Crabtree (1 Viewer)

[Knight who says Ni]

Just saw this - SF files a grievance against the Jets for tampering:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Re...?urn=nfl,190820

 

[Keepers]

They're not signing their first round pick, something every other team in the NFL has done this year.

if all the other first rounders had demanded money that players drafted 5-7 slots above them got, NONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE SIGNED

Disagree. If all other first rounders demaned to get money 5-7 slots above them...they all would have signed, because thats where they would have been sloted!

What would happen to 1-4?

 

[Wreckincrew]

9. B.J. Raji DT Green Bay Signed 5 years, $28.5 million ($18M guaranteed)

10. Michael Crabtree WR San Francisco Unsigned

11. Aaron Maybin DE Buffalo Signed 5 years, $25 million ($15M guaranteed)

Maybe someone should explain to Mr. Crabtree exactly how much money 16.5 MILLION DOLLARS is.

What a joke.

 

[RUSF18]

From the ESPN article on the tampering charges:

The 49ers have until Nov. 17 to sign Crabtree -- the 10th overall pick -- or surrender his rights, which would force him back into the pool for 2010's draft. Or they could trade his rights to another team by Oct. 20, the NFL's trade deadline.

Hasn't it been said (repeatedly) that the Niners had until mid August to trade Crabtree's rights, and also that they will hold his rights up until the 2010 draft? This part has me confused.

 

[a_rackowski]

Thats what I am wondering - can the 49ers trade his rights thru week 6 of this season?

 

[RC94]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/09/1...ductive-in-slot

From the Whispers From Around the NFL article:

• Are there any real signs on the horizon that there could actually be a meeting of the minds between the Niners and first-round holdout Michael Crabtree, as has been requested by team president Jed York? "I hear they're further apart than ever, with Crabtree and (his agent) Eugene Parker actually upping their demands," said one source close to the scene. "I really think Parker might be wanting to make the Crabtree ploy his lasting legacy."

 

[derek19]

Thats what I am wondering - can the 49ers trade his rights thru week 6 of this season?

nope. They can't trade him until after march 1st.

 

[DoubleG]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/09/1...ductive-in-slot

From the Whispers From Around the NFL article:

• Are there any real signs on the horizon that there could actually be a meeting of the minds between the Niners and first-round holdout Michael Crabtree, as has been requested by team president Jed York? "I hear they're further apart than ever, with Crabtree and (his agent) Eugene Parker actually upping their demands," said one source close to the scene. "I really think Parker might be wanting to make the Crabtree ploy his lasting legacy."

Seriously?!? "We're upping our demands because Michael will be even less productive and for a shorter period of time than if he had signed earlier." Whatever those guys are drinking/taking...I really need to get some of that for Monday mornings. Mike Ditka once said Chalres Manley had the IQ of a grapefruit - well, it appears Manley (and grapefruits everywhere) have some new competition.

 

[Wingnut]

For those of us who get up and go to work every morning... those of us who would KILL to have the talent this kid has, I hope he rots in his recliner and never steps foot on an NFL field.

:(

 

[derek19]

crabgrass

 

[Ripleys]

Mike Ditka once said Chalres Manley had the IQ of a grapefruit - well, it appears Manley (and grapefruits everywhere) have some new competition.

Do you mean Dexter Manley, the Skins illiterate DE? Charles Mann was the other DE, and he is as smart and educated as it gets for a football player...

 

[Knobs]

If the Niners are going to lower their offers, I'm fine with Crabtree up his demands. You can't let one side start pushing the other around like that.

 

[INRIhab]

If the Niners are going to lower their offers, I'm fine with Crabtree up his demands. You can't let one side start pushing the other around like that.

 

[DoubleG]

Mike Ditka once said Chalres Manley had the IQ of a grapefruit - well, it appears Manley (and grapefruits everywhere) have some new competition.

Do you mean Dexter Manley, the Skins illiterate DE? Charles Mann was the other DE, and he is as smart and educated as it gets for a football player...

Sorry - yes, Dexter.

 

[BuckeyeArt]

If the Niners are going to lower their offers, I'm fine with Crabtree up his demands. You can't let one side start pushing the other around like that.

I don't think the 49ers have ever lowered their per game offer. They just aren't going to pay him for games he's missed.

 

[Snotbubbles]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/09/1...ductive-in-slot

From the Whispers From Around the NFL article:

• Are there any real signs on the horizon that there could actually be a meeting of the minds between the Niners and first-round holdout Michael Crabtree, as has been requested by team president Jed York? "I hear they're further apart than ever, with Crabtree and (his agent) Eugene Parker actually upping their demands," said one source close to the scene. "I really think Parker might be wanting to make the Crabtree ploy his lasting legacy."

Seriously?!? "We're upping our demands because Michael will be even less productive and for a shorter period of time than if he had signed earlier." Whatever those guys are drinking/taking...I really need to get some of that for Monday mornings. Mike Ditka once said Chalres Manley had the IQ of a grapefruit - well, it appears Manley (and grapefruits everywhere) have some new competition.

This is an indication that Crabtree doesn't want to play for San Fran and wants them to trade him (probably to a team willing to meet his original demands).

 

[FavreCo]

Living the good life.

Sports Business Journal reports marketing agent Mike Ornstein said he has made San Francisco 49ers first round draft pick WR Michael Crabtree enough money in endorsement deals that the still-unsigned first-round draft pick won't be pressured to play football for a while. "He has made over 750 grand in marketing dollars," Ornstein said. Crabtree has not come to terms with the 49ers on an NFL contract. "It is not that he doesn't want to play, but he is not under the gun to," Ornstein said.

Translation: 'I want money...and lots of it'. Sounds a lot like one time NFL team payroll thief, Jerry Porter.

 

[The Big Guy]

Living the good life.

Sports Business Journal reports marketing agent Mike Ornstein said he has made San Francisco 49ers first round draft pick WR Michael Crabtree enough money in endorsement deals that the still-unsigned first-round draft pick won't be pressured to play football for a while. "He has made over 750 grand in marketing dollars," Ornstein said. Crabtree has not come to terms with the 49ers on an NFL contract. "It is not that he doesn't want to play, but he is not under the gun to," Ornstein said.

Translation: 'I want money...and lots of it'. Sounds a lot like one time NFL team payroll thief, Jerry Porter.

Of course the 750K is a drop in the bucket vs the 16 million that he is leaving on the table. Not to mention the fact that if he plays, he would most likely get MORE endorsements and better ones at that.Guy needs to understand that the year he loses now is a year of pay that he will never get back.

 

[Ray_T]

And obviously if he opts to go back into the draft in 2010 he'll be a total wild-card, a holdout with a proven bad attitude who hasn't played competitive football for a full year. Maybe he moves up a slot or two and gets that Darrius Heyward-Bey money he thinks he deserves, but it's every bit as likely he falls a few slots. Maybe more than a few.

A few slots? Try a few ROUNDS. Todd McShay was saying he wouldn't be surprised if Crabtree went in the 3rd round next year. For those of us who get up and go to work every morning... those of us who would KILL to have the talent this kid has, I hope he rots in his recliner and never steps foot on an NFL field.

I agree. I think it is highly unlikely that Crabtree goes earlier in next years draft.This is the year for him to sign and if he doesnt do it, he screws himself.

If I were San Fran, I'd tell him the deal is on the table for 1 more week. after this it drops by 100k/yr for every week he waits.

 

[Catbird]

If the guy comes in now, taking the money previously offered after missing training camp and the first month - so that he pretty much wastes the whole season and has forever diminished his fan apprecoation and endorsement appeal - what an idiot. If he doesn't come in and loses a whole year's salary (1 of perhaps the top 100 1st-year-out-of-college salaries in the world) and so gets picked later next year for even less salary after forever diminishing his endorsement appeal - what a total idiot!

 

[Snotbubbles]

If the guy comes in now, taking the money previously offered after missing training camp and the first month - so that he pretty much wastes the whole season and has forever diminished his fan apprecoation and endorsement appeal - what an idiot. If he doesn't come in and loses a whole year's salary (1 of perhaps the top 100 1st-year-out-of-college salaries in the world) and so gets picked later next year for even less salary after forever diminishing his endorsement appeal - what a total idiot!

Unless of course the Jets tampering is reality. In which case, the Jets draft him pay him his money.

 

[FavreCo]

If the guy comes in now, taking the money previously offered after missing training camp and the first month - so that he pretty much wastes the whole season and has forever diminished his fan apprecoation and endorsement appeal - what an idiot. If he doesn't come in and loses a whole year's salary (1 of perhaps the top 100 1st-year-out-of-college salaries in the world) and so gets picked later next year for even less salary after forever diminishing his endorsement appeal - what a total idiot!

Unless of course the Jets tampering is reality. In which case, the Jets draft him pay him his money.

The Jets will have better options in the 2010 draft.I would think all but the Redskins have figured out now that this moron is not worth the $. Snyder will pay him. Hell, Snyder is such a fool, he may pay him to be HC too.

 

[Knobs]

I have to say, I'm a Niners fan who is going to be pissed if we don't sign him. I'm pissed we haven't signed him already.

Really, is it worth a couple million to make a stand on behalf of the league? To every other team, sure. But with a rookie cap supposedly coming in soon, what's this buy SF? A couple of million? BULL####!!! Allegedly SF has offered him incentives that would give him up to $1 less than the guy drafted ahead of him. To me that just sounds ridiculous. Just because Crabtree is being an immature ##### doesn't mean the Yorks need to take a page from the same book.

Sure they can keep playing this game of chicken but it's coming at the expense of him learning the playbook and coming closer to helping our team win.

If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid.

As it is, if we were simply going to piss away our first round pick this year we would have been much better served trading next year's as well and snagging Cutler.

I believe SF should have caved long ago and he'd be that much closer to doing something on the football field and helping us win ball games.

 

[dagwood]

I have to say, I'm a Niners fan who is going to be pissed if we don't sign him. I'm pissed we haven't signed him already.Really, is it worth a couple million to make a stand on behalf of the league? To every other team, sure. But with a rookie cap supposedly coming in soon, what's this buy SF? A couple of million? BULL####!!! Allegedly SF has offered him incentives that would give him up to $1 less than the guy drafted ahead of him. To me that just sounds ridiculous. Just because Crabtree is being an immature ##### doesn't mean the Yorks need to take a page from the same book.Sure they can keep playing this game of chicken but it's coming at the expense of him learning the playbook and coming closer to helping our team win.If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid. As it is, if we were simply going to piss away our first round pick this year we would have been much better served trading next year's as well and snagging Cutler.I believe SF should have caved long ago and he'd be that much closer to doing something on the football field and helping us win ball games.

I don't think Crabtree wants "incentives"....he wants "guaranteed" money.....

 

[stevegamer]

If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid.

Even if he outperformed the contract, he'd be wanting a new one. So it would never end. And that's if he's not a bust, which everything points towards - he's got a eight cent head, not even a full ten cent head.They should have offered him a one year deal, fully guaranteed, no signing bonus to see excalty how much he wants.

 

[Knobs]

That may very well be the case...but I haven't heard any reports SF has offered him more incentive money that would lead to higher slot cash. If those reports start coming out I'll change my tune.

 

[Knobs]

If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid.

Even if he outperformed the contract, he'd be wanting a new one. So it would never end. And that's if he's not a bust, which everything points towards - he's got a eight cent head, not even a full ten cent head.They should have offered him a one year deal, fully guaranteed, no signing bonus to see excalty how much he wants.

How on earth does him being an idiot who wants lots of money point towards him being a bust? Lots of players have been fools and quite a few players have wanted more cash. Some of them have been busts and some of them have not.

 

[stevegamer]

That may very well be the case...but I haven't heard any reports SF has offered him more incentive money that would lead to higher slot cash. If those reports start coming out I'll change my tune.

But even if they don't offer him "higher" slot cash - if he wants it now, you know he will want it after he outperforms a contract one year. And he won't be offering to go the other way if he underperforms, as it won't be his fault.I'm a Seahawk fan, and I thnk Singletary is going to be very good for you guys - Crabme is not the kind of guy a team needs.

 

[Billy Ball Thorton]

I have to say, I'm a Niners fan who is going to be pissed if we don't sign him. I'm pissed we haven't signed him already.Really, is it worth a couple million to make a stand on behalf of the league? To every other team, sure. But with a rookie cap supposedly coming in soon, what's this buy SF? A couple of million? BULL####!!! Allegedly SF has offered him incentives that would give him up to $1 less than the guy drafted ahead of him. To me that just sounds ridiculous. Just because Crabtree is being an immature ##### doesn't mean the Yorks need to take a page from the same book.Sure they can keep playing this game of chicken but it's coming at the expense of him learning the playbook and coming closer to helping our team win.If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid. As it is, if we were simply going to piss away our first round pick this year we would have been much better served trading next year's as well and snagging Cutler.I believe SF should have caved long ago and he'd be that much closer to doing something on the football field and helping us win ball games.

Quit being simple minded and back your team. This is not about Craptree it's about future drafts. If teams do not stick with the formula of draft slot = this $$ then the 49'ers can expect to pay every 1st rd pick more than he's worth from here on out. I applaud them for not singing this guy for more than he's worth. He could be the second coming to Jerry Rice but one player is not worth messing up a system that will cost your team more$$ for years to come.

 

[TwinTurbo]

On the surface it appears Crabtree is acting foolishly. But you only get one chance at your first deal and you may not make it to your second. Most of us are thinking there is no way he would get a bigger offer next year but his actions indicate otherwise.

The 49ers are offering around $16M in guaranteed money. Heyward-Bey's contract was for $23.5 guaranteed with a base amount of $38.25 million that can max out at $54 million. I don't know about total dollars, but I think the 49ers would need to offer a similar amount of guaranteed money or he sits out.

So the question is: Is an extra $7.5 mil in guaranteed money plus a bigger overall deal worth sitting out for a year? I think it is. The risk is that he won't get it. But I'm starting to think his agent already has the framework for a second or third deal worked out with another team that tampered and unless the 49ers can meet them in the middle, he'll sit out until next season.

 

[Knobs]

A) The system is supposedly going to get changed in the collective bargaining agreement, so the long term argument is pointless.

B) Screw every other team. I'm a Niners fan first, NFL fan second. I also doubt this would screw up the system forever.

C) If he were the next Jerry Rice he would very much be worth screwing up the system. And then some.

 

[BeTheMatch]

On the surface it appears Crabtree is acting foolishly. But you only get one chance at your first deal and you may not make it to your second. Most of us are thinking there is no way he would get a bigger offer next year but his actions indicate otherwise.

The 49ers are offering around $16M in guaranteed money. Heyward-Bey's contract was for $23.5 guaranteed with a base amount of $38.25 million that can max out at $54 million. I don't know about total dollars, but I think the 49ers would need to offer a similar amount of guaranteed money or he sits out.

So the question is: Is an extra $7.5 mil in guaranteed money plus a bigger overall deal worth sitting out for a year? I think it is. The risk is that he won't get it. But I'm starting to think his agent already has the framework for a second or third deal worked out with another team that tampered and unless the 49ers can meet them in the middle, he'll sit out until next season.

But those teams can't guarantee him that they'll be able to draft him next year, so who cares what some other team says?

 

[Tom Servo]

Quit being simple minded and back your team. This is not about Craptree it's about future drafts. If teams do not stick with the formula of draft slot = this $$ then the 49'ers can expect to pay every 1st rd pick more than he's worth from here on out. I applaud them for not singing this guy for more than he's worth. He could be the second coming to Jerry Rice but one player is not worth messing up a system that will cost your team more$$ for years to come.

THIS

A) The system is supposedly going to get changed in the collective bargaining agreement, so the long term argument is pointless. The argument is not pointless. "Supposedly" is not will - you can't be sure some form rookie salary cap or the existing system would be the result. You're better off to proceed from the assumption that the next CBA could very well be more of the same.

B) Screw every other team. I'm a Niners fan first, NFL fan second. I also doubt this would screw up the system forever. You're being short-sighted here. If the Yorks cave now EVERY OTHER 1ST ROUNDER will try this stunt, mostly against the 49ers, but as well as other guys who think they got jobbed. And who does that penalize? Yup, the 49ers, Lions, Bengals, Rams and every other bottom feeder team. This is the kind of thing that would prevent them from getting back to being competitive. And competitiveness is the Holy Grail of the NFL.

C) If he were the next Jerry Rice he would very much be worth screwing up the system. And then some. Umm...no he's not. The Shield comes first, not the player. The player will never come first in the NFL. Roger Goodell will always see to that, as will the owners.

 

[Knobs]

I really don't think every other player would try this like you seem to be thinking. IIRC, Kevin Williams held out for more money than his slot. That was a couple seasons back and the system is still as screwy as ever but he didn't break the way things were done.

 

[CravenM]

The 49ers have had 6 straight losing seasons and I'm thinking 2009 might make it 7 and counting.

As George Costanza proposed: they need to starting doing the opposite of what they think is the best thing to do.

 

[TwinTurbo]

On the surface it appears Crabtree is acting foolishly. But you only get one chance at your first deal and you may not make it to your second. Most of us are thinking there is no way he would get a bigger offer next year but his actions indicate otherwise.

The 49ers are offering around $16M in guaranteed money. Heyward-Bey's contract was for $23.5 guaranteed with a base amount of $38.25 million that can max out at $54 million. I don't know about total dollars, but I think the 49ers would need to offer a similar amount of guaranteed money or he sits out.

So the question is: Is an extra $7.5 mil in guaranteed money plus a bigger overall deal worth sitting out for a year? I think it is. The risk is that he won't get it. But I'm starting to think his agent already has the framework for a second or third deal worked out with another team that tampered and unless the 49ers can meet them in the middle, he'll sit out until next season.

But those teams can't guarantee him that they'll be able to draft him next year, so who cares what some other team says?

Actually a team could guarantee they would draft him if he was available, just not the spot at which they would be able to draft him. The question for Crabtree is how far would he drop in the 2010 draft? And that's difficult to predict. If he's healthy, he would still be a first round pick. But if he drops out of the top 12, he wouldn't get more money unless some team had already made a guarantee to him. And yes a 2010 #11 or #12 pick probably still gets 2009 #10 money since every year the deals get slightly bigger. Even BMW sat out for a year and still got picked top 10. Crabtree's value will not drop like a stone, even though we all think it should. Crabtree and his agent are taking a calculated risk they can get at least similar money in 2010 with upside for several million dollars more. At first I thought he was an idiot and this was a huge bluff, but after looking at all the numbers I think it's possible. The 49ers are foolish if they cave to his demands, but there is a strong chance he would still get equal or greater money next year. The 2010 first round stud WR talent pool is thin. He could potentially still be drafted ahead of guys like Arrelious Benn, Dez Bryant, Brandon LeFell, etc. All it takes is one or two teams that really covet Crabtree and his plan would work.

 

[DoubleG]

On the surface it appears Crabtree is acting foolishly. But you only get one chance at your first deal and you may not make it to your second. Most of us are thinking there is no way he would get a bigger offer next year but his actions indicate otherwise.

The 49ers are offering around $16M in guaranteed money. Heyward-Bey's contract was for $23.5 guaranteed with a base amount of $38.25 million that can max out at $54 million. I don't know about total dollars, but I think the 49ers would need to offer a similar amount of guaranteed money or he sits out.

So the question is: Is an extra $7.5 mil in guaranteed money plus a bigger overall deal worth sitting out for a year? I think it is. The risk is that he won't get it. But I'm starting to think his agent already has the framework for a second or third deal worked out with another team that tampered and unless the 49ers can meet them in the middle, he'll sit out until next season.

But those teams can't guarantee him that they'll be able to draft him next year, so who cares what some other team says?

Actually a team could guarantee they would draft him if he was available, just not the spot at which they would be able to draft him. The question for Crabtree is how far would he drop in the 2010 draft? And that's difficult to predict. If he's healthy, he would still be a first round pick. But if he drops out of the top 12, he wouldn't get more money unless some team had already made a guarantee to him. And yes a 2010 #11 or #12 pick probably still gets 2009 #10 money since every year the deals get slightly bigger. Even BMW sat out for a year and still got picked top 10. Crabtree's value will not drop like a stone, even though we all think it should. Crabtree and his agent are taking a calculated risk they can get at least similar money in 2010 with upside for several million dollars more. At first I thought he was an idiot and this was a huge bluff, but after looking at all the numbers I think it's possible. The 49ers are foolish if they cave to his demands, but there is a strong chance he would still get equal or greater money next year. The 2010 first round stud WR talent pool is thin. He could potentially still be drafted ahead of guys like Arrelious Benn, Dez Bryant, Brandon LeFell, etc. All it takes is one or two teams that really covet Crabtree and his plan would work.

The problem here is that talent <> signability. My point is (and here's where I think Crabtree and his agent/advisors are missing the boat), just because Crabtree is better than some of these players doesn't mean he will get picked before them (Just see DHB for an example). Not only did this already happen with DHB, but in 2010, Crabtree will be one year older, one year out of football shape and now be known, at least to some extent, as a dificult to sign "me" player. It does only take one team to covet him, but that team would have to want to also ignore all the red flags mentioned above - and answer to their fanbase for it.

 

[Fullback Fro]

If Crabby goes back into the draft, do the Niners get a compensatory pick for this debacle?

 

[Sniper_1]

This kid is just a PUNK, plain and simple.

 

[fsufan]

can they trade his rights. i would think SF would want to get something for him

 

[massraider]

If Crabby goes back into the draft, do the Niners get a compensatory pick for this debacle?

No. You draft the rights to negotiate with a player, you don't get picks for failing to do that.

can they trade his rights. i would think SF would want to get something for him

No, not until after the season.

 

[two_dollars]

Wow seriously? 16 million guaranteed? vs what, 20 million guaranteed? They're both a lot of money and I'd be happy to play for either contract, and give a lot of it to charity. Crabtree is being a little selfish here. He should feel blessed to play in the NFL. If the contract is in line, take it!

 

[Knobs]

Yes, Crabtree is being a fool. But so are the Yorks. What's an extra 4 million for a player that's supposed to be sooo good? And if he's not supposed to be so good why did they draft him in the first place?

 

[Twilight]

On the surface it appears Crabtree is acting foolishly. But you only get one chance at your first deal and you may not make it to your second. Most of us are thinking there is no way he would get a bigger offer next year but his actions indicate otherwise.

The 49ers are offering around $16M in guaranteed money. Heyward-Bey's contract was for $23.5 guaranteed with a base amount of $38.25 million that can max out at $54 million. I don't know about total dollars, but I think the 49ers would need to offer a similar amount of guaranteed money or he sits out.

So the question is: Is an extra $7.5 mil in guaranteed money plus a bigger overall deal worth sitting out for a year? I think it is. The risk is that he won't get it. But I'm starting to think his agent already has the framework for a second or third deal worked out with another team that tampered and unless the 49ers can meet them in the middle, he'll sit out until next season.

But those teams can't guarantee him that they'll be able to draft him next year, so who cares what some other team says?

Actually a team could guarantee they would draft him if he was available, just not the spot at which they would be able to draft him. The question for Crabtree is how far would he drop in the 2010 draft? And that's difficult to predict. If he's healthy, he would still be a first round pick. But if he drops out of the top 12, he wouldn't get more money unless some team had already made a guarantee to him. And yes a 2010 #11 or #12 pick probably still gets 2009 #10 money since every year the deals get slightly bigger. Even BMW sat out for a year and still got picked top 10. Crabtree's value will not drop like a stone, even though we all think it should. Crabtree and his agent are taking a calculated risk they can get at least similar money in 2010 with upside for several million dollars more. At first I thought he was an idiot and this was a huge bluff, but after looking at all the numbers I think it's possible. The 49ers are foolish if they cave to his demands, but there is a strong chance he would still get equal or greater money next year. The 2010 first round stud WR talent pool is thin. He could potentially still be drafted ahead of guys like Arrelious Benn, Dez Bryant, Brandon LeFell, etc. All it takes is one or two teams that really covet Crabtree and his plan would work.

The problem here is that talent <> signability. My point is (and here's where I think Crabtree and his agent/advisors are missing the boat), just because Crabtree is better than some of these players doesn't mean he will get picked before them (Just see DHB for an example). Not only did this already happen with DHB, but in 2010, Crabtree will be one year older, one year out of football shape and now be known, at least to some extent, as a dificult to sign "me" player. It does only take one team to covet him, but that team would have to want to also ignore all the red flags mentioned above - and answer to their fanbase for it.

Also keep in mind that, if the Niners allow him to re-enter the draft, there will be no legit way for other teams to work him out, or have ANY contact, until the day of the draft, which makes it real dangerous for teams to invest their top pick on such a less-well known quantity compared to any college player.

 

[derek19]

I really don't think every other player would try this like you seem to be thinking. IIRC, Kevin Williams held out for more money than his slot. That was a couple seasons back and the system is still as screwy as ever but he didn't break the way things were done.

They have offered incentives but as someone said before, he doesn't want incentives. He wants it all guaranteed. AND wants it be around 40 mil. No way the 49ers should sign him for 40mil. Would crabtree help the 49ers, yes. Can the 49ers get by without him? I think they've shown that.

 

[BuckeyeArt]

I really don't think every other player would try this like you seem to be thinking. IIRC, Kevin Williams held out for more money than his slot. That was a couple seasons back and the system is still as screwy as ever but he didn't break the way things were done.

They have offered incentives but as someone said before, he doesn't want incentives. He wants it all guaranteed. AND wants it be around 40 mil. No way the 49ers should sign him for 40mil. Would crabtree help the 49ers, yes. Can the 49ers get by without him? I think they've shown that.

I don't think that's accurate. There isn't any team, anywhere, any year, that's going to pay him 40 million guaranteed.

 

[derek19]

I really don't think every other player would try this like you seem to be thinking. IIRC, Kevin Williams held out for more money than his slot. That was a couple seasons back and the system is still as screwy as ever but he didn't break the way things were done.

They have offered incentives but as someone said before, he doesn't want incentives. He wants it all guaranteed. AND wants it be around 40 mil. No way the 49ers should sign him for 40mil. Would crabtree help the 49ers, yes. Can the 49ers get by without him? I think they've shown that.

I don't think that's accurate. There isn't any team, anywhere, any year, that's going to pay him 40 million guaranteed.

Sorry, I didn't mean 40mil guaranteed. Basically he wants more money than Heyward-bey.

 

[Multiple Scores]

Yes, Crabtree is being a fool. But so are the Yorks. What's an extra 4 million for a player that's supposed to be sooo good? And if he's not supposed to be so good why did they draft him in the first place?

Jed York called Parker and Crabtree to have a sit down and hammer out a contract. That call was never returned, How exactly is the Yorks fools?

 

[Couch Potato]

I have to say, I'm a Niners fan who is going to be pissed if we don't sign him. I'm pissed we haven't signed him already.Really, is it worth a couple million to make a stand on behalf of the league? To every other team, sure. But with a rookie cap supposedly coming in soon, what's this buy SF? A couple of million? BULL####!!! Allegedly SF has offered him incentives that would give him up to $1 less than the guy drafted ahead of him. To me that just sounds ridiculous. Just because Crabtree is being an immature ##### doesn't mean the Yorks need to take a page from the same book.Sure they can keep playing this game of chicken but it's coming at the expense of him learning the playbook and coming closer to helping our team win.If Crabtree pans out to everything he was hyped, he'd be worth more money than his contract would be paying him. So toss some incentives that would make him the highest paid player in the draft for all I care. If he plays like a stud then I have no issue with us paying serious coin for the kid. As it is, if we were simply going to piss away our first round pick this year we would have been much better served trading next year's as well and snagging Cutler.I believe SF should have caved long ago and he'd be that much closer to doing something on the football field and helping us win ball games.

Wow. Gotta disagree here Knobs, and I'm a SF homer too. You're thinking like a fan, and a team can't run a business like a fan.

 

[derek19]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/...rabtree-niners/

The fact that 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree is unsigned with the month of September nearly over is newsworthy even without any specific developments.

And, so, allow us to report that there are no specific developments.

More specifically, a league source tells us that two weeks have passed with zero communication between the team and agent Eugene Parker.

There's also a rumor in league circles that Parker is now telling people that there's a team willing to pay Crabtree $40 million over four years, which would match the contract Parker negotiated in early 2008 for Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

So maybe the Niners will be filing a second tampering charge at some point.