JaMarcus Russell - man without a team
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
JaMarcus Russell is passing on his current contract offer
JaMarcus Russell is a Raider or technically he is not a Raider, because the contract remains unsigned. This is August.
Now your intrepid author realizes that you know what month it is, but the emphasis is on how late it is to sign a contract for a number 1 pick.
Signing dates of No. 1 picks since 1993
Year Player Date
2006 Mario Williams April 28
2005 Alex Smith July 26
2004 Eli Manning July 29
2003 Carson Palmer April 25
2002 David Carr April 20
2001 Michael Vick May 9
2000 Courtney Brown May 10
1999 Tim Couch April 17
1998 Peyton Manning July 28
1997 Orlando Pace Aug. 16
1996 Keyshawn Johnson Aug. 6
1995 Ki-Jana Carter July 19
1994 Dan Wilkinson May 5
1993 Drew Bledsoe July 6
Check out the August dates, there are two of them and the farthest one out is Orlando Pace on August 16. That was Thursday.
What is the hold up? Money. Plain and simple, Money.
The Raiders believe they’ve offered enough; Russell doesn’t. Plain and simple.
To get an idea of where the money should come in, trace back the former No. 1 draft picks, especially the quarterbacks. Cincinnati paid Carson Palmer $15 million in guaranteed money in 2003. The next year, the New York Giants paid Eli Manning $20 million in guaranteed year. The next year, the San Francisco 49ers paid Alex Smith $24 million in guaranteed money. And last year, the Houston Texans Mario Williams $26.5 million in guaranteed money.
QB’s usually get more money, but also need more time to adapt. They have to learn the playbook, get their timing down, read defenses, learn tendencies, etc.
JaMarcus needs to sign now or forget starting for a long time. Maybe that does not bother the Raiders, who knows.
Anyway, look at the bonus payments paid out recently. Carson 15 mill, worth every penny. (Squibster full disclosure - Carson Palmer was my starting QB on my Fantasy Team last year)
Eli 20 Mill, so far not worth it, does not appear to be near as good as big brother, but has time to prove your gallivanting author wrong.
Alex Smith 24 Mill, still young and improving, but 24 mill? Has not shown that so far.
Mario Williams 26.5 Mill, first off, it should be Reggie Bush, and second off, Mario is a DE not a QB and did not have a stellar year. He may grow and improve to become a great one, but has not shown it yet. Think Texas would rather have picked Vince Young?
So if the DE gets 26.5, does JaMarcus hold out for 30? Football has gone crazy. Now if only they would draft the Squibster.
Hey, JaMarcus, get signed, get into camp and help this team!
NFL Football Fan Question How long will JaMarcus hold out?
As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.
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POSTED IN: Al Davis, JaMarcus Russell, NFL Draft, NFL Football, Oakland Raiders
4 opinions for JaMarcus Russell - man without a team
Ron B Free
Aug 18, 2007 at 7:44 am
The whole concept of giving such huge signing bonus’s to guys that haven’t played yet has little logic to it. The NFL does so many things right. I have never understood why they don’t correct this problem. Adopt the NBA code and more reasonable contract numbers based on where you are drafted. Then pay the guys when they have proven themselves. Then again the amount the NBA pays guys when they are free agents is stupid but that is a whole different topic. If the NFL would negotiate with the players union on this topic and give them something in return like better retirement packages to take care of former players, more leverage when they are free agents etc that the veteran players would jump at that and adopt a more reasonable system. Think of how much money teams invest in rookie players that don’t pan out (Lions for example with Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington etc) and you would think NFL teams would want to change the system too.
James
Aug 18, 2007 at 11:27 pm
like ’nuff said!
Alan
Aug 31, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I feel that the NFL really has it all wrong. They pay folks ridiculous amounts of money and often don’t pan out for what ever the reason…injuries, poor playing and oh yeah my favorite LEGAL/CRIMINAL PROBLEMS. Jobs that really have a need in society, like Police, Educators, and maybe medical (nurses) have a salary range of approx. $36,000.00-$85,000.00. Those jobs have meaning. So the next time one of over paid ego whores break a bone or there Mama or sister gets sick or they need the police because their $250,000.00 car got stolen, I hope they really think twice whose job is really worth the high pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rookies should all start at a low league minimum. play for a year or two depending on their rating, and then givien an opportunity to get pay increase, just like the rookie cop, whose job is physical, dangerous and really requires intellect and focus.
James
Aug 31, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Well said!
The rookies getting all that money does tend to bother me.
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