I've seen a lot of speculation in different threads and in the media that if the Patriots had simply made Butler a reasonable offer, say one on par with what other cornerbacks get, then he would have taken it and the Patriots would not be in the current ill-defined situation with Butler.
To support their view, people typically cite Butler's agent, Derek Simpson, who stated: "anything that says [Butler] keeps asking for the moon is completely false", at Malcolm Butler’s Agent Gives Update, Denies CB Is ‘Asking For The Moon’ . Simpson's denial was in response to a column by Michael Lombardi in The Ringer, Why NFL Teams Shelled Out Millions for the Biggest Free Agents , where Lombardi writes that Butler was "looking for the moon and then some."
Who's correct here, Lombardi or Simpson?
Lombardi of course is fairly well-known, an ex-Patriots assistant coach.
Derek Simpson is a partner at Warren & Simpson, PC, a small litigation firm in Alabama. According to that firm's main page, Our Attorneys - Warren & Simpson, PC , Simpson's law practice "concentrates on automobile wrecks, construction accidents, trucking litigation, workers' compensation, products liability and premises liability". That page also states Simpson represents "several players in the NFL". According to that page, Simpson "was inducted into the National Trial Lawyers, Top 100" in 2011 and is president of the Madison County Bar Association.
Simpson's page at martindale lists his practice areas in more detail: Derek W. Simpson Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com , and they include personal injury, truck accidents, workers compensation, criminal law, automobile accidents, products liability and retaliatory discharge. Player representation is not one of the practice areas included at the martindale site.
Therefore, as background, all the information I've looked at it suggests that Simpson is a skilled and well-respected trial attorney, specializing in adversarial litigation in the areas named.
Obviously, we don't know from the publicly available information whether Lombardi or Simpson or correct about the "moon" situation. One possibility is that Simpson believes his client is not asking for the moon, and the Patriots don't believe that. But the situation here, like Malcolm Butler's story itself, is unusual. I hope it ends well for Malcolm and for the Patriots; their interests align in many ways.
To support their view, people typically cite Butler's agent, Derek Simpson, who stated: "anything that says [Butler] keeps asking for the moon is completely false", at Malcolm Butler’s Agent Gives Update, Denies CB Is ‘Asking For The Moon’ . Simpson's denial was in response to a column by Michael Lombardi in The Ringer, Why NFL Teams Shelled Out Millions for the Biggest Free Agents , where Lombardi writes that Butler was "looking for the moon and then some."
Who's correct here, Lombardi or Simpson?
Lombardi of course is fairly well-known, an ex-Patriots assistant coach.
Derek Simpson is a partner at Warren & Simpson, PC, a small litigation firm in Alabama. According to that firm's main page, Our Attorneys - Warren & Simpson, PC , Simpson's law practice "concentrates on automobile wrecks, construction accidents, trucking litigation, workers' compensation, products liability and premises liability". That page also states Simpson represents "several players in the NFL". According to that page, Simpson "was inducted into the National Trial Lawyers, Top 100" in 2011 and is president of the Madison County Bar Association.
Simpson's page at martindale lists his practice areas in more detail: Derek W. Simpson Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com , and they include personal injury, truck accidents, workers compensation, criminal law, automobile accidents, products liability and retaliatory discharge. Player representation is not one of the practice areas included at the martindale site.
Therefore, as background, all the information I've looked at it suggests that Simpson is a skilled and well-respected trial attorney, specializing in adversarial litigation in the areas named.
Obviously, we don't know from the publicly available information whether Lombardi or Simpson or correct about the "moon" situation. One possibility is that Simpson believes his client is not asking for the moon, and the Patriots don't believe that. But the situation here, like Malcolm Butler's story itself, is unusual. I hope it ends well for Malcolm and for the Patriots; their interests align in many ways.
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