport does not have guaranteed contracts, and can cut a player with no compensation. The avg NFL career is 2.3 years, and when they have a disability when they are old they are thrown to the curb. Slave might be the wrong choice of words, but truly as I have said before, it is an owners league. Stardom comes to very few, most are treated like trash, you guys are always about the cash, but the lifetime of dedication never gets factored into these discussions.
Ask Andre Waters who committed suicide, or Mike Webster, John Mackey, Brian DeMarco, or many others like them.The owners just got 1 Billion a year from direct tv, and retired players suffer through ailments none of us could imagine.
Good blogging, sorry about the wrong choice of words, you are right SLAVES is a bad choice, i should have used the word Disposable.
Good blogging from all, we can talk about this forever.
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Cabras- Money makes the world go round and very few have quaranteed money. Their injurys are a shame, but they do have a union policy for that. I’m sure the suicide numbers are comparable to a similar data set from the general population. TJ has fame. A guy like Schable (?), the TE we took from the Eagles when Cohen came over, who got hurt in the preseason last year is one of the true casualties of the league. He got hurt (got better tho), got cut, and sure wasn’t in a Trina video.
So for TJ live in the moment, be happy you were a probowler and plan for the future, because you are getting old.
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JustAGreenGuy,
I hear you, but their union is a joke. Money does make the world go round, that is why the players hold out.
For every star there are 20 guys who are in and out of the league in a minute. I could care how much they get paid (all overpaid) because I don’t write the check, and as a fan I have the choice to give my money to Woody, or just watch the game on TV, oh that is not free anymore either. LOLCan’t wait to see these guys kill each other !
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Cabras makes a great point. I think the way money in distributed in the NFL is very nasty. Not only is their no medical and financial safety net for these players that entertain us in the most violent sport in the world, but the revenue stream is not held accountable to the communities that these players come from and relative to the span of their playing career.
Yes the players bear some responsibility. And the superstars get a nice share of the pie, but otherwise…
But I still think TJ got a lot of money on the front end of his deal and should get his butt to camp.
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Rugby is more violent and I’m sure there are tribal sports that would terrify us. Bodies sure do take a pounding. I won’t deny that.
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Eddie DiGio says:
One thing a man shouldn’t do is tell another man how he should go about making his money. TJ is a guy who produces and this contract business happens all the time in football because as most of us know only the signing bonus is gaurenteed. I believe its much ado about nothing and when the mandatory stuff starts TJ will be there in phenominal shape as always working his ass off
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Jason says:
31 and off his best season, the decline begins this year regardless of how little time he played in the past, he has a fair contract if he don’t like it let him ask for a trade, lets see how well he does without this O-Line, I like him but we have other needs to fill to be in contention, and lets stick with our QB stable, I like Cutler but he is going to be very expensive especially in the near future.
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Is it accurate/true that the union and agents combined get up to 60% of every dollar made by a player?
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bc says:
Usually unions are known for “eating their young” (senoir members make policy to benefit themselves at the expense of junior members). But in the NFL’s case the active players forget about the retirees in order to enhance their benefits. (i.e. income from product licensing). It’s a shame. Maybe the new NFLPA head will show some foresight and get his members to increase benefits to the retirees.
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It is my opinion that with our offensive line we can make a servicable RB look good. TJ has never really excited me. He looks the part, but we could do just as well with an RB from round 3 or 4. If he insists on causing drama I say good riddens.
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Never blame active players for not taking care of ritirees. Blame the owners who are mostly billionaires. That’s who the retirees played for. That’s whose pocket’s their sacrifices padded. Any one of those NFL owners could give enough money to take care of retirees and never miss it for a half-second.
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Bent says: JAGG – Rugby isn’t really more violent than football, although Rugby fans and players over here often say that “American Football” players are wimps because they need to wear pads.
I always counter with the fact that they can use those pads to hit harder than an unpadded human ever could.
Rugby is worse in terms of being able to bite, gouge and twist, but in terms of career threatening injuries that might affect you later in life, I think that Rugby isn’t as bad.
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It’s the unions obligation to negotiate the best deal it can with the owners in order to benefit all of its members, both active and retired. That is the unions mandate.
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Bent- That I will agree with, but being gouged sucks.
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It is the job of a society that claims to be moral to provide for the well being of the poor, middle class, rich, wealthy, and poor of spirit alike.
I don’t buy the notion that all those captains of industries with their billions of dollars are no longer obligated to guys who are no longer playing because there’s a union. If they had treated them like men instead of pieces of meat they might have made sure that their was an apparatus in place to take care f their player’s financial situations, that they don’t overspend, that they learn how to save, they finish their educations or get one after football, etc, etc.
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hank/naples says:
Cabras:
You are absolutely right !!!. Screw these BILLIONAIRE owners that are always pleading poverty in every contract negotiation and ticket price increase !!! If they could, and they sure try, get all their playersto play for free. That is why the players MUST hire agents/attorneys to represent them if not the would wind up playing for minimum.
It is common practice for the owners to reneg on their guarantees to the players. No scruples, No values, No loyalty, not even Honesty. It’s a disgrace !!! -
An absolute disgrace. Off with their heads!!!
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Matt says:
What a bunch of liberal garbage. You guys feel bad for someone making millions of dollars and wasting it? Should we set up a system to help out retired rappers like MC Hammer too while we’re at it?
Go to work TJ.
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Matt:
Not to get political but you give Capitalism a bad name. Nobody is asking for handouts here, only to get these morally bankrupt owners to keep their word and their promises. Is that too much for you?
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Matt:
And for your information, I campained for Bush for BOTH terms.
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Bush, what an idiot.
Call it what you want, Matt, and this is not in defense of TJ, but the fact is that the players are the reason that these stadiums get filled up and the owners are the ones that go home with their pockets stuffed beyond belief. So the owners should be charged with setting up something to keep retired players, especially from the era when salaries were not big, on their feet.
For a long time Barry Sanders was the single reason that anyone was even interested in Detroit football. I think Barry should have a permanent piece of the Lions’ finances. He should never be allowed to go broke.
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Bent says:
That’s enough politics – thank you everybody.
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Go Jets!
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JesusRevis says:
I must have stumbled on a political message board while I was looking for thejetsblog….
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Bent says:
That’s nothing, I just clicked on a blog post about the economic crisis and everyone there is arguing over whether Brett Ratliff is better than Kellen Clemens.
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Bent,
Unfortunately football has become business, and business equals politics.
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Bent says:
That’s as maybe, but this blog is a football blog dedicated to the Jets, so any political discussions (especially when they descend into arguments, which they ALWAYS do) are unwelcome.
Thanks for understanding.
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gsteigs says:
can someone explain how the signing bonus works against the cap is it spread out the lenth of the contract and if it is what happens if the player is hurt or released and is not playing 4 the team anymore
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Bent:
Being kinda hard, aren’t ya, Bent !!!
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Harvlis says:
The Jets should trade TJ, if he doesn’t get his butt into the workout room. He is a good runner but, he played for a team with a good O-Line, a great FB, and a QB who had the respect of defensive backfields. We can find a FA or draft a back who can step right in.
I am sick of spoiled players, like Julius Peppers, Jay Cutler, and now Thomas Jones.
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Bent says:
gsteigs – Signing bonuses are spread over the life of a contract. So, if I sign a guy to a 5 year deal with a $10m bonus, there will be $2m counting against the cap in each year. When a player is cut before his contract expires, the remaining bonus is accelerated into that final year. So if I cut the guy in the above example during year three, then there will be a $6m cap hit in that year.
Jones signing bonus was $6m, so if they cut him now, in year 3 of his 4 year deal, a cap hit of $3m will arise (not that I am suggesting they should do this or that it is likely).
Since 2010 may be uncapped, the rule will be slightly different. If there is a cap in 2011, any accelerated cap hits arising in that year will count against the 2011 cap. So you can’t cut your busts and eat the dead money in a cap-free year.
i wonder if the browns or denver need a good rb?