Greedy...I dont think so.

[Void]

That isn't life. In many companies, like mine-Procter and Gamble-50 billion dollar a year company-if you're responsible for generating something that makes the company 500 million dollars, you can't go in and ask for a raise the next day, even if you're the stud of the division. The company pays you to do all you can to be productive as possible. The company doesn't owe you squat. What any decent company will do is realize your productivity and weigh it in for salaray increases and quick promotions. Some companies will give extra stock options for high productivity.

If you came into my office and asked for an immediate pay raise, especially if you were already making damn good money, well, it wouldn't be pretty.

Then you might lose a valuable employee.

 

[yankeehillbilly]

Thanks to those who are open minded. I have been called some names but its all good TO if he gets his money good for him if he doesnt who gives a hoot. Its funny how many people cannot see that the league wants the fans to get mad at TO so it plays to the teams hand. The fact is TO had to sign that contract. He wanted to play with mcnabb cause mc nabb is black. I am in an interracial marriage so this isnt racism it is facts. He wanted and thought he could give McNabb the ring and the both of them would have had got the glory but it didnt turn out. Due to the fact he did not want to play for the Ravens he was willing to take the smaller contract..I am sure he new he would reneg at the end of the season. Oh yeah and J Walker was a beast for Fantasy Football what ru smokin!!! Walker deserves the money if he gets it and if he gets cut he deserves that i guess.:eek:

You say that TO had to sign that contract and in the very next sentence you say that he WANTED to play with McNabb.
Make up your mind.

 

[Megatron]

Don't forget that his agent flubbed his paperwork which would have allowed him to void the remaining years of his contract and hit FA market and the Eagles DID NOT HAVE to give him one more penny more than his old contract called for but reworked his deal anyway...

Exactly why they shouldn't rework it again. Secondly TO should get a better agent because it sounds like he isn't doing his job. Oh yeah he does have a new agent now, none other than Drew Rosenhaus, ring any bells??

 

[Megatron]

You need to look at this issue from both sides of the equation. OWNERS try to circumvent the CBA quite regularly, it's called the Franchise Tag. You go and tell a player like Donovan Darius that he was being greedy for holding out of the mini camps b/c the jags Franchised him THREE times earing roughly 3.5 mil per year/each year to year. So he avoided FA and the garaunteed signing bonus that you feel is so graciuously put out there for the players sake. Just like TO is abusing his situation the JAGS ownership is doing the same thing, this issue is NOT black & white/right & wrong there are many shades of gray that are minipulated and twisted for both parties advantage. SOME PLAYERS THAT HOLD OUT ARE NOT BEING GREEDY, SOME ARE MERELY TRYING TO GET WAS IS DUE TO THEM PER THE CBA...

The Darius example is a totally different bag of worms to walking out on an exisiting contract. He is under no obligation to sign that tagged contract. You make the tag sound like it's chump change when in fact it is the average of the top 5 players salaries at his position. Clearly his contract demands are too high and unwavering otherwise he would have a deal by now. He has been granted permission to find a trade and most likely will be on a new team prior to training camp.

The franchise tag, again, is a mutually agreed upon aspect of the CBA.

 

[PhinSoldia]

You say that TO had to sign that contract and in the very next sentence you say that he WANTED to play with McNabb.
Make up your mind.

no TO wanted to be put in the driver seat of an offense....he knows how bad the eagles need him....it was different in san fran...they were rebuilding...and he could have been a casualty at any given time. so he left...where he know they NEEDED a WR like him. So now he is in the driver sea...and he wont budge because McNabb absolutely needs him

 

[pwn3dyo]

haha, how can anyone defend TO? The man gets traded from SF to BAL. Then he goes to Philly where he made it publicily clear he wanted to go. He signed a contract that pays extremely well (just not the VERY best). its all good when they are losing. Then after they lose in the superbowl he goes to the media to imply that mcnabb wasnt trying hard enough during the superbowl. THEN he holds out, and claims he needs to feed his family. He should be shot. I would laugh.

 

[Phineas64]

No!

Renogotiate, yes.

Hold out, no.

If you sign it, you should show up for work. These guys want the long term security, but want to hold out for more money every time they have a good season. They should sign a 2 or 3 year deal. I don't see them asking for a pay cut after a bad year.

 

[knight6jb]

Renogotiate, yes.

Hold out, no.

If you sign it, you should show up for work. These guys want the long term security, but want to hold out for more money every time they have a good season. They should sign a 2 or 3 year deal. I don't see them asking for a pay cut after a bad year.

Exactly if they want to make more after a good year, then when they play crappy, I wanna see them make less. GIve back some of the money. It's all a bunch of BS, I need to feed my family, my ***. 49million bucks, good god do you know what some people would do for that money, and he is b*tching about it. I hope the Eagles continue to not give him what he wants and he misses the season. If these players want to hold out I think they should get suspended for a year, and have to work in the real world, and see how they like making 30-50 grand a year. If I saw TO on the streets today I would straight up tell him how much a dueshe he is, and I used tol ove this man on the field, not anymore though.

and for who ever said the thing about these players going bankrupt after their careers. I am glad to see that, they are morons if they dont know how to put money away to live more than comfortably for the rest of their lives. Welcome to the real world, now find a real job and make normal money.

 

[Merman]

First T.O. is a poor example to argue for players' rights and he did make some poor decisions last year. Should he be allowed to correct it because he has the juice is ultimately the Eagle’s decision and we fans should voice our opinion. Teams know that if they take too much advantage of a player he will become disgruntled. At least the Eagles should know because they have some very happy players like McNabb and more than a few unhappy with their contracts.

I can't speak for T.O. or Rosenhaus but if you analyze the contract it was poorly negotiated or accepted by T.O. before he should have. Supposedly the NFLPA told him that and he agreed to the contract anyway.

The early numbers reported seemed to have been wrong and now there are two sources that more or less agree, the Washington Post and Profootball Talk.

The first year signing bonus total was $8.5 million and the second part of $7.5 million is not payable until 2006. Even then $2.5 million is supposedly an option bonus. The Eagles can release him after 2005 or he can get hurt this year and he will not receive the second part of the bonus. Poor decision and a major mistake as a two-tier bonus are always paid in the second year to ensure payment.

Player Profile
Owens, Terrell
View Stats at Players Inc Site
Player Info Draft Info
WR (#81) Year: 1996
Philadelphia Eagles Round: 3
Lithonia, GA Position: 28
Salary History
2004 660,000.00
2005 3,250,000.00
2006 770,000.00
2007 5,500,000.00
2008 6,500,000.00
2009 7,500,000.00
2010 8,500,000.00


If you look at the base salaries Owens is paid $8.5 million bonus, $660k, and $3.25 million for the first two years, which equals $12.41 million or $6.205 million a year. That is what Rosenhause is complaining about when he says T.O. is not getting paid like the top WRs.

If you look at the 2007 salary, $5.5 million, do you pay T.O. the $7.5 million bonus in 2006??? This gives the Eagles plenty of time to think it over and T.O. plenty of time to get injured.

To quote PFT:

POSTED 9:28 p.m. EDT; UPDATED, 10:03 p.m. EDT, April 18, 2005

T.O. COULD OWE $1.725 MILLION

We've gotten a look-see at receiver Terrell Owens 2004 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, and we've concluded that T.O. would owe the team only (only?) $1.725 million if he refuses to report as part of his ongoing -- but suddenly silent -- salary dispute with the team.

We'd previously heard that the Eagles might have added language to the deal enabling the team to go after all of part of Owens' $6.2 million roster bonus, paid to him when he signed the contract in 2004.

As it turns out, if Owens' decided not to show up until the tenth week of the regular season (which would qualify him for a year's credit toward the $5 million roster bonus and $2.5 million option bonus due in March 2006), Owens would forfeit $1.725 million of money earned and roughly $1.9 million in 2005 salary.

Given that he's already made $8.5 million and that he hopes to cash in ASAFP on his better-than-expected 2004 season, our guess is that Owens will, at a minimum, give serious consideration to the possibility of standing firm. If, after all, he thinks he can get more than $10 million on the open market (which we now doubt in light of his recent behavior), he should be willing to pony up $1.725 million to get there.

http://profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

To quote the Washington Post:

Saturday, April 16, 2005; Page D02

The NFL Players Association advised wide receiver Terrell Owens last year not to sign the seven-year, nearly $49 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles that he wants to renegotiate after one season with the team. ...

Eagles officials do not seem interested in reworking the deal, which is to pay Owens a salary of $3.25 million next season. It contains $16 million in bonus money, but $7.5 million of that total is not due until 2006. ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57473-2005Apr15.html

 

[phillyphinphan]

The Darius example is a totally different bag of worms to walking out on an exisiting contract. He is under no obligation to sign that tagged contract. You make the tag sound like it's chump change when in fact it is the average of the top 5 players salaries at his position. Clearly his contract demands are too high and unwavering otherwise he would have a deal by now. He has been granted permission to find a trade and most likely will be on a new team prior to training camp.

The franchise tag, again, is a mutually agreed upon aspect of the CBA.

There is no such thing as a walk out, either you hold out or you dont. If he doesn't sign the tag he cannot play football anywhere else without his current team either trading him or releasing him. Yeah, His salary is in the Top 5 for his position in the league, but THERE IS NO SIGNING BONUS!! moreover, He does not get to shop his services to the highest bidder. You know very well that a team is less willing to trade for a player as opposed to picking up a FA. This IS NOT an argument for the merits of the Franchise tag. I used this example to show that in SOME instances I understand a player holding out to PROTEST against his current team. Flat out, Considering the FACT that he was tagged 3 years in a row and WAS NOT allowed to hit the FA market and get his Siging Bonus, do you consider Darius a "selfish" player for holding out???????? (Darius is one of the most respected and stand up individuals/leaders that there is in the league today! Hold OUT does not automatically equal selfish)

 

[painnotpleasure]

haha, how can anyone defend TO? The man gets traded from SF to BAL. Then he goes to Philly where he made it publicily clear he wanted to go. He signed a contract that pays extremely well (just not the VERY best). its all good when they are losing. Then after they lose in the superbowl he goes to the media to imply that mcnabb wasnt trying hard enough during the superbowl. THEN he holds out, and claims he needs to feed his family. He should be shot. I would laugh.

Well somebody was just bound to say that.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

The most ignorant fans always side with ownership. It's an excellent litmus test. They throw out simpleton whiz like "he makes more money than I'll make in 20 years" and act as if that's relevant. Meanwhile, the excesses and greed of the organization and owner are concealed in dozens of different forms. We never hear the backroom conversations about raising ticket prices or concession prices or parking prices. I had several college friends who majored in sports administration and later worked for professional teams. The stories they tell about company greed and misrepresentation are beyond belief yet never made the news. But when a player asks for more money the organization makes sure it gets full coverage so they can assume the upper hand in the minds of the tunnelvision fans.

I remember when I worked at the Horseshoe sportsbook as a supervisor. Casino owner Jack Binion would do all these TV interviews about the World Series of Poker and talk about how wonderful everyone was and how he was sure it would be a great time for all. Meanwhile, he would come into the sportsbook office and rip them unmercifully and talk gleefully about how the casino was going to take every single dollar out of as many pockets as possible. Whenever we had a huge junket, especially Asian junket, he practically already had the money spent beforfehand, sure he would take the group for millions.

For some reason, fans seem to forgive other entertainers more than athletes. In Las Vegas many of my friends work in major hotels in the entertainment aspect. Again, the stories are surreal. So many of the performers make outrageous demands like room temperature to the tenth of a degree or a specific type and color of toilet paper or making sure no one occupies rooms on either side of theirs. Those are actual examples friends have told me. But fans don't seem to care. They must not relate to being able to sing like that, but somehow think a star football player is merely playing a game for huge cash and warrants the abuse. In my mind, it works the other way. The athletes have extremely limited shelf life, unlike other entertainers. Their careers can end via physical injury at any moment and the company will throw them away without concern. Every contract is absolutely critical and the player deserves every red cent and then some.

 

[finfansince72]

Holding out is the problem. Youre already under contract for an amount that you agreed to before. You want more money so you dont show up for work. This would get u fired anywhere else. When players have some class, they show up and ask for the money they get it a lot of times. When they call out the owner, make a media circus over it and stay away from the team they become a distraction and that is just stupid. Greedy yea but stupid also. Bargining in good faith is the way to go.

 

[TARHEEL38]

Why are all these players that are holding out considered Greedy?:confused: We all want all the money we bring to our respective companies not a cent less but when its a pro athlete than its GREED. :shakeno: I keep hearing "respect your contract" that is funny I dont remember too many contracts that the teams keep. They are always cutting people to free up salary cap space and to stop from paying all the money from the back loaded contract. FOOTBALL CONTRACTS ARE NOT GUARENTEED. Only the signing bonuses. TO may be a jerk but come on the guy is getting paid like the 10th best WR in the league when you are lying if you think you can name 3 better. Same thing goes for Walker as far as getting what your worth. Like it or not these players bring millions of dollars in revenue for there teams and the city they live in. It is unfair to throw the lable GREEDY around. If we were the 10th highest paid employeer for a company we were the absolute most productive worker at, we would all be Pissed! So isnt all this GREEDY stuff HYPOCRITICAL!:fire:

Finally someone sees the light. I couldn't agree more. It's funny how ya hear people saying they are not gonna ever go see another game b/c the players are too greedy, but the same person has no problem going and paying $25.00 bucks to go see a movie where Julia Roberts, or Bruce Willis made $40 million.
Last time I checked, we live in a capitalist society. I say more power to em, if they can get the $ go for it. If they don't get their share you can be sure the owners are not going to be out passing bags of cash to the first thousand fans to come to the stadium. The way I see it, the players are selling their futures to entertain us. If someone deserves the money I see it as the players.
If I had my choice between making 2 million or holding out and making 3 million. You can bet your a$$ I would hold out till the cows came home.

 

[TARHEEL38]

So using your analogy... lets say (for argument sake) you are the 10th highest paid employee for a company, but yet the most productive worker. What do you think would happen if you 'hold out'? You get shown the door for not doing your job. If these players want 8mil a year instead of 7... I say screw you. you signed the contract. Lets let any of these guys go find a normal job that pays that much.

I am all for players trying to get contract extensions by sitting out. If they are in the last year of their contract (like the Wally situation last year). I totally understand it. As a fan, I just want them to play, but I understand. TO is a terrible example. HE just signed a 7 year contract LAST YEAR!. Come on now, if he wanted more money he should have gotten it then. This is just TO. He has his me-first attitude and next thing you know he wants more money.

I can't reember the last time a player wanted to renegotiate if they had a bad year!

Let me ask you this. If TO had been a bust and not had a good year, do you think for one minute that Philly would have any interest in paying him for 7 years?? No way in h#ll. It works both ways. Contracts in the NFL may as well be called soft contracts, like the NBA calls their cap a soft cap. NOBODY says anything when teams who have agreed to a contract (like we did with Patrick) suddenly realize they are not interested in paying the last two years of a contract. If teams don't hold up their end of the contract why should the players?? If you have a year like TO had and you understand you value is as high as it will get you are a fool not to try to get more. Now on the flip side the team has the right to just say no, like Philly is now doing. One side will sooner or later blink, but I don't see why people have such a tough time understanding the players side of this. You will only have a few years to do what you love and may not be able to do much after your NFL career is over. Ya had better make all ya can while ya can.