Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:33 am EST
It seems that God told Kurt Warner that he needs to get paid
By MJD
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After the Cardinals' devastating loss in the Super Bowl,
Kurt Warner, undecided on whether or not to continue playing football, said he'd "get all the information [he could], sit back and pray about it and
see what God leads [him] to do."
Sometime between then and now, Kurt and God had that talk, and God must have said something along the lines of, "Kurt, go forth and get that cheddar. Dollar dollar bill, y'all."
Via Pro Football Talk, here's what Kurt told Sporting News Radio:
“I’ve never been about the money, although I do know that money means commitment in this business,” Warner said. “My bottom line is I want to keep this team together and I want to have a chance to win a championship and that’s the most important thing, and I want to be compensated as well because I know these are probably going to be the last two years I’m going to play and I’m in a great position, having success from being at the Super Bowl and being a free agent.
“It’s a good position to be in and where I’ve maybe taken a bit less over the last four or five years while I’ve tried to solidify myself. Now, you’re in the position to maximize some things as you move forward and end your career and go on in the future.”
I love how the quote starts with, "I've never been about the money," but then, in so many words, ends with, "But I'm going to need more money." Odd how it always, always, always seems to come down to money, even when God is in charge of the negotiations.
I wish at some point, someone would just admit it. When is someone going to come out and say, "Yeah, I want a lot of money. I want so much money that I can personally hire
Yahweh's People to live in my bedroom and perform every morning as my personal alarm clock. I want to be able to afford to travel to all road games in my own personal Popemobile, and I don't care what anyone thinks about it." I think we'd all respect the honesty.
Anyway, Warner's agent joined the "Let's get Kurt more money" chorus.
From the AP:
Agent Mark Bartelstein said Warner deserves a salary among the top “four or five” quarterbacks in the league, no matter where he plays. According to Bartelstein, those five earn an average of about $14.5 million per year.
In an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday night, Bartelstein declined to say what the Cardinals were offering.
“It’s unfortunate,” Bartelstein said. “I thought it would get done quickly, but it hasn’t. We’ll keep working on it.”
My guess is that the two sides will eventually work something out, but it might not be as soon as anyone would like. The Cardinals know that Warner doesn't want to move his family out of Arizona, so they can afford to wait him out a little bit.
It feels like Warner wants to be there, and it feels like the Cardinals want him to be there. And if they want to retain any of the "We're Not a Laughingstock Anymore" momentum they built up, they can't afford not to re-sign him.