A "Dear JaMarcus" letter...
Dear Mr. Russell:
So I issued my best welcome (see previous post) and you throw it back in my face. Thirty plus million dollars in guaranteed money along with a six year, sixty million dollar contract - more money given to any other rookie in NFL history - is beneath you.
In fairness, I'm not certain that last sentence is entirely justifiable. My position remains that you hired agents to get the job done and you must follow their advice, even though that advice seems to be piss poor. They've already cost you money, Mr. Russell. A lot of money! Showing off your live arm at Raider camp would have earned you promotional endorsements worth millions. Not now, Mr. Russell. Now you're actually going to have to earn those dollars with performance before some corporation is willing to put your face on their cereal box.
The fact is that Al Davis has a reputation for paying players what they are worth. Even when he's up against cap constraints he has found ways to allocate the money to players who've earned it. He does have a reputation for low balling contracts, but not player contracts. If he underpays, he underpays his coaches. At least that's his reputation. Once coaches have proven themselves, he rewards them with their subsequent contract (usually choosing not to negotiate again until the contract has, or nearly has expired). I think I can safely bet everything I have that, no matter what, Davis would be willing to make you the highest paid player in football history without ever having set your foot on an NFL playing field. And yet, for your agents (and apparently you) that is not enough.
So now, Mr. Russell you wait. We (the Raider Nation) don't wait. We carefully watch the improvement of Andrew Walter, the mobility of Josh McCown, and the reemergence of Dante Culpepper. You begin to fade, in our minds, into an irritable memory.
You (and I say "you" because your agents do represent "you") seem to feel that you have earned far more than the purely insane amount of money you've been offered. Really? How, exactly, did you earn it? By proving that you could play two years of college ball? Well, there are others who have played great for four years of college and flopped in the pros. You have yet to prove to anybody that won't happen to you, but your agents seem to feel (you by extension) that whether or not you flop, you've still earned the money, even if you just show up at the facility to sign autographs. In other words, your mere presence on our practice fields should earn you that money.
At this point I'm pretty confident that Davis has decided he's offered enough for the privilege of your company, and is willing to let you sit out the season. I know that many of my fellow Raider fans will disagree, but for my part, we're in a better position than we imagined. We don't need you. Stay home and squander what you could have made without the desire to be unaccountable. Somebody will pay you millions next year, but not as many millions, and that collar you'll feel around your neck will be attached to a very short leash. I believe that Mr. Davis drew his line in the sand when he said he thought that Dante Culpepper was a lot like Jim Plunkett. He just might be right. And if he is, expect to be playing for a different team next year and for a lot less money.
As it turns out our second round pick might have been really worth a top pick. Miller signed, showed up in camp, and appears to be the best tight end that the Raiders have had since the 1980s. With time to throw, Andrew Walter is looking more like the quarterback the Raiders drafted than the stranger who played last year while being buried under an ineffective offensive line. McCown is showing leadership and mobility, Culpepper is showing both mobility and a powerful arm. Our offensive line has improved, our running game… Yes, we'll lose our first ever #1 overall pick. Big deal. The NFL busts at that position are legion. We'll save the obscene amount of money you're demanding, and Mr. Davis has never had a problem with acquiring extra draft picks when we've needed them. We're going to be better this year with or with you. You had a great opportunity which you seem to have squandered.
So you seem to be reduced to a couple of choices. Sit out the season in Alabama and contemplate your navel and things that might have been, or fire your agents, wait the required amount of time, hire a new agent and tell him/her to get the deal done. At this point, five days isn't going to make a hell of a lot difference. The moment where five days would have made a difference is already past.
Sincerely,
BlandaRocked
So I issued my best welcome (see previous post) and you throw it back in my face. Thirty plus million dollars in guaranteed money along with a six year, sixty million dollar contract - more money given to any other rookie in NFL history - is beneath you.
In fairness, I'm not certain that last sentence is entirely justifiable. My position remains that you hired agents to get the job done and you must follow their advice, even though that advice seems to be piss poor. They've already cost you money, Mr. Russell. A lot of money! Showing off your live arm at Raider camp would have earned you promotional endorsements worth millions. Not now, Mr. Russell. Now you're actually going to have to earn those dollars with performance before some corporation is willing to put your face on their cereal box.
The fact is that Al Davis has a reputation for paying players what they are worth. Even when he's up against cap constraints he has found ways to allocate the money to players who've earned it. He does have a reputation for low balling contracts, but not player contracts. If he underpays, he underpays his coaches. At least that's his reputation. Once coaches have proven themselves, he rewards them with their subsequent contract (usually choosing not to negotiate again until the contract has, or nearly has expired). I think I can safely bet everything I have that, no matter what, Davis would be willing to make you the highest paid player in football history without ever having set your foot on an NFL playing field. And yet, for your agents (and apparently you) that is not enough.
So now, Mr. Russell you wait. We (the Raider Nation) don't wait. We carefully watch the improvement of Andrew Walter, the mobility of Josh McCown, and the reemergence of Dante Culpepper. You begin to fade, in our minds, into an irritable memory.
You (and I say "you" because your agents do represent "you") seem to feel that you have earned far more than the purely insane amount of money you've been offered. Really? How, exactly, did you earn it? By proving that you could play two years of college ball? Well, there are others who have played great for four years of college and flopped in the pros. You have yet to prove to anybody that won't happen to you, but your agents seem to feel (you by extension) that whether or not you flop, you've still earned the money, even if you just show up at the facility to sign autographs. In other words, your mere presence on our practice fields should earn you that money.
At this point I'm pretty confident that Davis has decided he's offered enough for the privilege of your company, and is willing to let you sit out the season. I know that many of my fellow Raider fans will disagree, but for my part, we're in a better position than we imagined. We don't need you. Stay home and squander what you could have made without the desire to be unaccountable. Somebody will pay you millions next year, but not as many millions, and that collar you'll feel around your neck will be attached to a very short leash. I believe that Mr. Davis drew his line in the sand when he said he thought that Dante Culpepper was a lot like Jim Plunkett. He just might be right. And if he is, expect to be playing for a different team next year and for a lot less money.
As it turns out our second round pick might have been really worth a top pick. Miller signed, showed up in camp, and appears to be the best tight end that the Raiders have had since the 1980s. With time to throw, Andrew Walter is looking more like the quarterback the Raiders drafted than the stranger who played last year while being buried under an ineffective offensive line. McCown is showing leadership and mobility, Culpepper is showing both mobility and a powerful arm. Our offensive line has improved, our running game… Yes, we'll lose our first ever #1 overall pick. Big deal. The NFL busts at that position are legion. We'll save the obscene amount of money you're demanding, and Mr. Davis has never had a problem with acquiring extra draft picks when we've needed them. We're going to be better this year with or with you. You had a great opportunity which you seem to have squandered.
So you seem to be reduced to a couple of choices. Sit out the season in Alabama and contemplate your navel and things that might have been, or fire your agents, wait the required amount of time, hire a new agent and tell him/her to get the deal done. At this point, five days isn't going to make a hell of a lot difference. The moment where five days would have made a difference is already past.
Sincerely,
BlandaRocked
posted by BlandaRocked at 9:18 AM
4 comments
