Jason Cole: Mankins refused renegotiation twice

I thought this deserved a thread since it's so material and easily lost in the mega-Mankins thread. It's well established that Mankins is a contract hardliner, and Cole is a credible source:

https://twitter.com/JasonPhilCole/status/504466919538569216

Of course he refused to renegotiate.

I'm not inherently against this trade yet (I need to see how things shake out and how Wright looks), but I will say this: Mankins has twice now played hardball against the Pats and twice won, at least financially. He got the big contract by holding out the first time, and this time he got to keep that big contract by forcing a trade. Of course, the flip-side is he has to play for Tampa Bay and protect Josh McCown instead of Tom Brady, but he's got his money and (I think more importantly to him) he held his ground.

patchick said:

I thought this deserved a thread since it's so material and easily lost in the mega-Mankins thread. It's well established that Mankins is a contract hardliner, and Cole is a credible source:

https://twitter.com/JasonPhilCole/status/504466919538569216

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I was wondering what the back story to this trade would be. Seems like a legitimate report. Considering that Mankins had been an absolute hard@ss on his last contract, then it doesn't surprise me one whit that he's refuse to renegotiate his current one.

I was shocked when I first heard of the trade, but the more I read, and consider everything, the more I believe that Coach did the right thing here. I'm positive that Kraft was also counciled about it being that Mankins is a high-vis member of the team.

Coach Belichick, as always, has done what he thinks is best for the team. If our new TE plays as well this year as he did last year with Tampa Bay, I'll chalk it up as a REALLY good trade.

Sicilian said:

I'm not inherently against this trade yet (I need to see how things shake out and how Wright looks), but I will say this: Mankins has twice now played hardball against the Pats and twice won, at least financially. He got the big contract by holding out the first time, and this time he got to keep that big contract by forcing a trade. Of course, the flip-side is he has to play for Tampa Bay and protect Josh McCown instead of Tom Brady, but he's got his money and (I think more importantly to him) he held his ground.

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Yep, Mankins has made it clear that contracts are as much about principle as dollars to him. It remains to be seen how this one totals up in the long run, since he's more likely to be cut at the end of the year this way, but he has every right to make his stand -- leaving the Pats with a tough choice.

i dont blame him one bit.....i would have done the same......that being said, i think the patriots will be fine without him.....as long as the new OL coach is good.....big shoes to fill

patchick said:

Yep, Mankins has made it clear that contracts are as much about principle as dollars to him. It remains to be seen how this one totals up in the long run, since he's more likely to be cut at the end of the year this way, but he has every right to make his stand -- leaving the Pats with a tough choice.

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If principle is so important to him, then why did he claim Kraft lied to him, then recant it when he gets his way. I think he may just be stubborn.

If there's anything we've learned from the past, it's that Mankins wasn't going to take less money here. The Patriots tried going that route in 2010 and Mankins held his ground. I don't blame NE for approaching him about it and I don't blame Mankins for saying "no."

He was going to be gone via release or trade at some point and it probably surprised us all it happened yesterday. And, in case anyone doesn't recall, it was Connolly who played LG during the time Mankins held out that year.

Gwedd said:

Coach Belichick, as always, has done what he thinks is best for the team. If our new TE plays as well this year as he did last year with Tampa Bay, I'll chalk it up as a REALLY good trade.

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He won't. He comes here with 10 days to go before Game 1. No offseason, no OTA's, no TC.

Best to hope for is that he is integrated well in the system by mid-December for the playoffs. Anything earlier is gravy.

shmessy said:

He won't. He comes here with 10 days to go before Game 1. No offseason, no OTA's, no TC.

Best to hope for is that he is integrated well in the system by mid-December for the playoffs. Anything earlier is gravy.

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Not to mention he's mixing in with a LOT more weapons, which has it's own pros and cons. On the plus side, he should be seeing easier coverages and be able to take advantage of his opportunities better. On the other side he won't get nearly as many looks in the early going here, which will make his numbers suffer. It will be important from a fans perspective not to jump the gun if he doesn't have many catches earl... oh who am I kidding, when he has 0 or 1 catch in week one we're going to get a full on riot here.

There were reports earlier this year that Mankins said he would not redo his deal.

I don't blame him for sticking to his guns. But the guy was not earning his pay and if he wasn't willing to take a pay cut, he has to suffer the consequences (assuming he thinks this trade is a bad thing).

dales804 said:

If there's anything we've learned from the past, it's that Mankins wasn't going to take less money here. The Patriots tried going that route in 2010 and Mankins held his ground. I don't blame NE for approaching him about it and I don't blame Mankins for saying "no."

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Exactly. It's the nature of the business. Mankins knows this just as well as the Pats. In the end, he feels that he is playing at a level that is commensurate with his compensation and refused to take a pay cut.

What we do not know is what the proposed framework of the restructured contract the Pats offered? Clearly it was a sizable reduction but was it full salary this year and a sharp reduction next year? For example, if it was full salary this year and say 50% next year, as a 33 year year old lineman making $3m that seems reasonable to me. I'm assuming the latter which made it unacceptable to LM.

dales804 said:

He was going to be gone via release or trade at some point and it probably surprised us all it happened yesterday. And, in case anyone doesn't recall, it was Connolly who played LG during the time Mankins held out that year.

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Yea these major-type moves seem to happen the Sunday before the season. I'm just glad that have Wright in now so he can at least learn a little of the offense before Week 1 and the LM replacement can run with the first teamers a few more times..

I don't necessarily agree with the opinion that Mankins won by refusing to re-negotiate. If you assume that a renegotiation would probably have included some kind of extension and possibly converting some of his 2015 salary into a signing bonus, I think he may have lost money by not negotiating.

Rob0729 said:

There were reports earlier this year that Mankins said he would not redo his deal.

I don't blame him for sticking to his guns. But the guy was not earning his pay and if he wasn't willing to take a pay cut, he has to suffer the consequences (assuming he thinks this trade is a bad thing).

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Why would he?

Marqui said:

Why would he?

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The Bucs are at least on paper really far away from being a Super Bowl contender and he only has so many years left. The Pats are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The question is if the Pats win the Super Bowl and he spends his final days in the NFL on a mediocre team, was the money or getting a Super Bowl ring more important to him. Don't forget unlike Wilfork (who did renegotiate to try to end his career here and be assured he would be in the hunt for another ring this season), he doesn't have a Super Bowl ring.

Mankins seemed to look at money more as a respect thing than a cash grab. He seems to lead a rather simple life for a guy in his income bracket. But getting a ring may be something he is still longing for in his career more than anything else.

Marqui said:

Why would he?

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He may like his team mates and/or this area. Just the other day he was saying how lucky he has been to get to play with such great teams mates and such a great coach for so long.

Marqui said:

Why would he?

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Not sure. Florida has no state income tax. Mankins is set to earn probably in the neighborhood of $100,000 more at least.

patchick said:

Yep, Mankins has made it clear that contracts are as much about principle as dollars to him. It remains to be seen how this one totals up in the long run, since he's more likely to be cut at the end of the year this way, but he has every right to make his stand -- leaving the Pats with a tough choice.

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It's easy to argue principles when you're making as much as Logan Mankins. He set his value and hasn't budged. I'm a defender of Mankins but he's not worth elite LT money anymore.

Not surprising oh well kind of expected for something like this to come out, it was his choice to continue playing in New England and obviously it didn't matter that much to him. He's a great player but it's clearly it's a decision that makes sense for New England's future.

Rob0729 said:

The Bucs are at least on paper really far away from being a Super Bowl contender and he only has so many years left. The Pats are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The question is if the Pats win the Super Bowl and he spends his final days in the NFL on a mediocre team, was the money of getting a Super Bowl ring more important to him. Don't forget unlike Wilfork (who did renegotiate to try to end his career here and be assured he would be in the hunt for another ring this season), he doesn't have a Super Bowl ring.

Mankins seemed to look at money more as a respect thing than a cash grab. He seems to lead a rather simple life for a guy in his income bracket. But getting a ring may be something he is still longing for in his career more than anything else.

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Everyone's situation is different. According to LM, winning and playing with great teammates is very important to him.

In my opinion, being paid what you worth ranks higher on his hierarchy of priorities.

Doesn't make him a bad person and I have nothing against him for taking the negotiation positions he has with the team over the years.