Cassel 2, Pioli 0

[Fencer]

Matt Cassel has a very strong negotiating position vs. his new boss, Scott Pioli, because he has the right to play one season for >$14 million and then test free agency (or else wind up receiving >$32 million total for two seasons).

Had he been tied up on his rookie deal a year longer, his position would be very different. The Pats could get 1st and 3rd round picks for trading Cassel, and his earnings expectations would be correspondingly reduced.

And who is it that didn't tie him up for a year longer on his rookie deal? That would be his old boss, Scott Pioli.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Matt Cassel has a very strong negotiating position vs. his new boss, Scott Pioli, because he has the right to play one season for >$14 million and then test free agency (or else wind up receiving >$32 million total for two seasons).

Had he been tied up on his rookie deal a year longer, his position would be very different. The Pats could get 1st and 3rd round picks for trading Cassel, and his earnings expectations would be correspondingly reduced.

And who is it that didn't tie him up for a year longer on his rookie deal? That would be his old boss, Scott Pioli.

Assuming five-year deals were allowed for seventh-round players (I'm not sure they were), can you honestly blame the Pats for only signing him to a four-year deal?

 

[Miguel]

Please name a 7th round pick from the 2005 draft that was signed to a 5-year deal.

Heck, I doubt that anyone would be able to find more than a couple of Day 2 picks from the 2005 draft that were signed to 5-year deals.

 

[Fencer]

Assuming five-year deals were allowed for seventh-round players (I'm not sure they were)

Truth is, I don't recall which year deals of that length were first banned. So I decided to disregard the point ...

Assuming five-year deals were allowed for seventh-round players (I'm not sure they were), can you honestly blame the Pats for only signing him to a four-year deal?

No, but it makes for a good story even so.

 

[alvinnf]

Matt Cassel has a very strong negotiating position vs. his new boss, Scott Pioli, because he has the right to play one season for >$14 million and then test free agency (or else wind up receiving >$32 million total for two seasons).

Had he been tied up on his rookie deal a year longer, his position would be very different. The Pats could get 1st and 3rd round picks for trading Cassel, and his earnings expectations would be correspondingly reduced.

And who is it that didn't tie him up for a year longer on his rookie deal? That would be his old boss, Scott Pioli.

This is naive, there is obviously more to come out of KC obviously on or closer to draft day. Give me a break this is the ultimate snow job/insider trading. Pioli saves face with the fan base and he also has a great negotiating point 2nd round draft pick and Vrabel. Cassel has made reletively small amounts of money so far, now they come in and offer you 4 or 5 years of financial security with a signing bonus that excedes your tender say18 mill. You know what you just got, your gauranteed money and 4 or five years in the league. It's genius, I just wish we did'nt have to wait to see what else we have coming.....

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Matt Cassel has a very strong negotiating position vs. his new boss, Scott Pioli, because he has the right to play one season for >$14 million and then test free agency (or else wind up receiving >$32 million total for two seasons).

Had he been tied up on his rookie deal a year longer, his position would be very different. The Pats could get 1st and 3rd round picks for trading Cassel, and his earnings expectations would be correspondingly reduced.

And who is it that didn't tie him up for a year longer on his rookie deal? That would be his old boss, Scott Pioli.

It's one thing to have Matt's back, as several of us did as far back as last August... don't make the mistake of becoming so enamored you lose perspective entirely.

Matt doesn't want to start his career as a franchise QB off on the wrong foot, nor does he want to play for the tender for obvious reasons. Hopefully David Dunn has his priorities in order as well because Pioli is in a situation where the team has more cap than cash at this juncture and he could make making even a one year scenario work for them from a risk/reward basis a lot less risky than it would be for the Cassel camp. That's one of the reasons he was prepared to pull the trigger on this deal while the Tampa's and Detroits and Denver's couldn't get up to speed in time to beat it... KC has been in a rebuilding mode off as well as on the field. They were falling far behind in revenue and are just completing a renovation of Arrowhead destined to close that cap. And they remain a few pieces more than just a QB away from regaining a competitive edge in an AFCW that remains ripe for the taking.

Even with a ring in hand and eventually 3 rings in hand Tommy was willing to approach financial rewards in increments and he never let his contractual situation distract him from the ultimate goal, being envied for being the top dog Franchise QB on the last team standing at the end of the season, being measured by the measure that matters most, W-L and not contractual $$$ secured. Allow Pioli build a team around him and Matt will reap his rewards over time. Dig his heels in or allow his agent to over getting some perceived market value met or matched up front and he may yet never experience what it's like to be a career starter and face of a franchise for a decade in the NFL. Because Pioli will move on. He's intent on teambbuilding, not stroking player egos.

Had he held off in signing the tender, Matt and his agent could have driven any deal. They chose to secure the tag $$ immediately (which may have sent a message to the league that his own agent wasn't sure he was all that marketable) and left marketing Matt to the Patriots and go figure, they did the one thing nobody thought they could - found a guy willing to take him for more than a day 2 pick absent a long term deal. That's not a guy you play games with while he holds all the cards that impact your future in his hand... That would be compounding an error. If Matt finds himself testing FA again next March he'll have lost more value in the process than Pioli will. Pioli's only in for part of a 2nd rounder and a chunk of the funny money the league hands out to every team to cover cap payroll that can't be saved for next year any more. And Clark Hunt isn't out any of his newly increased revenue stream via bonus or guaranteed $$$ (cash over cap) heading into an uncapped future that could include a 2011 work stoppage. And Tyler Thigpen's still hanging around...

Tom learned early on that financial discipline was what drove this system so he never asked them to choose between maintaining him or it. Guys who did found themselves playing elsewhere irrespective of whether or not any of their sunk cost was recoverable. That's the same system Pioli is installing in KC. It has as much do to with general principles and X's and O's...

 

[Boston Tim]

Matt Cassel has a very strong negotiating position vs. his new boss, Scott Pioli, because he has the right to play one season for >$14 million and then test free agency (or else wind up receiving >$32 million total for two seasons).

If next year is uncapped, I think Cassel will be a restricted free agent.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

If next year is uncapped, I think Cassel will be a restricted free agent.

Hence the >$32M for two seasons part (although the Chiefs would have the choice of giving him the RFA tender, franchising him, extending him, or letting him walk).

 

[Boston Tim]

If they could extend him for another year at the tender offer, that gives them more than a little negotiating strength.