Robert Kraft blasts Welker's agent

[JarOfMayo51]

Or Bob could have called WW one day earlier instead of quickly moving on to plan B. Must be nice to make definitive statements after the fact. But at least NE saved a million. Bob can put that in the win column

Your posts sound ripe with bitterness and disdain. There is no million dollars going into Kraft's pocket for not signing Welker, that money is going to be spent on another player and help improve the team. Posts like yours are so misinformed and inaccurate its ridiculous.

 

[shmessy]

Your posts sound ripe with bitterness and disdain. There is no million dollars going into Kraft's pocket for not signing Welker, that money is going to be spent on another player and help improve the team. Posts like yours are so misinformed and inaccurate its ridiculous.

When Borg writes that kind of misinformed thing here, it only exposes to everyone what his agenda is.

It's obvious.

 

[mgcolby]

I read the details a bit differently. Is that 2014 salary guaranteed or only after March? I thought it wasn't fully-guaranteed but I could be wrong.

Sorry I wasn't more clear. The 2014 salary is only guaranteed if the roster bonus is paid. If he is cut prior the roster bonus due date then 2014 money is not paid. Hence why Kraft said it really is a guaranteed one year deal.

 

[mgcolby]

Interesting, if accurate. $9 million guaranteed is less than the Patriots offer.

No it will either be a one year deal with 6 million guaranteed or a two year deal 12 million guaranteed. Nothing in between as constructed. If they keep him on the roster and earns the roster bonus then the 3 mil 2014 salary becomes fully guaranteed.

 

[Ivan]

Time to move on folks. Bob Kraft is telling it like it is. This wasn't a matter of Belichick being a tough shrew negotiator who got Welker's replacement at just the right time, this was a matter of the Patriots really wanting Welker back "for life" and simply not being able tyo pay him the Calvin Johnson kind of money that the money grubbing little punk was demanding. And after he cost them 2 Super Bowls and dropped more balls than anyone in football why would they? The Welker haters here were right about him. He was just a slot WR who Brady made who wanted wayyyyyyy too much dough, and the fact is that Julian Edelman can "easily replace him."

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Time to move on folks. Bob Kraft is telling it like it is. This wasn't a matter of Belichick being a tough shrewd negotiator who got Welker's replacement at just the right time, this was a matter of the Patriots really wanting Welker back "for life" and simply not being able tyo pay him the Calvin Johnson kind of money that the money grubbing little punk was demanding. And after he cost them 2 Super Bowls and dropped more balls than anyone in football why would they? The Welker haters here were right about him. He was just a slot WR who Brady made who wanted wayyyyyyy too much dough, and the fact is that Julian Edelman can "easily replace him."

Geez, talk about doing a complete 180

 

[Ivan]

Geez, talk about doing a complete 180

Can't help it Pissah, when i am wrong I am wrong, the Kraft's made it clear that they really wanted Welker back for life and pulled out all the stops to get it done but his avarice was just to great to overcome. If he hadn't been demanding Calvin Johnson type money I would probably side with Welker, especially considering that only 2 receivers in all of football have produced like him the last few years, but let's face it, he's just a slow small greedy punk who can't jump and can't catch and cost them two super bowls. He could have been easily replaced by Edelman but instead they got Amendola, who, as explained by some here, will put up much better numbers than Welker ever could have.

The Patriots clearly did their best so let's give it a rest. Hopefully the Patriots will put in the same kind of effort when Wilfork comes due again, I sure would hate to lose him but I am confident after the full court press they put on Welker that there won't be any issues, the Patriots got this.

 

[Ivan]

Geez, talk about doing a complete 180

BTW, thanks for the d, I was too lazy to go back in and put it in.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

The offer they never made was take it or leave it?

Exactly Ray Like I said time to move on Welker's gone.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Oh, so now there was an offer?

Gee, I really believe this guy now! He drips credibility.

I hear ya B*C I think he moonlites as a used car salesman.

 

[BradyFTW!]

As a neutral outside observer, it seems pretty obvious, even according to the supposedly-damning quotes provided, that the agent is referring to the period between 2010 and July of 2012 when he claims there was no offer. Then he says they were offered a single take-it-or-leave-it offer hours before FA. Their attempts to get an agreement at the maximum value of that offer (remove some of the difficult incentives) were rejected.

I don't see any discrepancy between the agent's quotes. Admittedly, I only started following this story during this offseason, so pardon any confusion.

As recently as two days ago, Welker's agent claimed that the Patriots never made a contract offer:

Agent maintains Patriots didn't want Welker | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com

He only changed his story after the Patriots broke character and Kraft stated that an offer was made. Then, suddenly, it was a "take it or leave it" offer. Pretty clear that he assumed the Patriots wouldn't dispute his version of events, and when they did he was caught in a lie.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

As recently as two days ago, Welker's agent claimed that the Patriots never made a contract offer:

Agent maintains Patriots didn't want Welker | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com

He only changed his story after the Patriots broke character and Kraft stated that an offer was made. Then, suddenly, it was a "take it or leave it" offer. Pretty clear that he assumed the Patriots wouldn't dispute his version of events, and when they did he was caught in a lie.

The agent says 2 years at $16M was never formally offered in 2010, if you read the article. The agent also said the Patriots did offer 2 years $10M in the past week, a take it or leave it offer. Both can be true. Curran does not explain why saying there was no offer in 2010 must mean there was some sort of lie about a low ball offer in the past week.

[The Patriots simply didn't want Welker is the contention. The two-year, $16 million offer the Boston Globe reported Welker having dangled during the 2010 season that would have covered Welker in 2011 and 2012 never happened, said Dunn.

No offer was ever made, Dunn contends. Period.

That offer was reported by Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston, who wrote on Friday, "The last proposal from the Patriots was a two-year, $10 million pact that could have been worth up to $16 million with incentives (although in Welker's eyes a good chunk of those would have been tough to reach)."

If there were no offer, it confounds how Reiss would be able to report that the incentives in a non-existent offer were unattainable in the eyes of Welker.]

 

[Ivan]

As recently as two days ago, Welker's agent claimed that the Patriots never made a contract offer:

Agent maintains Patriots didn't want Welker | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com

He only changed his story after the Patriots broke character and Kraft stated that an offer was made. Then, suddenly, it was a "take it or leave it" offer. Pretty clear that he assumed the Patriots wouldn't dispute his version of events, and when they did he was caught in a lie.

Agree completely, the Patriots wanted Welker "for life" and made him the 2 year offer to make it happen.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Kraft should just admit that they screwed up. They were playing the low-ball game and Welker simply said screw-you... it was a titanic screw up but at least the Patriots are trying to make up for it now. I hope the Patriots learned a lesson; i.e. not to nickle and dime valuable players.

 

[bresna]

Some new insight from this writer: Welker, and his agents, blew opportunity to stay with Pats » Sports » EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Sounds like this is all on Welker's agents, which is what Kraft said.

 

[Jackson 2]

Some new insight from this writer: Welker, and his agents, blew opportunity to stay with Pats » Sports » EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Sounds like this is all on Welker's agents, which is what Kraft said.

This a pack of lies from a kook-aid drinker and Kraft ball-washer. How dare he write this. Signed: Felger, Spazz & Bogus.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Some new insight from this writer: Welker, and his agents, blew opportunity to stay with Pats » Sports » EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Sounds like this is all on Welker's agents, which is what Kraft said.

Bill Burt lays a hurtin' on Welker's agents in the closing of that piece:

If the goal of Welker’s representatives was to stay with the Patriots and get the most money they could for their client, they failed.

If their goal was to leave and get more money elsewhere, like Adam Vinatieri, Richard Seymour, Ty Law and Asanta Samuel did in previous years, they failed.

If their goal was to leave and make less money than they would have over the next two years here in New England, well, Dunn and Murphy succeeded.

 

[jsull87]

Kraft should just admit that they screwed up. They were playing the low-ball game and Welker simply said screw-you... it was a titanic screw up but at least the Patriots are trying to make up for it now. I hope the Patriots learned a lesson; i.e. not to nickle and dime valuable players.

You have simply ignored pages and pages of evidence in this one post. I assume your trolling at this stage as all the evidence that has come out has suggested the pats offered a better deal with more money this year (8m reportedly). Welker could also be out on his ass next year if the broncos want making it a 1 year deal for 6m.

Agent screwed the pooch Welker wanted to be here and Kraft clearly wanted him... just not for 3/24m like they asked and no one was going to pay that. Pats were right on with his market value and weren't nickle and diming (as they offered more upfront money and also more money in performance escalators) if you can't see that there is no helping you.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Just watched Welker's Broncos press conference again. He says pretty clearly that it was evident early it wasn't going to work with the Pats and he started looking elsewhere. He then says he basically pitched to Denver to want to play for them.

Welker is as straight up and honest as you'll find, so I take him at his word. It fits with the overall two-sided story that the Pats came in very low (at least in his mind), and so early on the Pats had a 'take it or leave it' low offer and both sides then started preparing to move onto other options. The Pats moved onto their true Option #1 in Amendola after their predictable response back from the Welker lowball, and Welker started looking elsewhere to get an offer from Denver.

The Pats were probably right that the market in general went down a lot for all players this year, but the bottom line is they easily could have kept Welker and it was THEIR call to move on. The team could have kept Welker for similar money they gave to Amendola if they budged a little, which they wouldn't do.

 

[Fencer]

It seems clear that the Patriots made an offer to Welker that at least was fairly close to what he signed with Denver for, whether or not you believe it was actually better than what he took from Denver.

It seems clear that Welker never made an offer to the Patriots anywhere close to the Denver deal, except after they'd already signed with Amendola.

So yes -- most of the blame for the botched negotiations is on the Welker side.