Leinart Contract/Negotiations Discussion

[Cbus cardsfan]

From the AZcardinals board...
More from Jason Cole......

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Since everyone on this board seems to think that Jason Cole's words on the Leinart/Cards negotiations are gold, read this:

LEINART DEAL DAYS AWAY

Contract negotiations between the Arizona Cardinals and the agent for No. 10 overall pick Matt Leinart continued Monday but still appeared to be days away from completion.

At least.

"We continue to talk, but there are still significant issues to work out," said agent Tom Condon, who did not want to discuss any other details of the discussions.

A source said that the Cardinals at least have gotten closer on the guaranteed portion of the six-year deal, increasing their offer to approximately $14 million in guarantees.

The source also said that Arizona, which has not signed its first-round pick by the start of training camp in six years, still has not offered salary escalators in the contract that are acceptable to Leinart and Condon.

For instance, to reach the first level of escalators, Leinart would have to play at least 60 percent of the downs in each of his first four years, 70 percent in the second, third and fourth years, or 80 percent in the third and fourth years of the contract.

Condon, who has negotiated contracts for quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Alex Smith, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Byron Leftwich and Cade McNown, typically has had escalators kick in within the first three years instead of four and has had lower playing-time thresholds. Leftwich had an escalator based on playing either 55 percent of the downs in any two of his first three seasons or by playing 70 percent in the third season.

Arizona general manager Rod Graves did not immediately return a call from Yahoo! Sports.

If this is true then it sounds like it should be pretty close to getting done. The only hold up would seem to be what % threshold the incentives kick in. That doesn't seem like that should be that tough to work out.

 

[kerouac9]

I am not defending anything, just correcting some inaccuracies.

Such as K9 blaming RG for a draft 2 years before he was promoted.

Then I was wrong in naming the draft that Rod Graves fumbled on so badly that it set this team back at least 2-3 years. It was his first draft as VP Football Operations.

And even with two mid-round picks, we still didn't get our first-rounders in on time. We haven't had our first round picks in on time in six consecutive years. How many NFL franchises can boast that? When did Graves start negotiating contracts, anyway, nidan?

Are you really going to defend Graves' first draft here? Again?

 

[arthurracoon]

so now we are offering 14 mil garunteed


i assume now there are only "speed bums" to work through and there are no more "hurdles" as MJ puts it

 

[krispydude]

sounds good..he should be in camp by wed then

 

[az1965]

Whatever your identity "Hardy Brown", I'm glad you are on the board. Your reports and game details are very informative and helpful in understanding the technical details.

Thanks!

 

[BACH]

Condon, who has negotiated contracts for quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Alex Smith, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Byron Leftwich and Cade McNown, typically has had escalators kick in within the first three years instead of four and has had lower playing-time thresholds. Leftwich had an escalator based on playing either 55 percent of the downs in any two of his first three seasons or by playing 70 percent in the third season.

I don't get it... Having the escalators over four year would improve the situation for Leinart, wouldn't it?

I mean, he not slated to be the starter from day one or even starting next season, so measuring it over four year would only improve his chances of reaching them. Or am I way off target here?

 

[vinnymac]

I don't get it... Having the escalators over four year would improve the situation for Leinart, wouldn't it?

I mean, he not slated to be the starter from day one or even starting next season, so measuring it over four year would only improve his chances of reaching them. Or am I way off target here?

that what it sounds like to me. sounds like a contract is going to be signed in the next couple of days. especally if the cardinals are offering 14/15 million in guaranteed money.

 

[kerouac9]

I don't get it... Having the escalators over four year would improve the situation for Leinart, wouldn't it?

I mean, he not slated to be the starter from day one or even starting next season, so measuring it over four year would only improve his chances of reaching them. Or am I way off target here?

Anything can happen the more time it takes the escalators to kick in over the contract. Seriously, is it more likely that Matt starts 55% of the snaps in his first three years, or 70%?

 

[40yearfan]

Amazing. According to Jurecki we were only offering $9 million yesterday and jumped it up to $14 million last night?

Yeah, right.

RG says we've been dealing in good faith and I believe him. Lienart shouldn't get over $12 million guaranteed.

 

[Big Deal]

They had this loser Cole on Xtra Sports and he was ripping the Cards up and down. He repeated on several occasions how Tom Condon is an expert and has done the contracts of Cade McNown, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, and one other first round bust. I was laughing because every single one of the contracts he mentioned I am sure the teams would love to get back. THEN IN THE SAME BREATH HE SAYS "He doesn't like Leinart that much and like Cutler much better to succeed in the league". This guy is a weasel who is riding Condon's behind.

 

[kerouac9]

He should on a 6-year contract. Sims got 12 on a 5 year contract.

 

[kerouac9]

RG's also gone from "we're offering a slotted contract" two weeks ago to "we're above the slot" yesterday. The Cards could say that they were at $11 million yesterday if they include the injury protection, but everyone knows that it's not a guarantee.

Jurecki's reporting that that guaranteed money is basically set. I hope that Matt'll be in camp on Wednesday. Congrats, Rod! You got the Cards' #1 pick into camp last! Another feather in the cap.

 

[kerouac9]

They had this loser Cole on Xtra Sports and he was ripping the Cards up and down. He repeated on several occasions how Tom Condon is an expert and has done the contracts of Cade McNown, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, and one other first round bust. I was laughing because every single one of the contracts he mentioned I am sure the teams would love to get back. THEN IN THE SAME BREATH HE SAYS "He doesn't like Leinart that much and like Cutler much better to succeed in the league". This guy is a weasel who is riding Condon's behind.

Man, you don't know anything about football, do you? Do you mean Chad Pennington former passing champ? Byron Leftwich, who lead his team to an AFC Wild Card and 8 wins last season? Yeah, those guys are busts. Don't forget Eli and Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Drew Henson, Tim Couch. Orlando Brown, Trace Armstrong, and Gene Upshaw. All these guys are Condon clients. He's a professional.

 

[BACH]

Jurecki's reporting that that guaranteed money is basically set. I hope that Matt'll be in camp on Wednesday. Congrats, Rod! You got the Cards' #1 pick into camp last! Another feather in the cap.

Technically no!

If Matt signs today it would make him a 9 day hold out. Bunkley, Allen held out longer.... (Maybe even Whitner)

 

[kerouac9]

Technically no!

If Matt signs today it would make him a 9 day hold out. Bunkley, Allen held out longer.... (Maybe even Whitner)

Really? Because it seems to me that they were all drafted on the same day. The negotiators had an equal amount of time to sign their guys. I didn't say "longest holdout", I said into camp last. Matt's the only one out there.

Aren't you Mr. Technicality.

Whittner only held out 8 days. Allen was a 10 day holdout. Bunkley held out 16 days. For the record.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Amazing. According to Jurecki we were only offering $9 million yesterday and jumped it up to $14 million last night?

Yeah, right.

RG says we've been dealing in good faith and I believe him. Lienart shouldn't get over $12 million guaranteed.

So Leinart should get the same amount guaranteed as a LB even though he is under contract for an additional year? No wonder you're a front office apologist, you both share the same archaic way of thinking that gets the Cardinals in trouble every year around this time.

 

[abomb]

From espn.com's Page 2;

You must be registered for see images attach

No, as of today, the Biggest Jerk in Sports is Matt Leinart.

It's a title made all the more remarkable because a year ago today, he was the Biggest Stud in Sports: Defending Heisman winner, defending national champ, returned to college for the fun of his senior year.

A year later, he's the poster boy for all that's wrong in sports.

His return to USC was a dud: No Heisman (not even the best QB) and no national title. He even left a small NCAA scandal behind.

His draft stock plummeted, in a nationally televised Green Room debacle. He went from being a lock as the No. 1 pick in 2005 all the way to No. 10 in 2006.

And now, officially, he's the lone holdout among all NFL first-round draft picks. This is the worst position to be in of all.

Apparently, Leinart feels he's worth more money than his double-digit draft position. The Cards, to their fiscal credit, disagree.

The thing is: NO ONE has sympathy for the NFL rookie holdout. The offered money is too good -- and the camp reps WAY too valuable.

So what happened to the Golden Boy of 2005? Maybe it was all an act to begin with. All fans have to go on is how he's acting now.

(For contrast, see Broncos draftee Jay Cutler, one pick behind Leinart, who has already moved up to No. 2 on the Denver depth chart.)

Only a true jerk can screw up the "savior" status anointed by a group as desperate for something to hope for as hard-luck Cards fans.

It's all the more frustrating that Leinart can repair things so easily: Suck it up and sign a contract. Get into camp. Prove your value.

Because for now, Leinart is no Heisman hero. He's no national champ. He's no top draft pick. He's no media darling. He's no hotshot QB.

He's just a holdout: A jerk.

 

[D-Dogg]

Page two needs to stop drinking coffee by the pot.

 

[kerouac9]

The Daily Quickie is an idiot, and his opinions swing wildly in one direction or another. He has no idea what's going on, and is just trying to fill his column inches. I used to really like that column, but now it's only what I read when I'm really, really, really bored.

Hard to come up with good things to write about in early August, I guess.

 

[abomb]

Page two needs to stop drinking coffee by the pot.

Yeah, I just like to get a pulse of what the national media is feeding the public.

The guys on Sirius NFL Radio were pretty much backing the Cards this morning too, stating things we already know; the Cards arent trying to price Matt out of the 10 slot.

 

[D-Dogg]

Yeah, I just like to get a pulse of what the national media is feeding the public.

The guys on Sirius NFL Radio were pretty much backing the Cards this morning too, stating things we already know; the Cards arent trying to price Matt out of the 10 slot.

The thing is, neither of the groups are in the wrong here....both are negotiating to get the best deal for both sides.

And Matt isn't even negotiating, Condon is.

Matt's not a jerk, and the Cards aren't being cheap. Soon enough, he'll be in camp and we can get back to worrying about the OL like we should be.

 

[Big Deal]

Man, you don't know anything about football, do you? Do you mean Chad Pennington former passing champ? Byron Leftwich, who lead his team to an AFC Wild Card and 8 wins last season? Yeah, those guys are busts. Don't forget Eli and Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Drew Henson, Tim Couch. Orlando Brown, Trace Armstrong, and Gene Upshaw. All these guys are Condon clients. He's a professional.

You just love to start fights and look like a useless poster, lol. You're lover Chad Pennington just had millions of dollars taken from him, just to stay on the team. Great contract for that team eh?

Byron Leftwich who was outplayed last season by his backup and when coming back from injury wasn't wanted by half the fans. Was pulled in the playoff blowout. In my book he is an average QB at best.

Cade McNown, need I say more.

Now please don't twist my words, I know that he has the mannings big deal, that was not my point. He mention these other three twice in his interview as if they are top notch QB talents. Then he turns after saying how much money Leinart should get and says he doesn't think that he's that good of a QB and he likes Cutler better.

 

[kerouac9]

You just love to start fights and look like a useless poster, lol. You're lover Chad Pennington just had millions of dollars taken from him, just to stay on the team. Great contract for that team eh?

Byron Leftwich who was outplayed last season by his backup and when coming back from injury wasn't wanted by half the fans. Was pulled in the playoff blowout. In my book he is an average QB at best.

Cade McNown, need I say more.

Now please don't twist my words, I know that he has the mannings big deal, that was not my point. He mention these other three twice in his interview as if they are top notch QB talents. Then he turns after saying how much money Leinart should get and says he doesn't think that he's that good of a QB and he likes Cutler better.

1) Chad Pennington took a pay cut on his second contract, not his first. He got a seven-year extension in 2004. The contract was good for the Jets, but Pennington got hurt.

2) Yeah, Leftwich was so outplayed by his backup last season that he's the unquestioned starter again. Obviously, that guy's a chump.

3) If you were possibly paying attention to the interview, you'd understand that the deals that Condon's worked out with Pennington, Leftwich, and McNown are important not because they turned out to be great players, but because they were taken not in the Top 5, but in the 6-15 range, which is where the Lienart deal is, as well. Oddly enough.

4) Who cares whether or not the Yahoo writer thinks that Cutler is a better prospect than Leinart? It doesn't change the fact that Leinart was picked first, and thus is entitled to more money. One thing has nothing to do with another. If anything, it should be a nod to the fact that that Yahoo writer isn't somehow married to #7 and is just pushing his agenda.

 

[MadCardDisease]

From Kent Sommers article:

One of the people doing the negotiating, Cardinals Vice President Rod Graves, wouldn't go that far. But he sternly denied reports the Cardinals had offered Leinart, the 10th overall pick in April's draft, less than what the 11th pick, Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, or last year's 10th pick, Detroit receiver Mike Williams, received.

"We haven't been in a position of trying to low-ball anyone," Graves said Monday evening, "whether it's been free agents or draft choices over the last couple of years. Any reports that we're low-balling Matt Leinart are simply not true."

Graves pointed to the contracts of cornerback Antrel Rolle and receiver Larry Fitzgerald as proof. Fitzgerald, the third pick in 2004, and Rolle, the eighth pick last year, received deals equal to the market at the time.

"We were more than fair with Larry Fitzgerald," Graves said. "We were more than fair with Antrel Rolle, and we've been more than fair in this process with Matt Leinart. And if we can get the third and the eighth picks in, I believe we know what we're doing to get the 10th pick in."

Leinart's agent, Tom Condon, declined to respond to Graves' comments, saying only "we continue to have discussions and still have some significant issues we have to solve."

Of course Condon didn't respond. Graves just called Condon's last bluff of using the media to try and put pressure on the Cards.

 

[rfayhallock]

I hope they trade Lionhart ASAP after signing him.

The future is now.

I just want a very good OL and DL etc.

azbob