Dielman re-signs with the Chargers! (1 Viewer)

[PadresLakers]

Dielman agrees to six-year contract

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Saturday, Mar 03, 2007

By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Chargers prized free agent guard Kris Dielman agreed to terms on a new six-year contract Saturday that will keep him in San Diego through the 2012 season.

Dielman is expected to return to San Diego Saturday afternoon to sign the deal.

http://chargers.com/news/headlines/dielman-agrees-to.htm

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

good to keep that oline together

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

 

[Air Coryell]

Great signing. Really interested to hear what the terms are.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Great news! The left side of the line will be a force for many years.

Dielman decides not to bolt Chargers

By Kevin Acee

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

10:58 a.m. March 3, 2007

Kris Dielman is staying.

After months of silence followed by days of intense negotiation, the left guard who was voted the team's co-Offensive Lineman of the Year agreed Saturday to a six-year contract that will virtually guarantee him almost $17 million and put him around $40 million over the life of the deal.

Dielman was was en route from Seattle Saturday morning as his agent and the Chargers finalized the contract.

Calls to the Chargers and Mike McCartney, Dielman's agent, were not immediately returned.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith seemed resigned in recent weeks to the fact he would lose Dielman. Smith said repeatedly, “You aren't going to hit on 100 percent.” That was in reference to the fact the team has signed so many players to long-term contracts but might not be able to so with Dielman. Dielman is the 26th player under contract through at least 2009 and the 20th core player signed for that long. He is also the 17th core player that is 27 or younger signed through at least 2009.

While signs – Dielman's displeasure over the Chargers not negotiating since November, the fact that other suitors seemed primed to pay him more – pointed to Dielman leaving, Smith always held out hope.

In a Friday morning conversation with Dielman, he told him how much he thought of him and afterward said he was confident the team would get a chance to speak with him after he visited another team.

That team turned out to be the Seattle Seahawks, and Dielman spent Friday being wooed by them. Dielman left millions on the table.

Dielman is among Smith's favorite players, and the sincerity of his feelings for the player are evident every time he speaks of him – including when he said he would be happy for Dielman if he signed a big contract elsewhere.

Immediately after taking over the starting job in the third game of 2005, Dielman was credited with infusing a nasty attitude into the offensive line. He is immensely strong and aggressive.

An undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2003, he came to San Diego for a $7,500 signing bonus as a defensive lineman. He was cut after training camp but signed to the practice squad.

On his way to his first meeting with the defensive line, he was stopped by Marty Schottenheimer and sent to the offensive line meeting room. That is how he found out he was a guard.

He was moved to the active roster that October and spent the next two seasons learning the position, playing behind Toniu Fonoti. When Fonoti was injured against Denver in the second game of 2005, Dielman took over and has started 30 of the past 31 games.

 

[gocats]

sorry Shick!

 

[PadresLakers]

DIELMAN DETAILS

Scout.com reports that Chargers offensive lineman Kris Dielman will be paid $40 million over six years, with $18 million in guaranteed money.

Dielman will earn $24 million over the first three years of the contract.

We heard that Dielman's agent was claiming during the combine that he had a $7 million-per-year deal in hand. We later heard that the agent was inviting teams to get into the bidding at $7 million per year.

The final deal -- averaging $6.67 million -- shows that the goal wasn't reached.

Not that it's a bad deal, but it's not what either "The Skipper" Steinbach or Derrick Dockery got on Friday.

 

[PadresLakers]

Dielman agrees to six-year contract

Saturday, Mar 03, 2007

By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

The Chargers accomplished their number one goal of the offseason Saturday when they agreed to terms on a new six-year contract with prized free agent guard Kris Dielman.

“This is huge for us,” Chargers President Dean Spanos said. “Kris brings so much to our team. The character and attitude of your football team starts with the offensive line. Kris brings an edge and intensity to that group that is vital. We’re so happy to keep him in the fold.”

Dielman becomes the 26th key Charger that is signed through at least the 2009 season. His new contract will run through the 2012 season. Dielman is expected to return to San Diego Saturday afternoon to sign the deal.

“I knew how important it was to A.J. (Smith) and Norv (Turner) to keep Kris with the team,” Spanos said. “Ed (McGuire) and I worked on the late last night and early this morning. When I called A.J. to tell him the good news, he couldn’t believe it. He thought I was pulling his leg.”

Dielman was one of the hottest commodities on market. As soon as free agency began, he was in Seattle meeting with the Seahawks. Seattle was aggressively pursuing him, but Spanos was determined to keep Dielman in lightning bolts.

“Dean said he wasn’t going to let Kris get away and he didn’t,” McGuire said. “Dean knows how valuable Kris is to our team in so many different ways. He stepped up and made it happen.”

Dielman was a first alternate to the Pro Bowl in 2006 after a remarkable year in which he helped pave the way for a record-breaking season by running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Dielman’s new contract also means stability for the Chargers’ offensive line, a tight-knit group that helped the Bolts finish second in the NFL in rushing in 2006 while leading the league in scoring. Left tackle Marcus McNeill is signed through 2009, center Nick Hardwick and right tackle Shane Olivea through 2011 and right guard Mike Goff through 2008.

“I’m extremely excited to have Kris back,” Smith said. “This is huge for our team because it enables us to keep our offensive line in tact for years to come. Kris is one of the best in the business at his position. He sets the tone with his consistent physical play.”

Now that the Chargers have secured Dielman, they have no other major free agency issues on the immediate horizon. The personnel department will now focus their efforts on the upcoming draft.

“We took care of the most important piece of business on our agenda,” Spanos said. “A.J. and his staff have had a lot of success lately finding players in the draft that can come in and help us and that’s where they’ll turn their attention now.”

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Not that it's a bad deal, but it's not what either "The Skipper" Steinbach or Derrick Dockery got on Friday.

There's really no way to know this without seeing how the contracts are structured. The Chargers typically do not backload their contracts, so the player is likely to earn the face amount. Some other teams put a big number at the end that the player will most likely never see.

 

[BoltBacker]

"In a Friday morning conversation with Dielman, he told him how much he thought of him and afterward said he was confident the team would get a chance to speak with him after he visited another team.

That team turned out to be the Seattle Seahawks, and Dielman spent Friday being wooed by them. Dielman left millions on the table.

Dielman is among Smith's favorite players, and the sincerity of his feelings for the player are evident every time he speaks of him – including when he said he would be happy for Dielman if he signed a big contract elsewhere."

Where are all those people that said AJ was a real ###-hole and his hardball negotiating tactics with Rivers/Gates would come back to haunt the Chargers?

 

[msommer]

How come AJ Smith didn't break this one

 

[Despyzer]

The Chargers typically do not backload their contracts

This one certainly doesn't look backloaded either. If its average worth is $6.67 million per year, and he is receiving $24 million in the first three, that leaves an average of $5.3 million over the last three.It still seems like a lot of money to pay a guard, any guard, but I'm pleased that it keeps that young and powerful left side of the line intact. I also like that it looks like he passed up more money to remain a Charger.

 

[Banger]

another big signing by the overrated GM

 

[cstu]

"In a Friday morning conversation with Dielman, he told him how much he thought of him and afterward said he was confident the team would get a chance to speak with him after he visited another team.That team turned out to be the Seattle Seahawks, and Dielman spent Friday being wooed by them. Dielman left millions on the table.Dielman is among Smith's favorite players, and the sincerity of his feelings for the player are evident every time he speaks of him – including when he said he would be happy for Dielman if he signed a big contract elsewhere."Where are all those people that said AJ was a real ###-hole and his hardball negotiating tactics with Rivers/Gates would come back to haunt the Chargers?

Yeah, AJ is such as ### that every single key player has re-signed with the team when they could have made more money somewhere else.

 

[Gr00vus]

Another article from the SD UnionTrib some of the same text as the one MT posted above, but anyway:

This Chargers signing is a big Diel-man

Guard with an attitude turns down more money

By Kevin Acee

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 4, 2007

After months of excruciating silence, a sleepless night in Seattle and a morning of negotiation between his agent and the team, Kris Dielman came home to stay.

The free-agent left guard, voted the Chargers' co-Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2006, agreed to a six-year contract with $17 million guaranteed over the first two years and a total potential worth of $39 million.

“I really did think I was out of here,” Dielman said at an afternoon media conference at the Chargers facility. “I didn't think this was going to happen. I didn't think San Diego was going to step up, and they did.”

Dielman did not want to leave, plain and simple. He said being in Seattle “just didn't feel right.”

The prized free agent decided to forgo as much as $10 million to remain in San Diego, where he has a home, has built friendships and believes the team is about to make a championship run.

“I'm glad to be with my linemates again,” he said. “That would have been hard to leave that group of guys in that O-line room, and LT and Philip (Rivers) and Lorenzo (Neal) and all those guys. I'm excited. We're ready to get it. We fell short last year. There have been some changes. We all know that, but the team is still intact.”

Dielman spent Friday in Seattle being wooed by the Seahawks, one of the teams willing to give him almost $50 million for a seven-year pact.

But Dielman, an undrafted free agent in 2003 who dips tobacco, still prefers jeans and sports a woodsman's beard, said he was not interested in breaking the bank. He did want to be rewarded as one of the league's elite offensive linemen.

“Money doesn't mean . . . money is nice, but if you're not happy, you're miserable; it's not really worth it in my opinion,” Dielman said. “I'm happy. San Diego is happy. Money isn't a factor in it. It never really was either.”

Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith was asked yesterday if he thought the megamillions Dielman just scored would change the 26-year-old.

“Absolutely not,” Smith said. “Kris Dielman is all about football. He wants to be the best offensive left guard in football, and he wants to win championships. Kris could live in a mansion or he could live in a van down by the river, and you would never know the difference in his demeanor.”

The Chargers and Dielman's agent began negotiating a long-term deal last spring. Dielman personally let the team know before the season began that his preference was to remain in San Diego.

However, with the sides close on guaranteed money (about $10 million at the time) but more than $1 million a year apart on a proposed five-year deal, talks broke off in November.

There was virtually no contact between the sides until Smith called Dielman on Thursday to tell him personally how much he wanted him to stay and that he hoped the team would get a chance to keep him.

Mike McCartney, Dielman's agent, and Chargers Vice President Ed McGuire spoke briefly Friday while Dielman was in Seattle, but the sides remained far apart. It appeared to all involved that Dielman was on the verge of becoming a Seahawk.

The Seahawks had an offer ready for Dielman to sign yesterday morning. But before he could go to their facility, he called McCartney and told him to go back to work with the Chargers.

Meanwhile, Chargers President Dean Spanos got involved, and the Chargers' money came up significantly.

While he would have signed for much less during the season, going to the market gave Dielman the leverage to get more than $2 million a year above the Chargers' November offer.

Smith seemed resigned in recent weeks to the fact he would lose Dielman. Smith said repeatedly, “You aren't going to hit on 100 percent.” That was in reference to the fact the team has signed so many players to longterm contracts but might not be able to so with Dielman.

Dielman is the 26th player under contract through at least 2009, and the 21st core player signed for that long.

“This is a great day for the Chargers,” Smith said, perhaps as relieved after this as he was after any of the others.

While all signs pointed to Dielman leaving, Smith had always held out hope, partly because he knew Dielman wanted to stay and partly because he knew how important it was to get Dielman signed. Smith had acknowledged there was no backup plan in place at left guard if Dielman left.

Dielman is among Smith's favorite players, and the sincerity of his feelings for the player are evident every time he speaks of him – including when he said he would be happy for Dielman if he signed a big contract elsewhere.

Immediately after taking over the starting job in the third game of 2005, Dielman was credited with infusing a nasty attitude into the offensive line. He is immensely strong and aggressive.

An undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2003, Dielman came to San Diego for a $7,500 signing bonus as a defensive lineman. He was cut after training camp but signed to the practice squad.

On his way to his first meeting with the defensive line, he was stopped by Marty Schottenheimer and sent to the offensive line meeting room. That is how he found out he was a guard.

He was moved to the active roster that October and spent the next two seasons learning the position, playing behind Toniu Fonoti. When Fonoti was injured against Denver in the second game of 2005, Dielman took over and has started 30 of the past 31 games.

“It's been a long couple of days,” Dielman said. “But I got back home to where I wanted to be. We're going to keep the line together. We did a pretty good job last year. I've always wanted to stay between Nick (Hardwick) and Marcus (McNeill). I'm excited. It's a good situation for all of us.”

Kevin Acee: (619) 293-1857; kevin.acee@uniontrib.com

So the coaching thing didn't go down ideally, but they are doing a bang up job with the players. This is the best offseason move (player wise) they could have made.