No wonder HS athletes don't honor a verbal

[jDub]

It's no wonder HS athletes don't honor a verbal committment. Just look at their idols. Here's an article about Kellen Winslow stating he wants to renegotiate his contract because he has played so well.

cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland

"When I got hurt [in 2005], the contract got renegotiated, so some things changed, but I think I've proven these past two years that I'm one of the elite tight ends," Winslow said from the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
"My value on the field, they put in an extra DB in the game, and that really changes the whole game. They have to guard me kind of like a wide receiver so, you know, yeah, gotta to get that new money."

Here's my point, the Browns obviously had certain expectations of him when they signed him to the current deal. He has likely exceeded those expectations and now he wants more money. If he had underperformed, would he be willing to give back some of that money? Doubt it. It's called a contract Kellen.

If these guys can't honor a written contract, it's no wonder HS athletes can't honor a verbal committment.

BTW - let's not forget that the "renegotiation" that took place after he "got hurt" in 2005 actually happened after he breached his contract by riding (and subsequently crashing) a motorcycle and tearing his ACL. The Browns could have come after him to recoup a prorated share of his signing bonus (over $5M) and entire option bonus (over $4M) , however they looked the other way and agreed to renegotiate his contract. That contract locked him up through 2010 at over $4M per year.

 

[Cyclone711]

Over 4 million a year is not nearly enough! I mean, for gods sake, he's got kids to feed! (best dumbest quote ever btw)

 

[jtdoyle1]

"Yeah, We make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money, too" -Patrick Ewing

 

[ISUonthemove]

Over 4 million a year is not nearly enough! I mean, for gods sake, he's got kids to feed! (best dumbest quote ever btw)

That is hilarious. Who said that again?

 

[Cyclone711]

That is hilarious. Who said that again?

Latrell Sprewell, in all his genius.

 

[lytle3478]

That is hilarious. Who said that again?

I believe it was Latrell Sprewell

(guess i am a minute too slow haha)

 

[tube1]

"This is war. I don't give a flying you know what about a Vol. They don't give a freaking you know what about you. They will kill you. So I'm going to kill them. I'm (bleeped). All you take this down. I'm (bleeped). We don't care about nobody but this U. We don't. If I didn't hurt him, he'd hurt me. They're gunning for my legs, I'll come right back at them. I'm a soldier."

 

[pulse]

What an idiot.. he's a tight end. 4mil is a lot of a TE.

 

[SeattleClone]

Latrell Sprewell, in all his genius.

What he meant to say was "I got yacht payments to make"

 

[BryceC]

I know, I mean jeez, why can't these kids stick with a commitment like Leonard Johnson.... wait, he did stick with us. Well, there was that Sedrick Johnson.... wait, he switched to us and we were thrilled about it.

Let's face it, we're going to lose some guys and we're going to get some guys through decommits. No reason to go nuts about it.

 

[jtd9046]

Here's my point, the Browns obviously had certain expectations of him when they signed him to the current deal. He has likely exceeded those expectations and now he wants more money. If he had underperformed, would he be willing to give back some of that money? Doubt it. It's called a contract Kellen.

Personally, if you exceed expectations in your current job... what would you do? You would go to your management and ask for a raise. You would not continue to outperform without being compensated for it. It's no different. Just the same, if you under perform your job your management will be looking to reassign you or something along those lines.

IMO, this thread has nothing to do about verbal commitments and their role models.

 

[jDub]

Personally, if you exceed expectations in your current job... what would you do? You would go to your management and ask for a raise. You would not continue to outperform without being compensated for it. It's no different. Just the same, if you under perform your job your management will be looking to reassign you or something along those lines.

IMO, this thread has nothing to do about verbal commitments and their role models.

Granted, the verbal/role models thing is a stretch, I'll give you that one.

In my job, I know that raises are given at a certain time (or times) of the year based on company performance as well as individual performance. If I exceeded their expectations I would expect to receive a raise at that time. If I didn't receive compensation for it, I would try and find an employer who would compensate me for it. He gets that opportunity when his contract runs out or gets cut.

In his job, he should know that raises are given when contracts are up or are extended. Granted, the Browns will cave, which is part of the reason that we have to deal with this. If he felt that he would exceed expectations, he (or really his agent) should have built in performance bonuses in his contract.

IMO - a contract is a contract. He should be thankful that the Browns didn't yank over $5 M in bonus money as a result of him breaking the first contract (and not performing at all as a result). Instead, they re-upped with him at that time. Maybe he should re-pay the favor.

 

[Cyclone711]

Personally, if you exceed expectations in your current job... what would you do? You would go to your management and ask for a raise. You would not continue to outperform without being compensated for it. It's no different. Just the same, if you under perform your job your management will be looking to reassign you or something along those lines.

IMO, this thread has nothing to do about verbal commitments and their role models.

You have to realize you are dealing with a hot headed 20 some year old kid right out of college who is making more than I will when I'm 50. I would understand if his salary was somewhat average with the rest of the country but cmon.... 4 million a year.... The President only makes 250k a year (not saying that isn't much, just a comparison).

 

[mwitt]

I have no problem with NFL players wanting to get the best possible contract they can, even if their current contract is not up. Their contracts aren't guaranteed.

 

[jtd9046]

In my job, I know that raises are given at a certain time (or times) of the year based on company performance as well as individual performance. If I exceeded their expectations I would expect to receive a raise at that time. If I didn't receive compensation for it, I would try and find an employer who would compensate me for it. He gets that opportunity when his contract runs out or gets cut.

In his job, he should know that raises are given when contracts are up or are extended. Granted, the Browns will cave, which is part of the reason that we have to deal with this. If he felt that he would exceed expectations, he (or really his agent) should have built in performance bonuses in his contract.

This is exactly my point. I understand your thoughts on the 'contract' but there is nothing guaranteed in an NFL contract. Contracts are renegotiated all the time to compensate the players that are performing. It doesn't have to come at the end of a contract and I think it's perfectly fine to for a player or a team to be able to request discussions to change a contract based on performance. We live in a performance based society and that is the way things are.

 

[Aldude505]

Ok there is a difference...if you outperform your duties at a normal job then yes you deserve a raise. But this guy is making 4 million a year...4 million a year. Thats almost $10,500 a day! You know what they could do, keep his pay the same and instead lower ticket prices so more people could see the game, and league managers wonder why attendance is low!
Just my opinion...

 

[jDub]

This is exactly my point. I understand your thoughts on the 'contract' but there is nothing guaranteed in an NFL contract. Contracts are renegotiated all the time to compensate the players that are performing. It doesn't have to come at the end of a contract and I think it's perfectly fine to for a player or a team to be able to request discussions to change a contract based on performance. We live in a performance based society and that is the way things are.

Just because something isn't guaranteed makes it okay? Nothing is guaranteed at my job. Let's not forget that he pulled in over $20 M in guaranteed bonuses the first two years of the league in which he played less than two games and breached his contract.

I could be swayed in the situation of someone coming out of college who doesn't get much of a signing bonus and absolutely blows up in the NFL. But with this guy, it's ridiculous in my book.

Just because something is done all the time doesn't make it any more right. There was a day and age where everybody honored their contracts (and average people could attend more than a couple games a year).

 

[cybsball20]

NFL contracts aren't worth the paper they are written on. I am suprised they are even allowed to be called 'contracts'. When a player gets hurt while under contract and the team is allowed to release them because of that, something is wrong. If I were an NFL player I would want to renegotiate my contract every year, especially if I was playing well, to get another signing bonus. The whole NFL CBA is severely flawed, sure it makes for competitive balance but it sucks for the players, especially when you consider the average player plays less than a year.

 

[Clones85']

Over 4 million a year is not nearly enough! I mean, for gods sake, he's got kids to feed! (best dumbest quote ever btw)

The funniest part about it was that it was 14 million a year I believe. Sprewell never deserved to make that kind of money

 

[jtd9046]

Ok there is a difference...if you outperform your duties at a normal job then yes you deserve a raise. But this guy is making 4 million a year...4 million a year. Thats almost $10,500 a day! You know what they could do, keep his pay the same and instead lower ticket prices so more people could see the game, and league managers wonder why attendance is low!
Just my opinion...

Attendance is not low though, they sell out almost every venue. The NFL is thriving as a business.

I get the basis of the 4 million argument, but I just can't blame someone for requesting a raise in whatever job he/she is in if the performance is there. Why should someone have to work for less money than what his/her peers are making for the same performance?

The market is there in professional sports to pay athletes the crazy amounts of money, if you don't like that then don't watch.

It's human nature to strive for more and more. The Fortune 100 company I work for makes a ton of money but we are challenged to increase that year in and year out. Why can't a professional athlete do the same?