Questions about Javon Walker....

[Plindsey88]

So, what's everyone thinking about his contract dispute, now-a-days? I mean, it seems to me like Javon just caught the shaft in a serious way.... Everyone was saying that he should play out the season for the peanuts the Pack were offering him, and negotiate a fair contract next year.... Well, pardon the pun, but it seems to me like Javon isn't going to have a leg to stand on in negotiations next year.... Despite the fact that he's a pro-bowl caliber receiver, it's kind of hard for a guy coming off an injury that serious to demand the big bucks he deserves without proving that he's injury free on the field, again....

Are you people still saying he was a jackass for asking for a fair contract this year? Now that we've seen what can happen out of the blue on any given Sunday....

[josebach]

So, what's everyone thinking about his contract dispute, now-a-days? I mean, it seems to me like Javon just caught the shaft in a serious way.... Everyone was saying that he should play out the season for the peanuts the Pack were offering him, and negotiate a fair contract next year.... Well, pardon the pun, but it seems to me like Javon isn't going to have a leg to stand on in negotiations next year.... Despite the fact that he's a pro-bowl caliber receiver, it's kind of hard for a guy coming off an injury that serious to demand the big bucks he deserves without proving that he's injury free on the field, again....

Are you people still saying he was a jackass for asking for a fair contract this year? Now that we've seen what can happen out of the blue on any given Sunday....

It's definitely a tough situation, but I don't think it's going to hurt his value at all. An ACL injury isn't career threatening anymore. He'll still get paid this year and next year he will sign for a huge contract... just like Anquan Boldin did after his injury.

Look at the flipside. What if he had chosen to sit out the entire season? What would that do to his image and value? What would it do to his endorsement potential? How much would that cost him?

Every player knows how NFL contracts work. That's why you get as much money up front as you can. If you have the belief that you're a marquis talent, DON'T sign a long term contract. Worried about a career ending injury? Get a Lloyds of London insurance policy. One awesome year isn't a long enough time to warrant not honoring a contract. Just look at David Boston.

Do it two years in a row and we'll talk.

[Kensat30]

<sarcasm>

Hey Javon is getting paid $500,000+ to sit on the sidelines and be a GB cheerleader all season. I bet that is more than the entire actual cheerleading squad combined!

</sarcasm>

[Firemoth]

Are you people still saying he was a jackass for asking for a fair contract this year?

I don't see why anyone's opinion should change. If they thought his contract was fair, then the injury shouldn't change that. If they thought it was unfair, he either should be correct in holding out, or else not have signed it.

Either way, it is unfortunate he got injured.

P.S. As far as I know, the Packers don't have a cheerleading squad. So it is safe to say that Javon Walker makes more than them. (Cheerleaders from local colleges will often perform at Packer games, however.)

-------------------------------------------------
Javon Walker Contract vs. Performance

References:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/nfc/draftsignings2002.html
http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/302233

2002:
$545,000 base + $3,000,000 signing
2 starts
23 receptions for 319 yards
1 TD

2003:
$681,250 base ($381,250 of this paid immediately as part of "option" clause) + $188,750 unaccounted option bonus
3 starts
41 receptions for 716 yards
9 TDs

2004:
$817,500 base ($427,500 of this paid in advance in 2003)
12 starts
89 receptions for 1382 yards
12 TDs

2005:
$953,750 base ($438,750 of this paid in advance in 2003)
1 start
4 receptions for 27 yards
Injured

2006:
$650,000 base (None paid yet)

2007:
$785,000 base (None paid yet)
--------------------------------------

Totals 2002-2005
$6,050,000.
18 starts, 157 receptions for 2444 yards, 22 TD plus whatever he does for the rest of the season.

[moochman]

Every player knows how NFL contracts work. That's why you get as much money up front as you can. If you have the belief that you're a marquis talent, DON'T sign a long term contract. Worried about a career ending injury? Get a Lloyds of London insurance policy. One awesome year isn't a long enough time to warrant not honoring a contract. Just look at David Boston.

Do it two years in a row and we'll talk.

Yes, players know how it works, that's why they hold out. It's a lot of fans that don't understand how it works. They get bitter over their teams star player holding out, or greedy rich athletes wanting more money.
The insurance thing is a very poor argument. Check out how Llyods' is handling these policies.
Why do they sign long term contracts? Because there are no short term contracts. Teams know the only way they can field a team in today's cap environment is through long contracts that keep players with them. A huge bonus- they can terminate the contract at any time. So why on Earth would they give an athlete a short term deal? It makes no sense. So the player has to sign a multi-year deal in order to get paid.

The money up front is both the carrot and the cane.

And in the Walker case, it will be the cane he uses to walk for awhile. He may, and probably will have a near full recovery, but he will never make up for the loss earning power that he time missed in the prime of his career this injury has taken from him.

So it hasn't changed my opinion at all. I have always backed the players when it comes to contract negotiating.

[josebach]

So it hasn't changed my opinion at all. I have always backed the players when it comes to contract negotiating.

Are you forgetting that there's a salary cap? Granted, not every team hits their cap, but when you give more money to one player, all you're essentially doing is taking it away from somebody else. You can back with players all you want, but the fact of the matter is there's only so much money the owners can spend. Besides doesn't everybody think they deserve more than they make? I know I do.

[muzz]

All I know is that HE SIGNED a contract, then he was looking for more $, then threatened to hold out....

Should have gotten more GUARANTEED $ UP FRONT on his 1st contract IMO.

I do believe that he WOULD have been VASTLY underpaid this year, but IMO they have troubles over there, letting go 2 of their best O-Line man......
Either the $ is there, or it isn't.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

So it hasn't changed my opinion at all. I have always backed the players when it comes to contract negotiating.

Are you forgetting that there's a salary cap? Granted, not every team hits their cap, but when you give more money to one player, all you're essentially doing is taking it away from somebody else. You can back with players all you want, but the fact of the matter is there's only so much money the owners can spend. Besides doesn't everybody think they deserve more than they make? I know I do.

I agree moochman.

Josebach - when you say that since there is a salary cap, spending more on one player is simply taking it away from another player you are correct - but its jumping the assumption that the salary cap is set correctly and is actually a positive thing. I disagree with that assumption. The greedy moneymakers in this league are the owners - not the players.

The fact that the owners have almost no incentive to honor their contracts unless its significantly underpaying a player is ridiculous.

And dont tell me its the NFLPA that agreed to this format so they have to live with it - the NFLPA is one of the weakest unions in professional sports, especially when it is compared to the MLBPA.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

How many players had their SIGNED CONTRACTS NULLIFIED by the owners this offseason (i.e. were cut)?

Why should the players honor their contracts when its business as usual for the owners to renig?

[josebach]

So it hasn't changed my opinion at all. I have always backed the players when it comes to contract negotiating.

Are you forgetting that there's a salary cap? Granted, not every team hits their cap, but when you give more money to one player, all you're essentially doing is taking it away from somebody else. You can back with players all you want, but the fact of the matter is there's only so much money the owners can spend. Besides doesn't everybody think they deserve more than they make? I know I do.

I agree moochman.

Josebach - when you say that since there is a salary cap, spending more on one player is simply taking it away from another player you are correct - but its jumping the assumption that the salary cap is set correctly and is actually a positive thing. I disagree with that assumption. The greedy moneymakers in this league are the owners - not the players.

The fact that the owners have almost no incentive to honor their contracts unless its significantly underpaying a player is ridiculous.

And dont tell me its the NFLPA that agreed to this format so they have to live with it - the NFLPA is one of the weakest unions in professional sports, especially when it is compared to the MLBPA.

Here is a really interesting article about NFL salaries. It's nowhere near as one-sided as it appears.

"But we all know that contracts are artificially long so that you can spread the signing bonus out over a longer period of time, when neither the club nor the agent expects that the player is going to last for the length of the contract."

What he's saying is that when Owens signed his 7-year, $48.97 million contract with the Eagles in March 2004, he and his agent at the time, David

Joseph, both knew that the last

3 or 4 years of the deal were just make-believe numbers that enabled him to get a bigger up-front signing bonus by allowing the Eagles to spread out the prorated salary-cap cost of the bonus over more years.

And if the Eagles, for whatever reason, decide to tell Owens to take a hike after this season, why should Owens care? He

already will have pocketed $12.5 million of the club's money and then can go sign with another team that probably will give him a signing bonus much larger than the $5 million roster bonus he's scheduled to get from the Eagles next March if he's still with them.

"Once a player gets cut, if he can still play at a reasonably high level, somebody else is

going to sign him and give him a signing bonus," Berthelsen said. "What money he didn't get from the remainder of his contract with his old team, he's more than going to make up for with the signing bonus from his new deal.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports ... 289468.htm

For some reason, the link isn't working. Just copy the link, do a google search on the link and then you can see the article. It's a good read and worth the effort.