Wilforks respond to the Patriots' tag

[AKATheRake]

Poor guy's only gonna make 10 mil next year. The world weeps!

Might suffer a career ending injury which prohibits him from continuing to make the professional income he is. He rather average $7 million/ year with $20 million guaranteed over 6 years than get $10 million once and risk his career not having a long term deal.

They do make exorbitant money in comparison to the fans that watch them but they deal with a lot of risk to reap those rewards as well. Not to mention the task at hand requires a special level of talent and skill that is not of the ordinary.

Just the pressure these guys deal with throughout high school to their pro careers a lot of the time is enough to forget about the fame and money. There are 100's of more times a should of been pro just for focus reasons and not talent.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Yet you'll continue to watch them play, and feed into the ratings and advertising dollars that continue to pad their bottom lines.

I wish people weren't so green with envy over professional athletes' salaries.

It isn't envy at all. Fortunately, I'm doing fine. But many aren't right now, including tons of NFL fans.

Like Nightshade said, I don't begrudge these guys making all the money they can, but don't alienate your fans by whining in public.

 

[big dog cowboy]

For everything the owners want the players to concede during the next CBA, the owners should agree that players can no longer be tagged in consecutive seasons.

Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Randy White]

Adam_Schefter

Filed to ESPN: It's official - Panthers will not tag DE
Julius Peppers. He'll be allowed to test free agency and
leave Carolina.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I think his wife is a sharp cookie. Read this article. http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/01/29/balanced_lineman/

Bianca Whale.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

So it would be fair to the Pats if they give him a huge contact and bonus and he blows his knee out in preseason. All of this stuff is bargained by both sides. Sometimes the owners have to pay big and sometimes the players win big. And if you can't take care of your family for a long time with $7M I have no sympathy for you.

assuming he didn't cause the injury to himself, yes it's fair. They could cut him and not pay his yearly salaries and only be on the hook for the signing bonus (much more than 7 mil).

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Oh gosh. Only 10 million, at the very least, for this upcoming season. My goodness what ever will the poor guy do with so little income.

LOL.

I know, and understand, why they hate those tags but that large amount of cash for one year of service is a pretty nice reward for the risk.

 

[Kangaroo]

Poor guy's only gonna make 10 mil next year. The world weeps!

Yea it is kind of funny they gripe about the tag because they do not get the big signing bonus but once they sign the one year contract they are guaranteed what 10-15 million that season which is about as much as some of the signing bonus :bang2::bang2::bang2:

 

[jman]

If it were you, you would feel diffrently. If he blows out his knee in preseason, it dramatically lowers his value, so when he finally gets a long term deal it will be much less. If anything villify the owners who are BILLIONAIRES and are using the tag as a way to not pay players their actual value.

First, the tag actually does pay the player his actual value; it's only for one year, but it is his value.

Second, how do you think these owner became "BILLIONAIRES"?

Third, why do we have to villify anyone. This is a business and both parties knew the score at the start. Both parties took risk to start with. The owner for paying a player he hoped would live up to the money he was paid and the player that hoped he would live up to the contract and make it to the next contract un-injured to cash in.

It so easy to spend other peoples money.

 

[JBond]

If it were you, you would feel diffrently. If he blows out his knee in preseason, it dramatically lowers his value, so when he finally gets a long term deal it will be much less. If anything villify the owners who are BILLIONAIRES and are using the tag as a way to not pay players their actual value.

You must be young or you're just ignorant about how a business functions. The owners are the ones taking the risk. Until you buy your own team you should not bash the owners using lazy class envy arguments.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Kraft goes deep at NFL Combine

By Tom E. Curran

INDIANAPOLIS - Just finished a long conversation with Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis.

I can craft a story or cut to the chase and give you the transcript. Let's go transcript. I'll share it piece-by-piece.

Q. How close is a deal with recently-franchised NT Vince Wilfork

A. Look, we're running a business and in a business you have to prioritize. We have a budget. We want to develop a team that puts us in the best position to win. Vince was a priority. And we worked very hard and I think both sides have worked hard and I think we're close and I hope we close something but in the end, he was our priority, the first priority. We have a number of other deals we've got to do. We're going about building our team and I hope in this process we get to close this out. I know he's a very important part of our team and I think we made an offer that can hopefully get it done.

(MORE TO COME)

http://www.csnne.com/pages/landing_...p-at-NFL-Combine=1&blockID=186090&feedID=3946

 

[Biggems]

dont players who get tagged usually bank that year? as much as i would want a long term deal, hey, if you as an owner are cool with breaking the bank for me for one or two years with the franchise tag, I wouldnt be upset. I would most likely get a huge raise in annual salary because of the tag.....so no complaints.

 

[BeWare94]

No kidding. These guys need to learn to shut their pieholes, especially during these times of high unemployment.

All Wilfork really said in that was essentially, "I hope the Patriots aren't BS-ing me."

As far as the collective bargaining thing goes, they better all (owners, commissioner, players) realize that they must get something done and that stoppage of games because of labor problems is NOT AN OPTION.

If there is a lockout, strike or stoppage of games it will be hard to sell the average American fan who can scant afford to even attend a game, to be sympathetic to a bunch of petulant millionaires that aren't bright enough to realize that their product is the best thing going in sports. A lot of the success the NFL enjoys now and its boom over the last decade can be attributed to what happened in the 90s with the MLB strike/lockout...a lot of baseball fans leaned on football during that time and a good number of them never went back.

 

[BeWare94]

dont players who get tagged usually bank that year? as much as i would want a long term deal, hey, if you as an owner are cool with breaking the bank for me for one or two years with the franchise tag, I wouldnt be upset. I would most likely get a huge raise in annual salary because of the tag.....so no complaints.

Damned right, Biggems.

What I find appalling is the gall of these guys...some people can't even find jobs right now, much less "living wage" employment. The real estate market is in shambles and people are losing their homes left and right with no end in sight and these owners and players want to quibble over the DIFFERENCE of a few billions of dollars?!

A lot of these players need to realize what they stand to lose. A decent percentage of these guys don't even have a BA or they have a degree in something useless like basketweaving (sarcasm) and their alternative if there is no NFL is very bleak. McDonald's, anyone?

I get so tired of hearing so many of these players blaspheme the "love of the game" and how want to win and they'd play for free. Well that is CRAP. We live in a day and age where no one is asking them to play for free...in fact they have a very marketable commodity with very lucrative gains and yet that is STILL not enough.