What a Jack### (1 Viewer)

[derek19]

Eagles | Owens: Ready to LeaveThu, 21 Jul 2005 19:08:04 -0700Andy Schwartz, of ComcastSportsNet.com, reports Philadelphia Eagles WR Terrell Owens said Thursday, July 21, on Comcast Sports Southeast, which is based in his hometown of Atlanta, that he is prepared to leave the Eagles. His remarks came in response to a question about team president Joe Banner's statement in the Philadelphia Daily News. Banner was asked if Owens would show up August 1 for training camp and Banner replied: "If we were dealing with somebody who was looking at this logically and was going to come to a common-sense conclusion, you'd say (he'll report to camp on time)," Banner told the newspaper. "But you're dealing with two people here who, frankly, don't think in common-sense terms." Owens' rebuttal was: "It doesn't bother me," he said. "When it all boils down to it, I'm doing what's best for my family. Not to stir anything up, but I don't really have to play for the Eagles to be honest. I can go play with any other team and still be productive." As for whether one can expect to see him at training camp, Owens said, fat chance. Owens was then asked if he would consider joining the Atlanta Falcons. "If Joe Banner can give Drew Rosenhaus permission to seek a trade," he said, "who knows, Atlanta might be on the list of people that I could play for."I'm a niner fan and I like owens when he's on the playing field. But off the playing, he's a complete jackass. "I'm doing whats best for my family." How is sitting out doing whats best for your family??? I may be wrong, but if a player sits out, they dont' get paid correct? So again, how is that best for your family?? Also, 49mil is not whats best for your family? It boil downs to that Moss and probably acouple of WR's are getting paid more him and he's pissed about it. UNBELIEVABLE. But also kind of funny they are not taking any #### from him

 

[-OZ-]

TO's in the wrong town to be stirring this up. Philly doesn't cave in.Now, they might go ahead and let his agent pursue a trade, I'd imagine something where Price and picks or maybe Duckett are involved could be mutually beneficial.

 

[vinwinephans]

As long as the Eagles do not give in on their stance, I'm perfectly fine with however this plays out. Personally I'd like to see he the Eagles wait - force him to play the contract and see how far he's willing to take it. Fine him and force him.

 

[KJI]

These babies ..yes..that is what someone who holds their breath to get what they want..even if they already have something good.. are really getting annoying.Hey Owens, go talk to Randal Cunningham and ask him what REAL work was like..working as a laborer putting down tiles for a living before he came back to football. He finally understood what the comman man has to go thru to make a dollar. I really hope Philly does not give in, nor trades him. Let him sit at home..and rot. Hopefully other teams will see this..and not give him another dime...Hell..give me 10% of what his pay is, and I would be set

 

[lod01]

I am rooting for this clown to be traded to Atlanta. First they will declare Vick to be the next MVP because he 'finally' has a top WR. Then he will continue his suckiness with 150 yd passing games as Owens flies off the handle by week 5 wanting Matt Schaub so he can record a 100 yard receiving game.

 

[Warsteinner]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants?

 

[NYG Endzone]

I am rooting for this clown to be traded to Atlanta. First they will declare Vick to be the next MVP because he 'finally' has a top WR. Then he will continue his suckiness with 150 yd passing games as Owens flies off the handle by week 5 wanting Matt Schaub so he can record a 100 yard receiving game.

Keep your Vick hating to yourself. It has no relevance to this thread

 

[fsufan]

As a Culpepper owner in 3 leagues I would love to see him get traded to the Vikings. But the Vikings would probably not do it; they just traded away ahead case.

 

[massraider]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants?

Really, what team wants to take on this mess?He needs to stopdoing interviews. For real, T.O., let Rosenhaus be the scumbag, ho loves it. Be quiet. Only bad things can happen if you keep talking.

 

[-OZ-]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants?

I really wouldn't be surprised if someone did. TO is a pain in the ###, but is also one of the top 2 WRs in the game. WRs are a highly valued commodity. Sure he'd kill Vick, but 1. it would be entertaining, 2. Vick would pass for 200 yards instead of 150. Quick list, pure speculation:

Atlanta

Jacksonville (?)

Washington

Minnesota (no, but damn if it did)

San Fran (do they have $$?)

 

[diesel7982]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants?

The Broncos, Redskins, and Titans are adept at collecting people of TOs character.

 

[ko-jaxx]

whats wrong with a player holding out for more loot? if he is worth more than he is paid, hold out, i dont have a problem with it. if you do, you are just jealous

 

[Pat Patriot]

Philly would never trade him to Atlanta. They played Atlanta in the NFC Title game last year. Do you really think Philly wants to give Atlanta a motivated TO? They wont cave in either but he is not going to Atlanta.

 

[Warsteinner]

whats wrong with a player holding out for more loot? if he is worth more than he is paid, hold out, i dont have a problem with it

If he was worth more than his current contract then why did he sign it in the first place?

 

[BigJim®]

Quick list, pure speculation:

Atlanta

Jacksonville (?)

Washington

Minnesota (no, but damn if it did)

San Fran (do they have $$?)

[i sure hope that was intended to be a joke]

 

[Ozymandias]

I don't know what his contract says, but I would be very much surprised if they gave him big signing bucks (like $7 mil), without a clause in it that they get pro-rated money back if he fails to honor his contract.So, if he sits, he not only loses the $500k, but the team sues to have him return a major portion of the signing money. Rosenhaus doesn't care, he wasn't the agent on that contract. It's to Rosenhaus' benefit to get a new contract.Owens is an IDIOT. He isn't going to get more out of the Eagles, and he is so pig-headed that he might just sit.

 

[kupcho1]

I am rooting for this clown to be traded to Atlanta. First they will declare Vick to be the next MVP because he 'finally' has a top WR. Then he will continue his suckiness with 150 yd passing games as Owens flies off the handle by week 5 wanting Matt Schaub so he can record a 100 yard receiving game.

Keep your Vick hating to yourself. It has no relevance to this thread

Yes, this is a TO hating thread.

 

[dotman]

Philly would never trade him to Atlanta. They played Atlanta in the NFC Title game last year. Do you really think Philly wants to give Atlanta a motivated TO? They wont cave in either but he is not going to Atlanta.

Owens ain't goin' to Atlanta, no way, no how.

 

[Jason Wood]

Joe Banner wasn't wrong...but he's an idiot for saying what he said in a public forum too. He essentially lowered himself down to T.O. and Rosenhaus' level and he should have known better. SIGH...what a soap opera.

 

[wannabee]

As a Collins owner, I would not mind the TO to Oak for Porter rumors re-arise.

 

[Kleck.]

As long as the Eagles do not give in on their stance, I'm perfectly fine with however this plays out.

Personally I'd like to see he the Eagles wait - force him to play the contract and see how far he's willing to take it. Fine him and force him.

I agree. For Philly's sake I really hope they don't cave in and I don't think they will. Unless they want to look real desperate for a Super Bowl win.

 

[massraider]

Atlanta has only come up because he was on TV in Atlanta. And the trade stuff is just goo dribbling from Owens' mouth. What's in it for the Eagles? An accelerated cap hit, to go with a weaker offense?

 

[-OZ-]

Quick list, pure speculation:

Atlanta

Jacksonville (?)

Washington

Minnesota (no, but damn if it did)

San Fran (do they have $$?)

[i sure hope that was intended to be a joke]

although after I wrote it I started to wonder if the franchise and city would welcome him back.

 

[babydemon90]

I'd like to see him go to Dallas so he can spike on the Star every week....

 

[DeCleater]

There is no way Philly trades TO, the cap hit with that big signing bonus would be a huge dent, even for a team that has cap room like Philly. He is under contract to Philly for many years whether he likes it or not.

 

[hawkeyemba]

As long as the Eagles do not give in on their stance, I'm perfectly fine with however this plays out. 

Personally I'd like to see he the Eagles wait - force him to play the contract and see how far he's willing to take it.  Fine him and force him.

I agree. For Philly's sake I really hope they don't cave in and I don't think they will. Unless they want to look real desperate for a Super Bowl win.

4 straight division championship game appearances in the NFC and people think they're going to cave to T.O.? He was around for all of one game for the playoffs from his broken leg, which didn't stop the Eagles from bulldozing their way through the NFC competition. Is he really THAT big of a difference maker as far as the Eagles are concerned? I can't possibly see the Eagles getting involved in Rosenhaus' little 'contract games'. It's gotten pretty old to hear T.O. complain that all he wanted was to get out of San Francisco one year ago...he gets his trade and it's the same broken record. With all of his talent, it hardly seems to be worth Philadelphia's headache.

 

[gman8343]

Is he crazy? He must understand his contract situation makes it incredibly difficult to trade him. The Eagles would lose too much. He really is a loose cannon...

 

[JaxBill]

Most of TO's bonus last year was a roster bonus - it's already on the books. His signing bonus was ~ 2.5 Mil over 7 years. Plus this cap hit would be spread over 2 years since we're post June 1. The Eagles by my amateur calculations might actually gain cap room by trading him. 3.5 Mil base salary - ((6/7 * 2.5 Mil) / 2) = 2005 cap saving of ~ 2.3 Mil (plus 2006 cap hit of 1.1 Mil)Still, I can't see them trading him before this season. That's not their MO. You don't cross Joe Banner and get what you want. They'll hold TO's feet to the fire and make him honor this contract for this year. Then next year, right before his next bonus check, they'll trade him or cut him.

 

[JaxBill]

Clipped from an article I posted in the other TO thread:

For starters, he'll be fined from $9,400 to $9,600 a day for each day he stays away from training camp. More significant, according to an NFL Players Association source familiar with Owens' contract, if he misses even the first day of training camp, the Eagles would have the right to reclaim five-sixths, or $1.87 million, of the $2.25 million signing bonus they gave Owens last year when he was traded to the Eagles.Owens received nearly $9 million in bonuses last year, along with a $660,000 base salary. But only $2.25 million of that $9 million was structured as a signing bonus. The rest was considered a roster bonus. According to the NFLPA source, the Eagles lost the right to reclaim any of his roster bonus 12 months after he signed the contract, which was in March. But they still can recoup much of the signing-bonus money if he breaches his contract by holding out of training camp.The Eagles could have done the same thing in late April when Owens failed to attend the club's mandatory minicamp, but took no action."As training camp starts, if he's not there, we'd be needing to look at the whole thing more seriously," one club executive said. "We might do something right away or we might wait and see if he comes in in a week, or we might send him a letter [threatening to take back the signing-bonus money] and give him a kick in the ###. We may even wait to see if he shows up for the first game. We haven't made any decision yet."According to another NFLPA source, the union tried to get Owens' former agent, David Joseph, to change the signing-bonus forfeiture language in his client's contract before he signed his 7-year, $48.97 million deal in March 2004. But it was never done.

 

[Exile]

I thought I read today that if he doesn't show up for training camp, the Eagles might be able to recoup some of that signing bonus. If that's true and he doesn't show...it sure makes him easier to trade.

 

[OldMilwaukee]

I understand TO as an entertianer...... Both on the field and off he loves the part he is playing!!And I enjoy the performance he gives!!!! Leave him be.............himself!

 

[coachjim]

You can catagorize all these clowns the same way. They sign a huge contract then if they do well they want a new contract. If I am an owner the only way that happens is if they have a bad year they get a new lower contract.Owens, Walker and all the rest of these morons should either honor their contract or sit out the year. I hope the Pack and the Eagles stick to their guns and don't cave in for these idiots.I have always thought that contracts should be awarded after the fact. If a guy has a great year pay him accordingly. If he has a bad year also pay him accordingly.I would love to see this absolute moron have to sit for the year.Edited to also include Edge in this group.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

Signing the 7 year contract was a huge mistake on Owens' part. He was in a bad way to get out of SF, then Baltimore that he was his worst enemy.

The signing bonus is the pot of gold and can only increase as the years add up. Signing a 1 or 2 year deal would have a smaller signing bonus. Simple math. A player wants that big bonus, but wants to have the option of swapping out to a new base deal whenever they feel that they are underpaid.

The flaw in this logic is that the player's bonus is never factored into "I am under paid" discussions. As we know, that bonus $ is paid out annually, so you have to add that to their compensation.

Players cannot have the big $10-15M bonus and short contract years, it's one or the other.

 

[dudaman]

I really hope Philly does not give in, nor trades him. Let him sit at home..and rot.

NFL brass don't want this to happen as he is one of the more marketable characters in the game. The NFL intervened when the San Fran / Ravens thing fell thru. I suspect that behind the scenes they somehow will help resolve the problem, especially as we head into the season.

 

[DaVinci]

Philly would never trade him to Atlanta. They played Atlanta in the NFC Title game last year. Do you really think Philly wants to give Atlanta a motivated TO? They wont cave in either but he is not going to Atlanta.

Atlanta wouldn't want him anyway. All the talk from Blank and Mora is that they want character guys. No way would they buy into this headache.I would like to see him go to the Raiders and watch him and Moss try to out-punk each other.

 

[Snotbubbles]

As soon as this starts hurting Owens pocketbook he'll report. Paying back 5/6th of his sigining bonus and a $9500 fine for each missed day of camp and he'll have to pay the Eagles over 2 million.

 

[pizzatyme]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants? 

The Broncos, Redskins, and Titans are adept at collecting people of TOs character.

TO and character in the same sentence. Now that is an oxymoron.

 

[pizzatyme]

whats wrong with a player holding out for more loot? if he is worth more than he is paid, hold out, i dont have a problem with it. if you do, you are just jealous

You're kodding, right? He just signed his current deal last year! He needs to honor his contract! If he wants to negotiate a deal every year, he needs to sign 1 year deals. which he obviously won't do since there is no comfor of the multi-year deal.This is like the UAW signing a deal and then manufacturing a car that sells really well and then going on strike to get a new contract. Would you also advocate that?

 

[JohnnyU]

TO's in the wrong town to be stirring this up. Philly doesn't cave in.

I guess they figure that Todd Pinkston and Greg Lewis can get them over the top.

 

[-OZ-]

Who would trade for him and give him the money he wants? 

The Broncos, Redskins, and Titans are adept at collecting people of TOs character.

TO and character in the same sentence. Now that is an oxymoron.

Oh come on, he's a character alright.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

The Eagles knew full well what they were getting into when they agreed to acquire Owens. It would not surprise me one bit to see Owens in a different jersey as the season kicks off. Good luck Philly.

 

[Banger]

What I've become convinced of is that with TO you can throw all logic out the window. You can say the Eagles don't cave, he'll report when it affects his pocketbook, etc. but TO is TO and he marches to the beat of his own drum and listens to no one. As a TO owner I wish he was logical but I am afraid that we may be looking at a training camp holdout that could quickly get ugly.

 

[DaVinci]

whats wrong with a player holding out for more loot? if he is worth more than he is paid, hold out, i dont have a problem with it. if you do, you are just jealous

If this was some guy who came out of nowhere to have a Pro Bowl season I wouldn't have a problem with him holding out for a better contract. But TO was already one of the top 3 WRs in the league when he signed this contract. His market value was already at its peak. Yet he agreed to a contract that even the NFLPA told him not to sign. He gets no sympathy from me.

 

[BigTex]

I just heard T.O. on Mike and Mike (ESPN radio) he said that the Eagles are just trying to get in his pocket (they've threaten fine him if he doesn't show) and that if he had to report to camp without a new contract it wouldn't be good. I'm sure someone else heard the same thing, more was said in the interview I just don't remember it all. But he wasn't happy about the possible fines coming his way.

 

[B-Deep]

whats wrong with a player holding out for more loot? if he is worth more than he is paid, hold out, i dont have a problem with it. if you do, you are just jealous

If this was some guy who came out of nowhere to have a Pro Bowl season I wouldn't have a problem with him holding out for a better contract. But TO was already one of the top 3 WRs in the league when he signed this contract. His market value was already at its peak. Yet he agreed to a contract that even the NFLPA told him not to sign. He gets no sympathy from me.

I think a player has the right to hold out whenever he wants. HOWEVER, holding out when there is no hope of getting what you want is just dumb. The Eagles are not going to cave, so TO is going to have to eat humble pie and come back.

 

[Family Matters]

If you set aside all the emotions the fans are feeling, all this is is a negotiating ploy. TO said that in an effort to gain percieved leverage. That's all that was, nothing more. He's trying to stir the emotions if the fans and the Eagles front office so that he can gain some leverage in his negotiations. He's realizing that Philly isn't going to cave in, at least not easily so he's trying to stir up the pot. If the fans and media overreact either with fear or anger then the front office might feel pressure to do something. Even if it means ridding themselves of the TO headache by trading or releasing him. Everyone just chill out because nothing has changed.

 

[BigTex]

If you set aside all the emotions the fans are feeling, all this is is a negotiating ploy. TO said that in an effort to gain percieved leverage. That's all that was, nothing more. He's trying to stir the emotions if the fans and the Eagles front office so that he can gain some leverage in his negotiations. He's realizing that Philly isn't going to cave in, at least not easily so he's trying to stir up the pot. If the fans and media overreact either with fear or anger then the front office might feel pressure to do something. Even if it means ridding themselves of the TO headache by trading or releasing him. Everyone just chill out because nothing has changed.

FM you maybe right, I also believe that T.O hasn't realized he's stirred up a hornets nest. The Philly organization doesn't seemed to concerned at T.O's attempted for more money nor should they be. Philly is not SF and it's not Balt, so he can just keep barking but he'll be the one to cave in. A Billionaire in control is in better shape than a Millionaire out of control.

My two cents.

 

[Boltman]

I don't believe he will end up traded, but I have to admit it would be interesting to see how the Falcon fans would react when he starts to bash Vick.

 

[P Boy]

NFL brass don't want this to happen as he is one of the more marketable characters in the game. The NFL intervened when the San Fran / Ravens thing fell thru. I suspect that behind the scenes they somehow will help resolve the problem, especially as we head into the season.

The NFL also understands that what Owens is doing could potentially poison the league & the reasonably amicable relationship between the owners & the NFLPA. I also can't believe the owners, especially the older owners, have anything other than rank disdain for his actions on the field - much like some of we fans who remember how good the game was before all the "look-at-me-I'm-bigger-than-the-game" nonsense started.I was listening to Walt Garrison being interviewed on the radio today at Cheyenne Frontier Days - and that was his one complaint about the NFL - some of the players today think they are bigger than the game. Football is the ultimate team sport. Most of these guys get it. Owens is definitely one who doesn't. Let him sit his sorry spoiled #### at home for a while collecting $0. The sport will go on just fine without him.

 

[larz]

TO may just need to sit out and go Hollywood and team up with the Rock, Mickey Rourke, and Luke Perry in a remake of Deliverance. Sure Pinkston and the others aren't near TO's level, but as long as they can get some separation while McNabb creates, they'll be ok, just like on the long strike to Freddie M last year. If Westbrook can maintain and Buckhalter and LJ Smith can step it up this year, and Moats can be usefull, the sum of all their B-list parts can still be quite good.