Jerome Solomon seems to be taking his turn driving the Deion Branch short-change bus this week. Either that or Borges and Cafardo have been needling him all week to get back on the Patriots are Cheap Mantra.
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2006/06/25/is_branch_in_a_go_pattern/?page=1
"In this space a few weeks back, we speculated that a long-term solution between Branch and the Patriots would be reached before the season begins, and both sides would be happy. Oops.
Having promised Sir Belichick that we would never combine the words ``low" and ``ball" in a Patriots story, we're happy to report that the team has yet to offer Branch a contract with numbers high enough for him to play ball.
The Patriots have not insulted Branch with their offer. (If they had, his agent, Jason Chayut, probably would have shared that information with the media.) But the sides simply have opposing views of Branch's worth.
For fans, at least, it seems the debate over what (or whether) the Patriots should pay Branch has turned into whether he is a legitimate No. 1 receiver.
That is not the point. Branch is the Patriots' No. 1 receiver and, maybe more importantly, he is Brady's No. 1 receiver.
``He's probably our best player on offense," Brady said.
No. 1 or not, only an idiot would expect Branch to be paid in the Randy Moss-Terrell Owens-Marvin Harrison neighborhood, and we assume Chayut is no idiot.
But only an idiot would expect Branch to happily accept a contract offer from the Patriots in the David Givens neighborhood. That would be the same David Givens who, had he returned to New England, would have been the Patriots' No. 2 wideout behind Branch.
Givens got market value (definition: what someone is willing to pay you) for his services from Tennessee. While a five-year, $24 million deal (with an $8 million signing bonus) is a nice take for Givens, Branch has a right to scoff at that.
New England was careful in dealing with Givens, knowing full well that whatever it paid him would be the starting point for the Branch negotiations.
Branch has another starting point in mind. Indianapolis No. 2 wideout Reggie Wayne recently put ink to a six-year deal worth about $40 million, with up to $13.5 million in bonuses.
Branch's argument is that he should make more than a top No. 2. In five seasons, Wayne has 304 catches for 4,164 yards and 28 TDs. Should Branch put together another year similar to last (78 receptions for 998 yards), his five-year totals would not be far from those numbers.
But Branch will almost always trail Wayne in dollars. As a first-round pick in 2001, Wayne's $2.4 million signing bonus alone is more than what Branch, a second-round pick in 2002, has made in his four years in the league."
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The problem I have with Jerome's thinking is:
Givens was a FA, and his market was in the $18M range based on the only 2 offers he received until Tennessee overpaid him to be something he is not - a #1 WR. Tennessee did this because they are desperate to field a WR corps who can help Billy Volek carry this team until their new franchise QB grows into the job. These are the same people who have been digging out of cap hell going on 3-4 seasons now and who were just forced to part company with their former franchise QB rather than face a $23M cap hit. Like BB says, he is not responsible for what other GM's pay.
Reggie Wayne is a similar situation in that Polian paid him to stay on as the #1 in waiting behind a 35 year old HOF'er. Unlike BB, BP has also been known to overpay to retain his most coveted talent....
According to Jerome if Deion puts up a similar season in 2006 he will almost match the numbers of Indy's #2 WR who made as much in his rookie signing bonus as Branch will have made in his entire rookie contract. So...
I'd be fine with a pay as you go in arrears system, but that is not what the NFL has. Wayne was a first rounder - THEY GET MORE JUST FOR BEING THAT JEROME. I know you were imported from Houston but sheesh.... Deion is underpaid for what he performs as - duh.... and so are most players who emerge from the second round and beyond who work hard and are coached up to become starters. That's the system. Branch was lucky to get what he did since the Pats were perceived to have stretched somewhat for him in the second. Try working for what Givens got for his first 3.
Deion isn't holding out to force the Pats to negotiate with him - that was going to happen this year as a matter of course. What he is holding out over is the size of the contract the Patriots are talking vs. what he believes he should get just because some other guys are being overpaid.
What this is all about is 1. Givens almost eclipsed him earnings by virtue of his RFA tender last season, and now has eclipsed him by virtue of his desire to play for Eddie George's old team converging with that team's continued desperation that dates back to about the last time Eddie George played for them.
2. We have apparently attempted (or been linked to attempts) to sign 3 #1 WR's in the last 12 months - Mason, Walker and Jackson. Coming off an injury plagued season in 2003 Deion seemed not all that perturbed with the Mason scenario - after all Derrick was 31 at the time and only being offered a 4 year deal with a $7M signing bonus which could easily have been viewed as a 2-3 year deal tops. As recently as several weeks ago Deion said he intended to honor his contract although he hoped a new deal would be forthcoming. Then the Walker rumors started to fly, followed shortly by rumors that Branch was steamed and would holdout if Walker were signed before he got his. And though we didn't follow through on Walker, we drafted a first round graded WR for whom we moved up to the top of the second round at the price of a 2 and 3. Hmm.... Like Deion I don't necessarily think he was drafted to replace former 7th rounder Givens....
Caldwell was signed to replace Givens, and signed for 2 years so that he can be thoroughly evaluated and potentially resigned if he pans out.
In Reiss' article on Pioli last Sunday Scott hinted that this team will always be looking to add better players. Some players run from that sort of situation while others embrace it. Deion needs to show up at camp and run at his competition, not sit home and stew over it. And if he wants to be paid more than Indy's #2 WR he needs to redirect his attention to outperforming him before expecting to out earn him.
