For once, Cards seem right in contract flap
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
The Cardinals begin voluntary team workouts in June. Here’s guessing wide receiver Anquan Boldin won’t be one of the volunteers.
Boldin’s contractual dispute with the Cardinals has reached the uh-oh stage.
Training camp doesn’t open until Aug. 1, but the seeds of a nasty and prolonged holdout have been planted.
Here’s the deal, or in this case, the lack of a deal: Arizona is willing to
renegotiate Boldin’s rookie contract — a four-year, $2.47 million accord that will pay him $380,000 this season. But Boldin’s new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, wants not an extension but a completely new deal.
Complicating matters is the fact Rosenhaus also represents Philadelphia’s Terrell Owens, Green Bay’s Javon Walker, Washington’s Sean Taylor and Cleveland’s Reuben Droughns, all of whom have at least two more years left on their contracts but seek new financial arrangements.
If this is about Rosenhaus’ testosterone level, and not what’s in the best interests of his clients, the Cardinals are in for a long and prickly summer. Usually, it’s easy to distinguish right from wrong in contract squabbles. Owens wants Philadelphia to tear up his $46 million deal? Go cry in the river, fella. But the issues separating Boldin and the Cardinals aren’t so easily defined. Boldin deserves a new deal. He caught 101 passes as a rookie in 2003 and might have hit triple figures again last year had a knee injury not sidelined him for six games.
He’s terrific in the community and arguably the Cardinals’ most popular player. When Arizona put up billboards across the Valley to promote its new uniform, Boldin was the model.
Remember, too, that Boldin isn’t following Owens’ selfish lead. It was the Cardinals who first broached the possibility of a contract extension.
This was vice president of football operations Rod Graves last December: "Anquan is a winner, and we are hoping to have a long-term relationship with him."
There are justifiable limits to the Cardinals’ largesse, though. Graves declined comment Thursday on the negotiations, other than to say Arizona has offered Boldin a fouryear contract extension, which would take him through the 2010 season.
But press your ear to the ground, and this is what you hear: The Cardinals’ offer included a signing bonus of between $8 million and $10 million, and the total deal would be worth approximately $40 million.
It’s an incredibly generous offer for a player who has had one great season.
Rosenhaus, however, seems to think Boldin is Randy Moss (without the baggage), for he wants superstar money.
News flash: Boldin may be a superstar one day, but he’s not one today.
Larry Fitzgerald’s rookie deal also has put a crimp into the negotiations.
Is it fair that Fitzgerald — who has yet to prove himself Boldin’s equal on the field or in the locker room — will have $16 million in his pocket when he reports to training camp this summer, and Boldin’s signing bonus was $1.2 million?
Of course not. But that’s life in the NFL. Fitzgerald was the No. 3 overall pick in 2004; Boldin a second-round choice the year before.
If Rosenhaus and Boldin are holding out for Fitzgerald money, they’re in the wrong, not Arizona.
Boldin should call Rosenhaus today and tell him to accept the Cardinals’ offer. If Rosenhaus fights him on it, here’s Boldin’s cue card:
"Fine, then I’ll find myself another agent and he’ll get your cut of $40 million."
It’s not often the Cardinals wear the white hat in contract disputes. But, if their purported offer is true, this is one of those times.
They’re willing to make Boldin a very rich man and, it should be noted, open the door for other players to ask for extensions should they make the Pro Bowl their rookie year.
Take the deal, Anquan.
For it’s a short walk from being the public’s favorite player to Public Enemy No. 1.
Contact Scott Bordow by email, or phone (480) 898-6598
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
The Cardinals begin voluntary team workouts in June. Here’s guessing wide receiver Anquan Boldin won’t be one of the volunteers.
Boldin’s contractual dispute with the Cardinals has reached the uh-oh stage.
Training camp doesn’t open until Aug. 1, but the seeds of a nasty and prolonged holdout have been planted.
Here’s the deal, or in this case, the lack of a deal: Arizona is willing to
renegotiate Boldin’s rookie contract — a four-year, $2.47 million accord that will pay him $380,000 this season. But Boldin’s new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, wants not an extension but a completely new deal.
Complicating matters is the fact Rosenhaus also represents Philadelphia’s Terrell Owens, Green Bay’s Javon Walker, Washington’s Sean Taylor and Cleveland’s Reuben Droughns, all of whom have at least two more years left on their contracts but seek new financial arrangements.
If this is about Rosenhaus’ testosterone level, and not what’s in the best interests of his clients, the Cardinals are in for a long and prickly summer. Usually, it’s easy to distinguish right from wrong in contract squabbles. Owens wants Philadelphia to tear up his $46 million deal? Go cry in the river, fella. But the issues separating Boldin and the Cardinals aren’t so easily defined. Boldin deserves a new deal. He caught 101 passes as a rookie in 2003 and might have hit triple figures again last year had a knee injury not sidelined him for six games.
He’s terrific in the community and arguably the Cardinals’ most popular player. When Arizona put up billboards across the Valley to promote its new uniform, Boldin was the model.
Remember, too, that Boldin isn’t following Owens’ selfish lead. It was the Cardinals who first broached the possibility of a contract extension.
This was vice president of football operations Rod Graves last December: "Anquan is a winner, and we are hoping to have a long-term relationship with him."
There are justifiable limits to the Cardinals’ largesse, though. Graves declined comment Thursday on the negotiations, other than to say Arizona has offered Boldin a fouryear contract extension, which would take him through the 2010 season.
But press your ear to the ground, and this is what you hear: The Cardinals’ offer included a signing bonus of between $8 million and $10 million, and the total deal would be worth approximately $40 million.
It’s an incredibly generous offer for a player who has had one great season.
Rosenhaus, however, seems to think Boldin is Randy Moss (without the baggage), for he wants superstar money.
News flash: Boldin may be a superstar one day, but he’s not one today.
Larry Fitzgerald’s rookie deal also has put a crimp into the negotiations.
Is it fair that Fitzgerald — who has yet to prove himself Boldin’s equal on the field or in the locker room — will have $16 million in his pocket when he reports to training camp this summer, and Boldin’s signing bonus was $1.2 million?
Of course not. But that’s life in the NFL. Fitzgerald was the No. 3 overall pick in 2004; Boldin a second-round choice the year before.
If Rosenhaus and Boldin are holding out for Fitzgerald money, they’re in the wrong, not Arizona.
Boldin should call Rosenhaus today and tell him to accept the Cardinals’ offer. If Rosenhaus fights him on it, here’s Boldin’s cue card:
"Fine, then I’ll find myself another agent and he’ll get your cut of $40 million."
It’s not often the Cardinals wear the white hat in contract disputes. But, if their purported offer is true, this is one of those times.
They’re willing to make Boldin a very rich man and, it should be noted, open the door for other players to ask for extensions should they make the Pro Bowl their rookie year.
Take the deal, Anquan.
For it’s a short walk from being the public’s favorite player to Public Enemy No. 1.
Contact Scott Bordow by email, or phone (480) 898-6598
