PatsRI said:
Good article but I feel like Mo does on this one. Deion can get rid of this guy or make him except the offer. Hopefully if Branch is being led around by his agent that he has other family or friends that will talk to him before he starts losing the $14000 a day. If it's Deion's greed then he gets what he deserves.
I'm guessing that Branch might change his tune when he realizes that he's losing $100,000 every week he sits out. That's 10% of his 2006 salary, just for sitting out a week of training camp, and it'll continue to add up quickly after that.
The Pats really hold all the cards. Branch can sit out the entire pre-season, lose nearly all of his 2006 salary, but then needs to play a full season to:
1.) Qualify as a free agent next year* and
2.) Have a season that will justify a big FA contract (hoping his timing with Brady isn't thrown off by sitting out the pre-season)
*Even then, the Pats have the ability to use the franchise tag to hold him another season at a reasonable 1 year rate of @ $6 million.
If Branch REALLY wants a new contract right now he needs to realize that its going to be for a lot less than he would command were he a free agent, because as I've pointed out, he might not be a free agent until the 2008 season if they tag him.
Is that about it or am I missing something? Football's a business and that cuts both ways - we hear that when a player leaves for more money and we hear that when the teams actually (*gasp!*) hold players to the contracts they signed, and work within the rules of the CBA to impose fines and apply the franchise tag.
In this situation it largely cuts against Branch, but neither he nor his agent appear to realize that just yet.