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Gawd I LOVE reading stories like this!
Phil Sheridan | Owens is on the verge of wasting good will
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Columnist
Terrell Owens loves proving people wrong. Maybe that explains it.
After the last year, it would be hard to imagine Eagles fans feeling anything but unconditional love for Owens. This is, remember, the man who fought the NFL to get here, who played brilliantly in his first regular season, then topped that with a dramatic return to form in the Super Bowl.
There was not a single negative thing to say about the guy. Ah, but that's a challenge, and we know how T.O. feels about a challenge.
If Owens wanted to prove that assessment wrong, his best chance was to fire the agent he called a "true" friend, hire one of the game's real sharks, create friction, hold out of camps, and turn himself into the sort of distraction that could damage the Eagles' chances of returning to the Super Bowl.
Owens checked three of those five items off his to-do list. Out went David Joseph, the man Owens stood by during last winter's crisis. In is Drew Rosenhaus, who is on a quest to represent every significant NFL player. On his first day on the job, Rosenhaus flew to Philadelphia to meet with Eagles president Joe Banner.
It remains to be seen whether Owens will complete the cycle by boycotting minicamps or holding out of training camp. That's what it would take to have a serious effect on the team's 2005 season.
Look, this isn't one of those naïve screeds about the sanctity of contracts. In the NFL, especially, a contract is only binding until the team decides to release the player. So there's nothing wrong with players trying to make the most money they can during their all-too-short careers.
But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about this. This is the wrong way. What makes it mystifying is that Owens, who had erased whatever stains were left on his reputation from his days with San Francisco, would be willing to risk all that good will with such an obviously doomed money grab.
Did he have a great 2004? He sure did. But he received about $10 million in bonus money and salary last year. For that kind of green, Owens signed on to have a great 2004, 2005 and 2006. After that, maybe, it's time to talk about a contract extension.
No one does a big contract and then tears it up one year later. No one.
So what happened? Well, here's a theory. Rosenhaus is on a spree, signing up everyone from Edgerrin James to Plaxico Burress to Chad Johnson. As long as he doesn't break any of the rules the NFL Players Association sets for accredited agents, Rosenhaus is entitled to grow his business as much as possible.
To recruit Owens, he had to make a pitch along these lines:
You should have been on the open market last year, where you would have gotten more money. Because of your agent, you wound up getting traded and settling for less than your full value. Meanwhile, I got Jevon Kearse a better deal from the Eagles. He made more than you did, even though you're much more valuable. The only thing he had that you didn't was a great agent.
It's Rosenhaus' job to make that pitch, first to Owens and then to the Eagles. The disappointing thing is that Owens fell for it.
Kearse got a $16 million signing bonus, but he also has lower salaries over the first few years. Owens, meanwhile, is scheduled to get a $5 million roster bonus next year. So, over the first three years of the deal, Owens is scheduled to make only slightly less than Kearse.
After three years, because of age and health and the salary cap, it's all smoke and mirrors. Kearse's deal includes a $10.24 million salary for 2011, an agent's trick to make the contract look bigger in media reports. Kearse is more likely to win the lottery than get that money.
So Rosenhaus got Kearse a little more. That's not a shock, given the market value of pass rushers and the very real questions about Owens' past behavior. Remember, only Baltimore was competing with the Eagles to trade for Owens, so it is no sure thing that Owens would have done significantly better on the open market.
As it was, he became one of the three highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. Is it possible Rosenhaus could have gotten him a bit more? Yes, it's possible.
But that was an issue for 2004. Owens could have changed agents when the whole world believed Joseph had messed up his only client's paperwork, costing him his free agency. He could have hired Rosenhaus last year. He didn't. He stuck with his "true" friend, because Owens loves to prove people wrong.
A year ago, he was thrilled to be with the Eagles because Donovan McNabb would bring out his best and because the team had a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Both of those things happened. Owens became as beloved in Philadelphia as he was reviled at the end in San Francisco. Now he's willing to risk that status, even though there's no chance the Eagles will give him a new contract.
It makes you scratch your head, which is exactly what Owens wants people doing.
Phil Sheridan | Owens is on the verge of wasting good will
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Columnist
Terrell Owens loves proving people wrong. Maybe that explains it.
After the last year, it would be hard to imagine Eagles fans feeling anything but unconditional love for Owens. This is, remember, the man who fought the NFL to get here, who played brilliantly in his first regular season, then topped that with a dramatic return to form in the Super Bowl.
There was not a single negative thing to say about the guy. Ah, but that's a challenge, and we know how T.O. feels about a challenge.
If Owens wanted to prove that assessment wrong, his best chance was to fire the agent he called a "true" friend, hire one of the game's real sharks, create friction, hold out of camps, and turn himself into the sort of distraction that could damage the Eagles' chances of returning to the Super Bowl.
Owens checked three of those five items off his to-do list. Out went David Joseph, the man Owens stood by during last winter's crisis. In is Drew Rosenhaus, who is on a quest to represent every significant NFL player. On his first day on the job, Rosenhaus flew to Philadelphia to meet with Eagles president Joe Banner.
It remains to be seen whether Owens will complete the cycle by boycotting minicamps or holding out of training camp. That's what it would take to have a serious effect on the team's 2005 season.
Look, this isn't one of those naïve screeds about the sanctity of contracts. In the NFL, especially, a contract is only binding until the team decides to release the player. So there's nothing wrong with players trying to make the most money they can during their all-too-short careers.
But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about this. This is the wrong way. What makes it mystifying is that Owens, who had erased whatever stains were left on his reputation from his days with San Francisco, would be willing to risk all that good will with such an obviously doomed money grab.
Did he have a great 2004? He sure did. But he received about $10 million in bonus money and salary last year. For that kind of green, Owens signed on to have a great 2004, 2005 and 2006. After that, maybe, it's time to talk about a contract extension.
No one does a big contract and then tears it up one year later. No one.
So what happened? Well, here's a theory. Rosenhaus is on a spree, signing up everyone from Edgerrin James to Plaxico Burress to Chad Johnson. As long as he doesn't break any of the rules the NFL Players Association sets for accredited agents, Rosenhaus is entitled to grow his business as much as possible.
To recruit Owens, he had to make a pitch along these lines:
You should have been on the open market last year, where you would have gotten more money. Because of your agent, you wound up getting traded and settling for less than your full value. Meanwhile, I got Jevon Kearse a better deal from the Eagles. He made more than you did, even though you're much more valuable. The only thing he had that you didn't was a great agent.
It's Rosenhaus' job to make that pitch, first to Owens and then to the Eagles. The disappointing thing is that Owens fell for it.
Kearse got a $16 million signing bonus, but he also has lower salaries over the first few years. Owens, meanwhile, is scheduled to get a $5 million roster bonus next year. So, over the first three years of the deal, Owens is scheduled to make only slightly less than Kearse.
After three years, because of age and health and the salary cap, it's all smoke and mirrors. Kearse's deal includes a $10.24 million salary for 2011, an agent's trick to make the contract look bigger in media reports. Kearse is more likely to win the lottery than get that money.
So Rosenhaus got Kearse a little more. That's not a shock, given the market value of pass rushers and the very real questions about Owens' past behavior. Remember, only Baltimore was competing with the Eagles to trade for Owens, so it is no sure thing that Owens would have done significantly better on the open market.
As it was, he became one of the three highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. Is it possible Rosenhaus could have gotten him a bit more? Yes, it's possible.
But that was an issue for 2004. Owens could have changed agents when the whole world believed Joseph had messed up his only client's paperwork, costing him his free agency. He could have hired Rosenhaus last year. He didn't. He stuck with his "true" friend, because Owens loves to prove people wrong.
A year ago, he was thrilled to be with the Eagles because Donovan McNabb would bring out his best and because the team had a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Both of those things happened. Owens became as beloved in Philadelphia as he was reviled at the end in San Francisco. Now he's willing to risk that status, even though there's no chance the Eagles will give him a new contract.
It makes you scratch your head, which is exactly what Owens wants people doing.
