Jets Mgt. Building Crossroads on Revis Island?
Rich Cimini of ESPN New York writes that there might be some bad news for Jets fans on whether the Jets can get a deal ironed out with Darrelle Revis before the season, maybe for that matter even during the whole 2010 season.
There is a little-known rule in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement that is having a big-time impact on the New York Jets’ stalled negotiations with star cornerback Darrelle Revis — and it likely will sabotage any chance of signing Revis to a contract extension before the start of the season.
It’s called the "reallocation rule,” and it explains, in part, why the Jets’ offer to Revis includes virtually no fully guaranteed money. By “fully” guaranteed, we mean it’s guaranteed against skill and injury, ensuring the player gets paid no matter what.
The rule states that, when doing a contract extension in an uncapped year, future guarantees against skill and injury must fit under the team’s 2009 salary cap. In the Jets’ case, that doesn’t leave much at all, as they had only about $300,000 in leftover cap space — a relative drop in the bucket. They can offer more than that for skill or injury, but not both.
Continuing my troglodytic ways to just to paint the context here … this isn’t your garden variety information that falls on a typical beat writer’s desk or gets in their workaday process of covering a team. So give credit to Rich Cimini for getting this, but also take his level of detail on this matter into your process when you consider it’s source of origination. Am I making myself semi-troglyditic? Ok then.
Of course, Cimini’s explanation does elucidate why Brick’s contract was structured the way it was – and it makes sense. According to Cimini, Brick will take out an insurance policy against injury, thereby covering his bases, alleviating any concern about his loss of millions. What’s not clear is whether the team has a wink-nod agreement with Brick that those guarantees will be converted should the salary cap be reinstated. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, specifically to reward Brick for doing the deal in the first place — time will tell.
Of course though, if the Jets really wanted to get a deal done with Revis, something *could* technically be done. It’s just not something that the Jets *want* to do, and are using current contract trends as NFL management slowly circles their proverbial wagons for next year’s work stoppage.
If the Jets wanted to make a deal, It would take the course of action that the Jets are unwilling to follow – that of the massive up-front bonus according to Cimini.
There’s no rule that prevents them from trying to satisfy Revis with a huge signing bonus of say, $25 million … but … with a 2011 lockout looming, Johnson, like other owners, is freaked out about doling out enormous bonus checks. The Jets told Ferguson during negotiations there was no way they were going to cut a monster check.
So the bottom line is that there is a way to do it, but Mike Tannenbaum’s recent Risk Management kick might set off serious alarms before making that kind of a move.
Bottom line, my fellow Jets fans? I’m starting to think that this article is part of a series of damage control pieces by the Jets, with the first one being the $20 million dollar man story that went off to Lombardi (that or Lombo is just grossly incompetent – I’m not above thinking that either) and now this one, both set to curry sympathy for a contractually handcuffed front office working against an unreasonable player’s demands. The only problem is that the Jets have the key to the cuffs hidden in their clenched fist.
I’m generally a cynically-hopeful person, and I’m starting to wonder if the two sides will pull out of this tailspin. In my estimation, the team is foolish if they let Revis get away, even if they get great value in a … t … tr … tra … I can’t even bring myself to say the word and I hope I never have to.
Revis has made it clear he wants to be the highest paid corner in the league, and who can blame him? The Jets have made it clear they think he deserves a re-working of his current deal and the team had to know that this was going to happen if they opened this can of worms. Maybe I’m crazy but I do believe that Revis has the fortitude to sit out a year … especially after watching what happened to Leon last year. $1 million and a year of accrued service should mean nothing to a player of his caliber if it’s all dashed on a freak injury playing on a bum deal.
That being said, I do think that Revis would be reasonable, if the Jets were reasonable, too. I think there’s a middle ground where the Jets get close with some phantom money to Aso’s deal (but maybe not even with the Raiders deal) to the number the CB is looking for, and then max out the up-front money they guarantee to assuage any frustration. I get that the Jets are playing by a new set of de facto contract rules … but isn’t Revis the kind of player that is the exception to any rule?
In my mind, I get that paying out a truckload of money right before a looming work stoppage seems like a terrible idea, but if the Jets are so serious about Risk Management and they are valuing Revis for the rest of his career as a New York Jet UNDER the value of one $25ish million up front guarantee, then they need to re-work their determined risk values and the prioritization of the risk and the attached valuations.
If the Jets are as serious about making a run at the Lombardi Trophy this year and for years to come as they are so keen on telling everyone who will listen, then they have to know that Revis’ abilities and Ryan’s defensive prowess together are synergistic for this team’s defense. They’re perfectly meant for one another, and losing Revis is in my opinion, the loss of a once in a generation talent, and while he’d be fine elsewhere, he was BORN to play in this defense. If he can continue at a level anything even approaching what we saw from him in 2009, then I’m fine with that.
I understand that there’s a lot at stake in doing this deal for both sides and I get that the rules are changing for how to pay players, but this deal seems like a no-brainer to me. Revis is asking for marginally more than what Aso got, but Revis has to understand that there are some restrictions on what the Jets can offer at this moment in time.
60 Responses to Jets Mgt. Building Crossroads on Revis Island?
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deuce4417 says:
agreed, the writing is on the wall that its not gonna happen, not just on the jets end or his, but its not gonna happen because of the NFL. so yea, either take what they are offering, or shut up and play
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greene says:
Revis probably knew this all along, but that sure didnt stop him from whining like a baby and trying to make the jets look bad.
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miketaliaferro says:
Saw the Cimini piece just before Bassett wrote this. Place the following in the Links post where it didn’t really fit. Bassett, would you remove it from there, please?
The Cimini on Revis reminds us of three good points.
Revis didn’t demand more money. Seems Tanny was a bit too giddy after last season, and so much as said they’d re-work Revis after his stunning season. Derrelle took that as a promise. If there’s fault in any of this, Tanny should have kept his loose lips locked. He’s brought this mess upon himself and Woody. I’m assuming Woody’s already woodshedded Tanny over this issue, but it’s too late. You said it. Cow’s out of the barn; it’s done. You’re stuck; find some way to pay the man. Now.
Two, it galls me to see teams shy away from paying players due to the owners’ own decision to shut the game down next year! It upsets me more to see players going along with it. Especially when the owners’ intentions have been crystal clear for two years! It’s not like they suddenly realized they were stuck, and have to do this. They just don’t want to be on the hook for any money next year as they destroy the entire game. If I’m the players, I call their bluff. I don’t sign anything that doesn’t have guaranteed $$$ for 2011 in it. If that means we end up shutting down the league this year, so be it. Indy is playing games with Peyton; fine, he should hold out. Revis should hold out. CJ just collapsed. Other elites and top roster players with contract snags should also hold out. Why risk injury for these greedy guys? Why in god’s green(-and-white) earth would I help out an owner who’s trying to torch me? I’m supposed to take a less-than-OK contract because they won’t talk to the union, and are dragging their heels getting to next year, when they can just lock out the players and not have to pay anybody? I’m supposed to let them limit their payments to me this year through weird cap voodoo, yet I’m supposed to play my guts out to win them a title THIS year, while they rake in all kinds of cash to be able to tide them over the break in playing dates next year? I’m supposed to go along with that??? D’uh!!!
Cimini alludes to the only real way around the uncapped limitations being to give some whopping (8-figure) signing bonuses, which no team wants to do. But, if you are lucky enough to have one of the top 5 – 10 elite players in the entire league on your roster, YOU PAY THE SIGNING BONUS!! Period. End of story. Simply put: Carolina, Green Bay or Seattle make more money when playing vs. Peyton or CJ or Revis. So, this is a league-wide issue, not just a team issue. Your league elites get paid, come hell or high water. They’re the product you’re selling. The others on your roster are simply extras in your movie.
If you’re talking about a Brodney Poole or a Leonhard, team’s can simply say, “Sorry, no signing bonus. No can do.” If they complain, you simply say, “Go become a league elite. Otherwise, no.” Hopefully, though, the foot soldiers in the league up for renewal hold out for 2011 money as well.
But, in no league that I’ve ever heard of, do the normal rules apply to its top, money-draw stars.
The Alex Coras of the world will never be in a position to command what an Alex Rodriquez or Albert Pujols bring down.
Darelle Revis is now a league elite. He gets paid.
Just simple sports math.
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I don’t understand how the commenters are against the team ponying up … why side with the team on this one? It makes NO SENSE to me … it’s playing into just what Tannenbaum wants to have happen here …
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John Z says:
great research though
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Mad Dog Mo says:
Pay the man.
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MS says:
How can we not side with the team if the team can only spend so much and there is nothing they can do? This article makes it sound like even if the Jets wanted to offer him more money, there is nothing they can do. Am I reading this wrong?
Is there any way the Jets can restructure like the Titans did for CJ to make him happy for now?
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MS-
Check the second quoted section. The Jets can up front him the money … but they don’t want to do that. They’re not as bound as they are making out.
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Brandon says:
If Revis sits out the season, how does that affect his contract? After it expires (after the 2112 season) do the Jets still have rights to him for one more year? Or not?
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OMG27 says:
Bassett,
With all the confusing heresay and speculation around Revis’s contract “negotiations”, can you please explain something to the layperson?If a player signs a contract, then one day decides not to honor that contract and simply stops working (thus potentially costing his employer millions), what recourse does the team have?!
If you said all they can do at that point is trade/let him go then I’d have to ask what stops ANY player from thinking “my team can’t pay me as much as that team over there, so I’ll just get out of my contract by forcing them to fire me and I’ll play for the other guy”?
I believe that’s called extorsion, so I’m hoping (and quietly praying) you won’t tell me that’s what’s going on here. But the only other explanation I can conceive of is that the Jets negotiated Revis’ contract so poorly that they were not appropriately protected from a situation like this.
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Basset,
I love this site, but I am getting pretty sick of your anti-management stance.
I am not pro-management per se, but you are so biased it is getting annoying. You have no evidence they have done anything underhanded, you just assume they have made leaks and try to make them look bad. This article actually absolve the management of their ‘insulting’ offer to Revis (the details were actually broken by a FO article a day or two when the D’Brick contract was broken down).
Ever since your secret source bout how the Jets screwed Leon (read as Charity Love), you have been bashing management. Hey, you are allowed to have an opinion too, but now it seems like you are trying to drum up support for your point of view.
Just my thoughts,
Ranger Rob -
Bassett,
I can’t speak for everyone, but I would think that the “another millionaire athlete complaining about not having enough millions” bothers the blue-collar fans of this team.
And as many people have pointed out, Revis has been playing for 3 years, 1 and 1/2 at an elite level, and is already griping about his pay? When the majority of your fan base is hurting financially, they aren’t going to side with a player when that player is being unreasonable (and Revis is being unreasonable). If Revis realized that Aso played out his rookie deal, and in his career has averaged $11 million, then Revis would (if he was reasonable) come in for a sum that is around $13-$14 million. And if he was fully informed about rules such as this, he would realize his timing is what is holding this up, not the team.
And the whole “the team used the media” angle is played. Agents use the media just as much, if not more, than teams do.
We’re just not going to feel sorry, not when we know the scheme helps Revis as much as Revis helps the scheme. Grow up, Relle, and be part of something great.
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Bent says: Actually, I’m not sure Cimini does deserve credit for unearthing this. It came from here:
http://insidethecap.blogspot.com/2010/07/dbrickashaw-ferguson-navigation-of-yet.html
And was also republished on Football Outsiders the same day. We even linked to it on TJB! http://www.thejetsblog.com/2010/07/18/daily-links-a-new-posse/
We’ve been saying on here for ages that the Jets face limitations in terms of the guarantees they can attach to salaries, Jimmy Halsell was just the first to set them out in full detail.
Now…you say the Jets should pony up and pay a $25m guarantee, but there’s several problems with that.
1. If there’s a lockout, then a percentage of that money is wasted. Say it’s a 5 year deal. Well, if it becomes a 4 year deal, then you just literally wasted $5m of that $25m.
2. What if they are working to a self-imposed cash budget?
3. Doesn’t that just open the floodgates for Harris and Mangold to request the same?
4. Who’s to say that $25m is even enough? Obviously this will reduce the average salary over the rest of the contract, so won’t Revis be crying about his low salary again in a few years?
5. In order to keep down the cap hits over the next few years, they would have to extend the contract far into the future and still might struggle to get the salaries up to an acceptable level because of the 30% rule.I wouldn’t complain if they did pony up the cash and lock him up, but I can see why they won’t. They don’t have to, after all. Revis isn’t seriously considering sitting out the season, surely. Imagine what that would do to his “brand”!
I still say a compromise is the logical way forward and nobody on Revis’ side or the Jets have ruled this out. Maybe they can’t stretch to $25m, but maybe they can work in a smaller signing bonus and a roster bonus to appease Revis in the short term and make sure he is still under contract through 2012 (as just happened with Chris Johnson). Worry about extending the deal when it is more practical to do so.
As for the $20m story the Jets allegedly floated (although they have denied this), that is proving to be pretty close to the truth. If Revis wants a 6 year deal averaging more than Asomugha, despite the fact he is owed 21m over the next three years, that translates to an extra 76m over an extra three years.
As I keep pointing out, Asomugha’s 3 years at 15m should not set the market because they came after he played out his rookie deal and was franchised for a year. His six year average was just over 11m (assuming he receives the non-guaranteed 17m in 2011, which he won’t) and that should set the market. According to every other cornerback contract in NFL history (none over 10m per year) it does. So, if his demands are too high, and especially if they prevent the Jets from being able to keep the core together, then it’s never as simple as “just pay him” especially with all these very real restrictions and the reluctance on Revis’s team’s part to take this into account every time they spout off to the media about being insulted by offers with no “fully guaranteed” money.
I don’t think “phantom money” is a viable solution either, based on everything we’ve heard so far.
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JetsFan4Life says:
MS – good suggestion; take a one-year approach and give Revis something like a 10M bonus for 2010 with implied understanding that it factors in the future negotiation (or not)…
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Well said Bent.
As you say: it’s never as simple as “just pay him”
The reality is there is a salary cap. Granted there is not one this year but with all of the restrictions it is even harder than usual to navigate. They potential lockout year does not help.
The Jets spend the full salary cap every year, and I am sure they will again when it inevitably comes back. The Jets are not ‘cheap’ and would love to ‘just pay him.’ but have other players they need to sign within the salary cap and they have him under contract for three more years.
Once the Jets spend less than the cap I will side with the players. Until then I trust Tanny to but the best team out there they can within the cap.
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Bent says:
“…the only other explanation I can conceive of is that the Jets negotiated Revis’ contract so poorly that they were not appropriately protected from a situation like this.”
I don’t see what more they could possibly have done.
The contract protected them against him not living up to expectations by having a low base value.
It protected them from him complaining about this low base value by giving him the option to void the deal after four years if he met certain targets (which he did).
It protected them from losing him after the four years by building in the opportunity to buy him back for two years at a higher rate.
They retain his rights for six years, unless he performs at a level at which it made no sense to keep him at that price. Many teams complained about this buyback clause, which rendered the contract potentially much higher than his draft positioning and gave them problems in their own negotiations. Even with this built-in extension, which means he will earn approximately double what Asomugha did in his first six seasons, Revis believes he has outperformed his contract and the Jets are happy to renegotiate at this point because they can secure him long term.
The uncapped year did through a major wrench in the works, especially when teams learned that all extensions would have to comply with the 30% rule, so upfront money would have to be spread over the remainder of the deal. This likely messed up several teams’ budgets and plans.
Any other team in the NFL would find themselves in exactly this situation, if not worse, because they wouldn’t hold the leverage of having him under contract for three more years.
Sitting out the season will mean he misses the Pro Bowl, which will cost him, I believe, $2m of the money due in 2012.
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DHarvey says:
Kudos to those who note the ‘anti-management’ bias here. The Jets didn’t have to do anything this year regarding restructuring Revis’ contract. I think in good faith, they let Revis know they believe he deserves a higher paying contract and maybe hoped Revis and his agent would work with management to find a solution. If anyone’s made a mistake, its Revis taking this opportunity to make the Jets look bad publicly, look stingy, etc. Revis needs to read the article posted above concerning Sanchez and how Mark absorbed the wisdom from folks like TJ. Revis is on the wrong side on this one and the sooner he gets back to being a team player, then the sooner management will try to get a new deal structured ONCE they know what the heck is going on with the 2011 season. management has every intention of making Revis a highly compensated CB. But if he keeps up these antics, the Jets will just sit back on the exisiting contract which is good for 3 more years.
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Bassett,
you might not understand why commentators are siding with the organization….
but i dont understand why anyone would side with anyone that thinks a cornerback should get paid franchise QB money. Aso got his QB money, but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden, all elite CB’s should make QB money….
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Bent says:
“If Revis sits out the season, how does that affect his contract? After it expires (after the 2112 season) do the Jets still have rights to him for one more year? Or not?”
First of all, the Jets cannot franchise him after 2012, as that is one of the conditions of the buyback. It is unclear whether they could tag him if he was a restricted free agent.
By sitting out a season (and in fact by not showing up in August), Revis will lose an accrued year, which might affect when he became an RFA. However, I think this is a red herring for Revis. Restricted Free Agency applies to those with four or fewer accrued years because it’s an uncapped year. When the CBA comes in it will probably go back to being three or fewer. Even if it did remain as four or fewer, and he had lost an accrued year, Revis would still have FIVE accrued years at the end of his six year deal and therefore would be an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2012.
No, the Jets don’t get to retain him for an extra year because he sat out one. As I say, this seems unlikely.
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LIlRobbieRyan says:
The “pro-management” people are that way because of a lot of different reasons, some fair, some not. Certainly, the “a million dollars in a recession is a lot” crowd lacks perspective. But most fans feel this way because it is hard to imagine paying Revis more than 12 million per year, while his pride has led him to believe that 16 million is not only deserved but reasonable. Moreover, fans want to see everybody resigned so every dollar counts. On top of everything else, as much as I do not feel for Woody, do you really expect him to shell out millions for nothing should a stoppage occur, especially when everybody seems to believe it will happen? In the end football is a business. Besides, he has 3 years left on his contract, so why shouldn’t the team expect some give in order to still be competitive (retaining players)?
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One other quick note, since when, long term, has a lot of up-front money worked out? That up-front money is forgotten quickly, especially by athletes who do not invest and save properly (not to say Revis does not save, but let’s face it, a large number do a poor job) and then they are left with a base salary that likely does not meet the level of income they feel they are entitled to.
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Bent,
We’ve been reading that the Jets have Revis “retained” for another three years and all the conditions involved seem great for the organization. My question is, if his stance is that he doesn’t care what the terms of the agreement are and he wants out if we can’t pay what he demands, then what is the upside for the Jets?
I hate that it’s come to this, but I need to start wrapping my head around the scenario where Revis refuses to play for the Jets… -
Jcjets says:
This def isnt a jets only issue. Brady and Manning are not under contract for next year!
The Jets made a mistake in bringing up the subject of an extension with Revis this offseason, if they weren’t going to doll out big money. He’s signed for the next 3 years..Mangold and Harris deserved it first..
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Bent says:
OMG – There is no upside for the Jets, but that’s the landscape. Obviously there is plenty of downside for Revis if he refuses to play (reputation, lost earnings, hurts his own value etc) but none of these things benefit the Jets other than to give them leverage against him taking that stance.
Their contract for him went over and above every other first round rookie contract in the league (and other teams bashed them for it), so you can’t fault them for negotiating the deal badly, when every other team in the league would be in an even worse position right now.
At least they have the option to trade him while they control his rights, not that anyone wants to see it come to that.
I’m still inclined to believe that Revis is making these threats (potentially holding out…I don’t think he has said he would sit the season out), but may not follow through on them because of the lost guarantees it would give him if he doesn’t get a deal. I also believe the Jets will continue to try and find a solution, even if it just involves fronting him a little extra money now so he doesn’t have to play for $1m this year and then revisiting the negotiations after the lockout/CBA settlement. I don’t think they’ve given up on a long term deal, either.
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Bent says:
“The Jets made a mistake in bringing up the subject of an extension with Revis this offseason, if they weren’t going to doll out big money.”
The problem is that they would have been able to dole out the big money in a much cap friendlier manner if they didn’t have to comply with the 30% rule, which teams were unaware they would have to until a few months ago. To do so now might cost them a couple of key players over the next few years. They aren’t going to give up on coming up with a solution that enables them to extend Revis and retain their core players while they still control his rights.
It wasn’t a mistake to bring up the subject of an extension, as it’s hardly likely that Revis wouldn’t have noticed he was only going to earn $1m this year. He would have been demanding a new deal anyway.
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Bent says:
Maybe it’s good that Cimini wrote about “Why a Revis Extension Probably Won’t Get Done”.
Remember what happened a few weeks after he wrote “Mark it down, C Nick Mangold, LB David Harris and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson will not get contract extensions in 2010″…
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Dave TN says:
Ask Alan Faneca and Thomas Jones about honoring contracts. Revis has every right to ask for more money RIGHT NOW, when he deserves it. The Jets will make a calculated decision and do what’s best for them. When the dust settles, we’ll see who was right.
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Bent: that might be true, but you give the player some leverage when the team is the one to bring up a new contract. If Revis had initiated, he would have less of a leg to stand on, IMO.
Also why is it they didn’t know about the 30% rule? It must have been in the collective bargaining agreement prior to this year.
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Bent says:
It works both ways though. Both were well compensated because they got plenty of money upfront. Faneca got 20m for two years work. Jones got 13m for two years work (one of which was a huge disappointment) and immediately started complaining about a new deal.
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Bent says:
Jcjets – the language was unclear. The 30% rule does not apply to new contracts, but the NFL have said that if a player’s contract has not expired and he gets a new deal, this counts as an extension of an existing pre-uncapped year deal, so the 30% rules continue to apply.
The Jets would not have been the only team blindsided by the NFL’s clarification of this rule.
As for them initiating talks, if you take them at their word, the jets had every intention of creating an extension “within reason”. Clearly they’ve tried and continue to try to achieve this. I don’t think it would have made much difference to their stance, if they had approached the Jets instead.
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Nick says:
It’s not just about Revis. If you start allowing guys with three years left to force your hand you set a terrible president for your team and are asking for contract trouble every offseason.
He plays or he sits, either way he does it as a Jet.
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brian311 says:
i am not necessarily pro-organization here, but i think it would be incredibly stupid to pay him $25M bonus with the very real chance there is no football next year. i dont care how much pride revis has, there is NO chance he sits out a year, loses the guarantees and does not collect a paycheck for 2 years. no matter how rich these athletes are, they cant go 2 years without taking in a paycheck. it simply would not happen.
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originaljetfan says:
jets paid darrelle a lot of money based on… maybe potentia for his firstthree years, he realized that potentiall. he can get 20 mill just from having the Jets exercise the option on his contract. he deserves more, but I have full confidence in this young mans character , that he will do what he’s done since he’s been here, that is PLAY LIKE A JET, whether his ciontract is decided or not and when we win nthe Superbowl, Tanny7 will pony up to this guy , who will be a sure thing 5 th hall of Famer for the Jets(counting Johnn riggins as a jet
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Bent says:
So far, Asomugha has earned 28m in his 7 year NFL career. He will earn 16m this year (44m) and is scheduled to earn 17m in 2011, but this is not guaranteed, so he may not receive it (and definitely won’t if there is a lockout).
If Revis plays out his contract, he’ll have earned 36m in six years.
If Revis gets 25m upfront, he’ll have earned 40m in three years.
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Bent and I have talked about the rule privately before and Ive insinuated it on my site. The first concrete public knowledge of the rule was actually written by Jenny Vrentas of the Ledger who was the first to get confirmation of it over a week ago.
I think its a tough call for the team. Forgetting all the talk of whether he does or does not deserve it, the real question is whether the Jets want to tie up that much money in a cornerback over the longhaul and if that is in the best interest of the team. This is by no means a slight against Revis and his talent, but this is the reason why a guy like Deion bounced around after his rookie deal and why most corners usually leave their original team. Had Gholston turned into a player this would be a nonissue. Revis never would have gotten the same chances he had to show how good he was. Other than QBs and pass rushers Im not sure any position on the field should command 100 million dollars over a 7 year period from any team.
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ramble914 says:
Give him a $15 million bonus for this year, that plus his salary of $1 million will give him $16 million for the year, making him the highest paid CB in the league. That buys the team a year of peace, and being its an uncapped year won’t have an impact on the cap. Then start fresh next year. Revis is worth $15 million.
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Bent says:
If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, anything they do is likely to have implications on future years’ cap. Some sort of compromise along those lines is the right idea though. I don’t know if agree that Revis deserves 15m now though. Asomugha didn’t earn more than 10m until his 7th season. Also, if he starts earning that much this soon, then that will likely scupper their abilities to keep the core together.
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Oh well. Now you know why I’m not the GM. lol
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Mr. Keto says:
It’s ridiculous to think Revis will sit out the year. Why would he? Because his uncle did it? How’d that work out?
So he makes no money this year and, if there’s a lockout, none next year. Then if he comes back in 2 years and let’s say there is a very strict cap that’s agreed to and every team not just the Jets will have to comply with – good luck getting 16-20 million / year for many years, Revis.
I love his play but these players are getting insane. They have to “feed their family” they say so we’ll all feel SO sorry for them. Greedy bastards. They make more in one year than as youth they ever thought they would make in a lifetime (and more that most of the rest of us make in our own) and Bassett, you wonder why we are not on their side? Because we have so much in common?!
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Bent says:
Ramble – in all seriousness, you have the exact right idea. Just chop that 15m number in half and then it’s more in line with market value for a guy that age and also becomes more affordable.
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upset says:
i cant even reply to this or read the other comments literally got really upset reading this to the point im about to start freaking out (mind you also watching the met game at this point which isn’t helping anything) but i couldn’t stand losing revis idc what that means all i no is that if i ever see revis on another team it will be more painful then some of even the worst pains the jets have put me through
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CA JETS FAN says:
Whatever..he will not hold out the year. Play him angry and when the labor stuff is dealt with sign him long term next year…
how does nnamdis contract play out year by year?
If it is less in two years, then wait until then.. they have time
Sign Mangold and Harris now though..and I sign Braylon long term at the end of the year and lose Holmes, LT, JT..sign Cro long term and use the extra money from the other deals to pay Revis.
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Give Leon The Damn Ball (new name pending) says:
I’m siding with management on this one. sorry. well, at least I am unless you can show me an example of a player in any professional sport being the highest paid in his position after just 3 years into his career.
revis is being ridiculous. he lost my support after his asinine statements about not being able to support his family under his current contract which will net him $35 million if he just plays it out. if he doesn’t like it, then he can sit out for the next three years or get a real job that will pay far less than a million per year.
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BamBam says:
Pay the up front dough!
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Bassett,
It does appear that the FO has a number of new interns sitting around with little to do until camp. So, it just has them troll to steer the discussion on NFL blog comments towards preserving the beaten down NFL owners and castigating those evil, greedy players who try to take the poor owners’ money.Brendan,
Ahh, it’s good to see the universe back in its proper position, and you and I disagreeing again. We’ve been seeing eye-to-eye waaaay too much lately. Anyway, I appreciate your concern about the blue-collar Jet fan, but seems kinda silly. Blowing $100+ per game, 10 times a year, PLUS paying a rich heir THOUSANDS of dollars just for the RIGHT to buy those $100+ tickets lifts this clearly out of “Blue Collar” status.Blue collar folks need those couple of grand for the kids, the rent or mortgage, the Dr., the car payment, and basic living, like, ohhh, food.
Your standard corporate minion, now HE’S a candidate for you. Young; doing well; overworked; needs to go yell and scream; and hates that players are making waaaaaay more than the tidy sum he’s pulling down. Now, THERE’S your in-stadia NFL fan. The rest of us blue collar types hold our meetings on the couch, watching Ch. 2 and ESPN every weekend. And have pretzels if we can afford it. And hope our favorite players of high skill and talent can squeeze as much money as they can out of the poor rich kids and corporate CEO types who have bought themselves an NFL franchise to play with.
greene,
I assume you can tell us exactly who came up with the bright idea that each position should have its own salary structure… and that it’s inviolate. Please refer me to their site, so I can check it out by myself. I don’t think you can. In no other sport do you have this. A star is a star. Stars/elites are paid star money. In baseball, no one cares what you play — if you’re a proven money maker for the league and the teams, you get paid. Period. In round ball, no one cares if you’re a center, a small forward or a shooting guard — if you’re dominating the league, the press lionize you and fans around the country buy more tkts and watch the game when you come to town and buy your merch.Bent,
I love you for being such a Wise Sage, who has straightened us out on too many issues to count. But: “Jones got 13m for two years work (one of which was a huge disappointment) and immediately started complaining about a new deal,” makes me wonder if your log in has been hacked.TJ had a new deal upon being moved from the Bears to the Jets before 2007, so it was three years, not two. He proceeded to STILL rack up 1,000+ yds. behind one of the worst lines in Jets franchise history in 2007; the 2008, he won the AFC rushing crown, then in 2009, he stepped in to become feature back to cover for Leon after he went down. And no, you never actually heard TJ complain about his contract, since I don’t believe he ever actually released a public statement. He stayed out of the fray.
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PickNY says:
It is a shame that men in sports are no longer honoring their initial contract. It use to be that a man’s word was his bond! Today, word is bond have gone out the window, and I bet many of these men call themselves Christians too!
Matthew 20:1-15 (Paraphrase) Jesus was explaining to the disciples how laborers agreed with an owner to work the field for a penny per day starting early in the morning. The owner hired more laborers later in the day, and at the end of the day, the owner paid everyone the same. Of course, the laborers who started early in the day didn’t appreciate the other laborers getting the same pay for one hour of work. They complained to the owner that they did much of the work during the hottest time of the day. The owner said “Friend, I do thee (you) no wrong: didst (did) not thou (you) agree with me for a penny? …Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
The bottomline is, Revis and the rest of the men in sports are out of line to request more money after they had agreed on a signed contract (Word is bond) with an owner!
Revis & Co is like those laborers Jesus was referring to according to scripture that the owner did no wrong, and it did not matter if one out work another worker gives them the right to demand more money!
I rest my case! So according to God’s Word, who eye is evil, the owner or the laborer?
I’m going with the Word of God, it’s Revis & Co!
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Bent says:
MTF –
“TJ had a new deal upon being moved from the Bears to the Jets before 2007, so it was three years, not two. He proceeded to STILL rack up 1,000+ yds. behind one of the worst lines in Jets franchise history in 2007; the 2008, he won the AFC rushing crown, then in 2009, he stepped in to become feature back to cover for Leon after he went down. And no, you never actually heard TJ complain about his contract, since I don’t believe he ever actually released a public statement. He stayed out of the fray.”
It’s true that he didn’t make any public comments about his contract situation, but he still boycotted preseason workouts in May 2009 as part of a widely publicized contract dispute (note: after the first TWO years of his contract). Actions speak louder than words.
He also did the same thing in Chicago, which is reportedly why they traded him. This was despite the fact he had received big money for being the 7th pick in the draft, only to underperform with more than one team.
In 2007, he did still run for 1,000 yards behind a poor line, but then in 2008 his numbers were inflated by running behind a good line. Again, it works both ways. At the end of the day, in 2007, he averaged 3.6 yards a carry, scored just once and the Jets went 4-12. To me, that was a huge disappointment.
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Bent says:
CA Jets Fan
“how does nnamdis contract play out year by year?
If it is less in two years, then wait until then.. they have time”
2010 – 16m
2011 – 17m
2012 – free agentNote: 2011 is not guaranteed, so if there’s a lockout or the Raiders decide they can’t afford it, he will not receive this. When he’s a free agent, I don’t think he can realistically expect to earn any more than 10m a year.
Although Revis joked he would accept 50c more than Asomugha, he should be careful what he wishes for. If we assume Nnamdi gets cut in 2011 and then signs for 10m a year, his three year average will be 12m. His six year average will be 11m. So, while something around 12-13m might be fair, 15-16m is far too much, unless he’s prepared for the deal to be backloaded without upfront guarantees.
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All-
Been away from the computer until now, thanks for all the feedback. Some points:
1) I am NOT anti-management across the board. In the cases where contracts are negotiated with existing players – most notably players that the Jets have held their rights since they were rookies, do I seem to be that way. I was fine with the team dropping Faneca in favor of Ducasse, I like the Kyle Wilson pick, I think the Pool signing was a good stopgap move that the team can work around for a few years … and while LT and JT aren’t what they were, they’ll be fine … Holmes was a STEAL by the organization, as was Edwards … it’s just the way that Tannenbaum negotiates with the players who they’ve had since they were rookies that annoys me to no end.
2) In the going on six years that I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve come to learn that the agents know less but talk more than teams do, but generally it’s the teams that have a lot more knowledge and share the stuff that’s harder hitting. I believe this is one of those strategic team leaks.
3) NFL player money and contracts — The NFL is an entirely different animal than other sports like basketball and baseball where contracts are guaranteed, for the life of the deal. In the NFL, there’s no such thing, there’s no buyouts, there’s contracts and there’s cuts … the only real thing is guaranteed money.
4) I don’t subscribe to the “just pay him” philosophy at all … in my mind the Jets were stupid to even try and bring up contract talks with him at all .. they had him locked up for three more years, and they blinked first by approaching him.
5) There’s folks who understand the cap a helluva lot better than I do … listen to whatever Bent & Jason say on the subject. they know more than I do … I just go off half-cocked on that stuff! (no seriously, I do)
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greene says:
miketaliaferro,
I’m not trying to be condescending but do you know anything about nfl salaries? salary is definitely based on position. want evidence? franchise qb’s earning more than $15 million a year has been done. cornerbacks, no matter how good, have never earned more than 10 million a year (except aso). I cant believe you even compared nba to the nfl. I’m sorry to tell you. but in the nfl, some positions are much more important than other positions. in your logic, a right guard should deserve the same salary as a left tackle? haha…..
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to miketaliaferro:
“It does appear that the FO has a number of new interns sitting around with little to do until camp. So, it just has them troll to steer the discussion on NFL blog comments towards preserving the beaten down NFL owners and castigating those evil, greedy players who try to take the poor owners’ money.”
Yep…keep fueling the conspiracy theories with no evidence like the jets leaked contract info.
I can’t speak for others, but I think those that are ‘pro-management’ here are no very concerned about Woody’s money. To be honest I could not care less. I am not on Woody’s side.
If I had to say whose side I am on, is is the Jets. The team the Jets. The organization of the Jets. And the salary cap of the Jets. As long as the Woody spends the whole salary cap, I am fine with the teams negotiation strategies.
There is simply too much we don’t know about the details to judge their actions…for example we now know why Revis’ ‘insulting’ offer had no ‘fully’ guaranteed money. It is because of the cap acceleration rule we found out about this week. He could have done what d”Brick did and taken the skill guarantee (the important one in my opinion) and bought injury insurance…it would have then been the equivalent of fully guaranteed.
We now know why the Jets approached him thinking a deal could get done and could not make an appropriate offer. The now clarified 30% rule.
We now know why they paid Faneca the $5 Million bonus for walking. The aforementioned cap acceleration rule.
As long as the Jets spend their full cap they are doing the best they can for the fans. If you have a man crush on a certain player and want him to ‘get paid,’ then try putting Tanny’s shoes on and figure out how to pay everyone else as well. I for one, want the the 53 best players out there…not one star and 52 JAGs. In ’round ball’ a single star may take your team to the championship, but not in football (unless it is a QB, and even then only maybe).
To be honest as more of the details come out about the complexities here, it looks to me like the Jets are trying to do the right things by players, not screw them.
RR
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wait wait, why don’t we pay an elite waterboy the same as a franchise qb too!
ok, now I’m just bustin’ ya ballz. haha.
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Marc says:
Bent,
Thank you for enlightening me. You are right on point, and I seriously think you should try to reach out to Revis, his agent, and the Jets to broker this deal. I know you would even do it for free, for the good of the team and the fanbase.
BENT FOR GM!
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billvv says:
This is just another bullet point in the case being made by team owners: We need to reset the expectations of what a contract means.
I think they will lock out all players to make the point. The only contracts that will be negotiated will be ones that fit the aims of the owners. Everybody else will have to wait. Pretty simple. If the Jets honor their commitment to Gholston, Revis will honor his to them. I don’t think the owners got the money to be in their position to own teams without drawing lines like this that they will insist on players abiding by. In no other business would you see this kind of mess, where the media takes up the call for more, more, more….This will be the last year.
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RJ says:
“5) There’s folks who understand the cap a helluva lot better than I do … listen to whatever Bent & Jason say on the subject. they know more than I do … I just go off half-cocked on that stuff! (no seriously, I do)”
seriously, i won’t tell you not to voice your opinion, but at least you should preface all your assinine half-cocked posts with the words “standby for my assinine half-cocked opinion”.
The Jets don’t deserve any of the bad media drivel that’s being laid on them, unless you’re not a real Jets fan and are just trying to drum up attention, like Florio and Cimini.
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Rick12 says:
He just needs to stop the whining. I love Revis. Will probably go down as the Best DB of all time. But he still is not worth 16 million a year. The Oakland deal was done on a day when Al Davis forgot to take his medicine. Its totally ridiculous. The next highest deal I believe is Samuel with the Eagles at like 9.5 million. Revis needs to take around10.5 a year and call it a day.
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zenlaw says:
I also agree with Ramble. Just pay Revis an outright bonus for the 2010 season (amount to be negotiated). By now, this issue has been so publicized that even Revis must understand why the Jets can’t sign him to a long term deal right now. Since Revis has 3 years remaining on his deal, he could get seriously paid for 2010 and then renegotiate afterwards.
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broward says:
so many people always just say pay the man….if management listened to fans the jets would have 5 star players and a team of ufl players….this isnt just about revis…..its about mangold and harris and braylon and holmes and cromartie and 3 years from now you have to fit sanchez and greene in there……you cant just pay someone whatever they ask for even if they are great…..i think revis is great…he’s just as much the face of the franchise and sanchez but in terms of wins and losses he is not the most important player on the team. the qb is the most important and he makes 10 million a year so how can you give a cornerback 5 million or so more per year than that…….i do love me some revis island though
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WOJF says:
Did not read the whole thread so pardon me if this has been covered, but the problem with paying a HUGE amount upfront in a signing bonus is obvious.
Three years down the road the agent and player will have forgotten about that money and be holding out again because they are not going to play for ONLY $10 Million. Mr. T needs to leave the carrot on the rope to avoid future holdouts, unless Revis is willing to go on national TV and write on the blackboard a hundred times;
I WILL NOT HOLDOUT AGAIN, I WILL NOT HOLD OUT AGAIN, I WILL NOT HOLDOUT AGAIN.
revis needs to suck it up and do it more than once before he gets too greedy.