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We've got some more numbers with the Crabtree deal. Profootballtalk.com gives us this breakdown. More details are emerging regarding the contract signed on Wednesday by 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree.
Adam Schefter of ESPN has reported that Crabtree's contract represents over the first five years a 72-percent increase over the deal signed in 2008 by the tenth overall pick in the draft, Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo (which, frankly, says more about the quality of Mayo's deal than it does about the quality of Crabtree's).
And Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, who mercilessly criticized agent Alvin Keels for the contract signed by tackle Andre Smith, characterizes the Crabtree deal as "not terrible." (I tried that phrase once in describing the quality of a meal that my wife cooked. The scar looks a little bit like Weeb Ewbank.)
Certain aspects of the deal arguably are terrible. Schefter and Cole's analysis focuses only on raw numbers. There are other terms of the deal that have left multiple league insiders scratching their heads.
We've previously discussed the sixth year of the deal, and the very high bar that Crabtree must reach in order to reduce the term from six years to five. As Cole points out, of the 19 receivers picked in round one from 2002 through 2005, only Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald have achieved in the first four years of their careers the triggers that Crabtree must reach in order to transform the contract from a six-year, $32 million deal into a five-year, $28 million package.
In this regard, Crabtree is at a built-in disadvantage because, unlike the rest of the first-round wideouts, he has missed all of the offseason workouts due to injury, and all of training camp, the preseason, and four regular-season games due to his holdout.
Also, another source pointed out that the "superstar" incentive package, which would push the contract to a six-year, $40 million deal, is essentially a phony term. Though the performance trigger for the extra $8 million to be paid out in the sixth year of the contract is different than the performance trigger that would void the contract from six years to five, it's highly unlikely -- as a practical matter -- that Crabtree would earn the "superstar" package without also successfully voiding the sixth year of the deal.
So, in other words, it will be a six-year, $32 million deal or a five-year, $28 million deal, but it most likely will never be a six-year, $40 million deal.
Another problem arises from the guaranteed money. The $17 million figure fits the slot as long as Crabtree is able to void the sixth year. If that sixth year doesn't void, the guaranteed money actually falls below the slot, based on the per-year average. To fit the slot on a six-year deal, the guaranteed money would need to be in the range of $20 million.
We've previously explained that, in lieu of an option bonus, the 49ers used the "discretionary salary advance" concept, which funnels money to the player in a way that allows the team to pursue reimbursement in the event of a suspension, holdout, or other default. (Option bonuses and roster bonuses cannot be recovered.) But the major, glaring problem with the salary advance device used in Crabtree's contract is that it contains no language that would penalize the 49ers for choosing not to make the salary advance.
As two different sources have explained, that's a major omission in the deal.
The deal also contains what one source is calling the "diva clause." Per the source, millions in base salary escalators factored are tied to full participation in all mandatory functions and 90 percent attendance in all voluntary activities. If Crabtree fails to comply, the escalators can be wiped out by the team.
The thinking in some circles is that the 49ers pushed for this language because of Crabtree's protracted holdout and other activities that prompted some to regard him as, yes, a diva. So why did agent Eugene Parker agree to it? By all appearances, Parker wanted to get the deal done quickly, and either he missed the significance of the term or he opted to agree in order to expedite the process. (As we'll explain in a subsequent posting, we think it's the latter.)
So while some think that Crabtree essentially got the same financial package he would have obtained in July if Parker and Crabtree had opted not to wait for the 49ers to jump the slotting process by three levels, it could be that the deal is actually worse, given the inclusion of a sixth year, the high bar to void it, the guarantee based on a five-year deal, the absence of a language compelling the 49ers to pay the discretionary salary advance, and the diva clause.
Jason Cole called the contract Alvin Keels negotiated on behalf of Andre Smith a potential "career stopper." One national media source similarly described the contract Parker negotiated for Crabtree as a "career killer."
One league source with whom we spoke was more realistic. "Parker will be fine," the source said. "Nothing ever sticks to him, and this contract won't stick to him, either."
But Crabtree is now stuck with the deal, probably for six full years.
Tags: NFL Crabtree SF49ers
You may have heard that Rush Limbaugh is part of a group that wants to buy the St. Louis Rams. The NFL is all about the money so if they have the cash, I doubt the NFL will not allow him to be an owner. That doesn't mean that everyone is happy about the idea.
Former NFL lineman Roman Oben, who spent 12 years as a tackle in the NFL, has stated his own position on the matter in an opinion piece for the Washington Post.
From Bad to Worse I thought it could not be worse for the St. Louis Rams than being 0-4; I was wrong. Yesterday I read Rush Limbaugh is joining St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts as part of a group bidding to purchase the Rams. I'm not sure what's lower: Rush Limbaugh's approval rating in the African American community or JaMarcus Russel's passer rating. But in a league of professional athletes who are mostly African American and come from humble backgrounds, a Limbaugh-owned Rams team would neither elicit the warmest reception by the players in the locker room, nor would it attract the free agent who is weighing options on his NFL future. Anyone who has made a living bashing political leaders and their policies by vicious and unethical personal attacks, accused actor Michael J Fox of "exaggerating the effects of Parkinson's disease," made racially-charged comments about Donovan McNabb's ability as a black quarterback and hypocritically called for harsher punishment for minorities charged with low level drug crimes while himself being criminally addicted to oxycontin for many years, does not represent the honor, integrity and dignity for which the NFL shield is supposed to represent. Character is a constant point of emphasis for NFL and team officials when it comes to the players; potential owners should be held to the same level of scrutiny and accountability.
Tags: NFL Limbaugh
Want to know how poorly the entire holdout turned out for Crabtree? Eugene Parker, Crabtree's agent, did not attend the press conference. If the deal that got hammered out was the great coup that Parker had envisioned at the start of the whole process, you don't think he would have been there beaming?! But is there any doubt that at this presser, Parker would have been absolutely, positively grilled about a holdout that, at the end of the day, yielded nothing? None.
Crabtree said it himself at the press conference. The negotiations were "a very humbling experience." Wait 'till Coach Singletary gets a hold of you. You're not done with being humbled. He's already gotten through to Vernon Davis, who for three season was a do-nothing diva and this year is blossoming into a top tight end. And... Who was the peace broker in the Crabtree-49ers negotiations? The Jimmy Carter to the Camp Candlestick Accords, you might say? M.C. Hammer. That's right. Crabtree brought in M.C. Hammer to the sit down with the 9ers. Yeah, what you read is what I wrote. I'd like to know what sage advice Crabtree received from a man who blew through tens of millions of money, had his house repo'd, and was last seen in a Cash for Gold commercial?
Tags: NFL Crabtree SF49ers
From profootballtalk.com In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
Tags: Crabtree NFL SF49ers
MLB Playoffs start today
St. Louis Cardinals v. Los Angeles Dodgers
I love my Dodgers
My prediction for the series: Cardinals in three
They Dodgers may have ended the regular season batting a league-best .270, but they only batted .257 in the final month. During that month, five regulars hit below .235: Matt Kemp (.228), Andre Ethier (.211), Russell Martin (.213), Manny Ramirez (.234), and Orlando Hudson (.220). Since his return from his suspension, Manny has been a faint shadow of his former self. There is no point in relying on Ramirez's past as a power hitter with 28 home runs in the playoffs and the World Series, with a record 12 of them being in division series games. That Manny is nowhere to be found.
The Cardinals have Albert Pujols with Matt Holliday thrown in for good measure. Holliday alone is batting .343 against the Dodgers with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in 84 games.
With a staff ERA of 3.41 -- the lowest in the majors, the Dodgers should have the edge in pitching. But WRONG. The Cardinals have Chris Carpenter (league leading 2.24 ERA) and Adam Wainwright (league leader with 19 wins and a 2.53 ERA). And Joel Pineiro is not bad either (15-12, 3.49 with two shutouts). The Dodgers' rotation has fallen apart, just in time for the playoffs: Hiroki Kuroda is out of the division series because of a bulging disk in his neck and Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, and Chad Billingsley all missed at least one start in the final month.
I'd tell you the Dodgers have a better bullpen and a better bench than the Cardinals but it doesn't matter. It's not going to be enough. I don't see how the Dodgers take this series and I don't see the Cardinals giving it away.
Tags: MLB LosAngeles Dodgers
Should I be thrilled to death that the 9ers finally signed their first-round draft pick? I'm not really feeling it, I must admit. I guess it's good that we signed him. Early word is that the contract has alot of fluff incentives. Does that mean that Eugene Parker can stand up there and say that he broke the ladder system or he just tries save face with this year's crop of potential clients?
According to the John Crumpacker at the San Francisco Chronicle, the deal signed at 3:55 this morning is similar to what he could have had in July, minus the salary he missed for the four regular season games. According to his report, "even with the add-ons, the 49ers are not believed to have broked the league's slotting system for rookies, meaning Crabtree signed a contract commensurate with the 10th pick, less than No. 9 B.J. Raji of Green Bay ($28 million total) and more than No. 11 Aaron Maybin of Buffalo ($17.6 million)."
Tags: NFL Crabtree SF49ers
Well, well, well. ESPN.com is reporting that Crabtree hopped on a plane in Tampa and returned to the Bay Area. And his agent, the world's best, Eugene Parker, is expected to show up tomorrow.
so I guess Deon Sanders is involved, just like it has been suspected all along. Nice job NFL, letting one of your employees shill on air for his former agent all this time.
Tags: SF49ers Crabtree NFL
I admit that right now, it is much easier to ignore the fact that Michael Crabtree is still unsigned. But when I think about it, I'm still surprised this hold out is still ongoing. I mean, when was the last time that a drafted player just flat-out sat out an entire year? It's mind boggling.
Well, official word is that there still has been no communication between the 9ers and the Crabtree camp. However, is this anything? Deion Sanders suggested during GameDay Final on the NFL Network that Crabtree might be joining the 49ers. Remember, the extent of Sanders' relationship with Eugene Parker, Crabtree's agent, is fuzzy so it has not been very clear how much Sanders has been giving out Parker's talking points in the past or now.
Well, if it is true that Crabtree might be joining soon, is it because the 9ers are willing to give him more money or he's finally willing to take the money that has been on the table all this time?
The Niners are 3-1 and no matter how weak were the opponents that got them those three wins, the record is still 3-1 so it still saves the organization from pressure from its fans and the sportswriters covering it urging for the signing. And there are no ticket buyers wearing no. 15 jerseys or waving signs pleading that Crabtree be signed. So, that 3-1 record for now places all the pressure off the 9ers and dumps it all on Crabtree. So, it has to be that if Crabtree is moving towards signing, it's because he's divaness is willing to accept the money on the table before the 9ers take it off.
Tags: Crabtree SF49ers NFL
One benefit of the Angels changing their name from Anaheim Angels to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The City of L.A. has two teams in the playoffs! Woohoo! They get to use the name so let's brag a little. (Of course, if the Angels lose to the Red Sox again, I'll go back to calling them the Anaheim Angels.) 
Tags: MLB Dodgers Angels
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