Despite the current economic climate, NFL teams are throwing around money the way Wall Street banks used to. Instead of having to defend the use of corporate jets, they’re minting a class of free agents who could afford to fly to games on magic carpets.
Albert Haynesworth got $100 million for seven years by moving from Tennessee to Washington, though a more accurate measure is the $41 million he received in guaranteed money. Bart Scott took $48 million for six years, almost half of it guaranteed, by shuttling from Baltimore to the New York Jets. Jason Brown’s move to St. Louis from Baltimore earned him $37.5 million for five years, including $20 million guaranteed.
And that was just in the first 24 hours of the unrestricted free-agency signing period. So buckle up – it extends until mid-July.
but there’s still 300 or so UFAs on the loose, including big-money targets Ray Lewis, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Kurt Warner. In most years, the average NFL team turns over about a third of its roster.
So rather than guess whether the current feeding frenzy will eventually outstrip previous years, the better question to ask at the moment is why now?
Granted, the NFL doesn’t appear anywhere as vulnerable to an economic downturn as North America’s other pro sports leagues, MLB, NASCAR, the NBA and NHL. It plays in stadiums filled to capacity, has the best TV deal in sports – some $3 billion annually, more than the four rivals combined – and the ratings show few signs of slippage. Just last week, salary caps for each team climbed from $123 million to $127 million.
But that’s not to say the NFL isn’t being squeezed.
League staff was trimmed by 15 percent, about 170 people, and teams have shed another 200 jobs in recent weeks. Commissioner Roger Goodell is taking a pay cut of 20-25 percent on his $11 million salary. Just about everybody who makes their living off the game is feeling the pain, except the players.
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That first prediction was easy to make, since Wichard represents Haynesworth, and top-end guys are basically recession-proof. But it’s the second half of the quote – the part about being just a “player away” – that’s going to be worth tracking.
When Wichard made it, he’d just agreed to terms for another client, Chargers running back Darren Sproles.
“I just had a player with 61 runs from scrimmage receive a franchise tag that pays him as much as LaDainian Tomlinson,” Wichard told the Web site. “Doesn’t sound like anybody’s scared about the economy to give him 6.6 million bucks.”
The first wave of signings certainly made Wichard sound like a wizard. In short order, the Panthers re-signed tackle Jordan Gross to a record-setting contract, and the Redskins, Giants and Dolphins, among others, ponied up to hang onto players like DeAngelo Hall, Brandon Jacobs and Yeremiah Bell. The New England Patriots slapped a franchise tag on quarterback Matt Cassel before trading him to Kansas City, meaning he’s already residing in Tom Brady’s salary neighborhood, despite starting one season’s worth of games to Brady’s seven, and winning zero Super Bowls.
rs, rags-to-riches contenders like Carolina, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, New York (Giants) and Arizona have managed to reach the title game. That string of unlikely successes have tempted even sober general managers around the league to roll the dice on costly acquisitions.
Talk about short memories: Right after Pittsburgh sent those same Arizona Cardinals back to the desert empty-handed, nearly every tribute praised the Steelers for eschewing quick fixes, whether that meant giving their head-coaching hires time to grow into the job or refusing to turn over the roster in lean years for the sake of looking busy.
Contrast that approach with the Dallas Cowboys or the Denver Broncos, who had signed eight UFAs coming out of the weekend, still owe fired coach Mike Shanahan close to $20 million, and are feuding with Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler.
Cutler is livid that his name popped up in a proposed three-way deal with New England and Tampa Bay that would have brought Cassel to the Broncos and shipped Cutler to the Bucs.
“If they were in fact trying to trade Jay Cutler, then I think that’s a situation that’s going to cause a very serious problem for the organization,” his agent, Bus Cook, said. “If they weren’t, maybe he forgives and forgets. But if they were, that’s going to be a very difficult situation to repair.”
Despite all those dollars already spent, somebody might want to tell the Broncos not to put away the checkbook – yet.
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Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.org
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