Darrelle Revis is a damn fine corner – the best in the league maybe. He’s also vital to the Jets’ success this season and he’s arguably the most important piece of Rex Ryan’s defense.

He has also only played one season (that being one, as in – only one) of elite ball, which is why the $162 million over 10 years that he’s asking the Jets to give him is absolutely ridiculous on many levels. (The $162 million figure comes from Newsday’s Bob Glauber.)

The Jets can’t fiscally give into Revis’ contract demands without sacrificing other areas of their team. They have an entire roster to consider – not just one player, a cornerback no less. Not to undermine the importance of the cornerback position, but quarterback is the only spot where a team should break the bank in order to sign or re-sign a player.

Last time I checked, Revis doesn’t throw the football.

Granted, the $162 million figure that Glauber is reporting may be off. After all, the $162 million asking price hasn’t come out of Revis’ mouth; we’re just going off of what Glauber is reporting.

Then again, Revis isn’t in camp and we’re only two and a half weeks away from the start of the regular season. The Jets have reportedly already offered $122 million (in a down economy, mind you) over 10 seasons and Revis has yet to sign. If he’s insane enough to turn down $122 million, then chances are he’s insane enough to ask for $162 million.

Let’s keep in mind that the only reason Revis is asking for this much is because Al Davis gave Nnmadi Asomugha that absurd contract. Or else maybe Revis would have already signed off on a new deal and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

At what point does a team draw the line and say, yes, he’s a great player and we want to retain him – but this is absolutely the highest we can go if we expect to compete long-term? I’d say $122 million, or just over $12 million a year for 10 years is a fair line, especially considering the Jets shouldn’t have to pay for Davis’ mistakes.

Of course, none of this means anything without knowing what the Jets are offering in terms of the guaranteed portion of his contract. Because NFL contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, players make most of their money through bonuses. It would make sense if the guaranteed portion of his contract were the sticking point in the discussions.

But Revis should feel fortunate that the Jets are offering him anything (let alone $122 million) considering he has three years remaining on his current contract. Revis is a great player, but $162 million? How does he expect the Jets to compete on a consistent basis if they paid him $162 million over the next 10 years? Talk about future salary cap hell.

The Jets are doing the smart thing by not only not giving into Revis’ demands, but also taking the time to reward other players that are willing to sign (i.e. D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, who is reportedly close to receiving a new deal). If Revis doesn’t want to play for $122 million, then he can sit out and the Jets can make due with what they currently have on their roster.

It’s as simple as that.

While they’re both highly convenient, text messages and e-mails are often aggravating. Too many times the message or intent gets lost in the translation and sometimes people can walk away offended.

That’s why Rex Ryan’s proposal today in regards to Darrelle Revis’ holdout makes a lot of sense.

From ESPN.com:

“This is what I would like to have happen,” said Ryan, whose proposed plan was scripted. “Everybody put their cards on the table. Have Darrelle come here with anybody he wants. We’ll have Mr. Johnson here … We’ll call off practice. We’ll have our whole team there to meet.

“That way, there’s no he-said, she-said. Let’s work it that way. Maybe that’s how we’ll get a solution. Everybody wants a solution. Let’s figure out a way to do it. Maybe this is the way.”

In other words: Let’s cut through the crap.

Ryan says he’s “absolutely serious” about this idea and I “absolutely” believe him. He always says exactly what’s on his mind and there’s little doubt that he would actually call off practice so that Revis’ teammates could be there as he and the Jets ironed out their differences.

Ryan’s proposal works on a couple of different levels. For starters, maybe if Revis’ teammates were there, it would reinforce the concept of “team,” which is a term that has apparently disappeared in the cornerback’s vocabulary of late. Seeing as how Ryan would go as far as to close practice for a day, the gesture may also show Revis how valuable he is. (One would think that he should already know how valuable he is, but actions speak louder than words.)

If his teammates were there, Revis would also have to look everyone in the face and reject an offer that most players would never get in their lifetime. Let’s keep in mind that the Jets have had a 10-year, $120 million offer on the table for months and Revis’ camp reportedly wants $160 million. Come on – get real.

Although hey, maybe I’m the one who should get real seeing as how this meeting between Ryan, Revis and the Jets will probably never happen. The cornerback’s agent would never advise his client to put himself in this situation and feel pressured into signing any deal. That’s why agents always do the talking for the player.

Still, I like Ryan’s suggestion. In the end, he and the Jets want Revis in camp, Revis wants a long-term deal and the team wants to ensure that it doesn’t put itself in cap hell when the new CBA deal is eventually signed. If all parties agreed to meet, then maybe all parties can get what they want in the end.

After all, face-to-face is still the best way to go these days.

Owner Woody Johnson said Monday that he doesn’t believe Darrelle Revis (holdout) will play in 2010.

From the New York Daily News:

Asked whether he believed that a new deal could be reached before the start of the season, Johnson simply said: “The answer is no.”

“My impression is no progress,” the owner said. “(They way) Mike characterized it with me, there’s no movement whatsoever…. Nothing new and different, as they say in marketing.”

Given how much time there is before the regular season starts, this seems like pasturing on the part of Johnson. Either way, it appears as though the Jets are digging in their heels and taking a more hard-line stance with Revis.

Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network reports that Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis will not follow through on his threat to hold out of training camp if he doesn’t receive a new contract.

Revis has plenty of incentive to report.

He has the option to void his current contract at the end of the 2010 season, but the Jets have the right to buy back the remaining two years at $20 million, fully guaranteed.

If Revis were to miss any mandatory time due to a holdout, however, he might lose the guranteed portion of the contract. He would then be under contract for two more years, at $5 million in 2011 and $15 million in 2012. That potential guarantee is something he would not want to risk.

The Jets are willing to give Revis the biggest contract ever for a defensive back (one that will approach $100 million), but reports continue to state that he wants more than the Raiders’ Nnamdi Asomugha (who received $28.5 million in guaranteed money over the first two years of the deal he signed in 2009).

As I wrote last month on this topic, I refuse to believe that Revis would turn down $100 million just because he wouldn’t make more than Asomugha annually. No athlete can be that greedy, can they? (Don’t answer that.)

The Jets are heading in the right direction under Rex Ryan. They don’t need a major case of the “me’s” right now as they try to make a run at the Super Bowl this season. Hopefully for their sake, Revis won’t hold out and eventually the two sides can come to an agreement on a deal so things don’t get ugly.

So much for the notion that the Jets don’t take care of their own.

On Wednesday, New York agreed to terms with left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson on a six-year, $60 million extension, which also includes $34.8 million in guarantees. Da Brick will receive $73.6 million over the next either years, which exceeds the five-year, $57 million deal that the Dolphins gave former No. 1 overall pick Jake Long.

Along with Long and Cleveland’s Joe Thomas, Ferguson is among the best left tackles in the league and it was vital for the Jets to keep him in New York. But while fans can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that Ferguson will be around for a long time, GM Mike Tannenbaum still has plenty of work cut out for him.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis, center Nick Mangold and linebacker David Harris are all still seeking extensions themselves. Tannenbaum will likely turn to Revis next, seeing as how the cornerback will probably receive the richest contract in Jets history (at least on a per year basis).

Whether or not new deals are on their way for Revis, Mangold and/or Harris, it’s nice to see that the player who didn’t openly complain to the media got paid first. Ferguson has been a total professional this entire offseason and he was just handsomely rewarded for it. Maybe Revis should take some notes.

Newsday’s Bob Glauber reports that the Jets are willing to give Darrelle Revis the biggest contract ever for a defensive back (one that will approach $100 million), but apparently the corner is holding firm in his demands that he wants a contract that exceeds the Raiders’ Nnamdi Asomugha.

He can’t be that greedy, can he? Tell me that nobody is that greedy. Are you telling me that Revis wouldn’t want to make $12 million annually for the next nine years because Asomugha makes over $15 million a year? He has that much of an ego that he’d pass that up?

No, I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe that Revis would turn down a $100 million contract because he cares more about being the highest paid cornerback in the league. I refuse to believe that he cares more about the moniker have being the highest paid NFL corner than he does about winning Super Bowls or seeing his teammates (i.e. Nick Mangold) get new contracts as well.

Revis should be reminded that he still has three more years left on his current contract. The Jets don’t have to offer him anything and he’d still be obligated to honor his current deal. If they wanted to offer him a ham sandwich and a cold glass of milk, he should be grateful.

I hope nobody thinks that highly of themselves that they would turn down the opportunity to make $100 million.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/06/17/darrelle-revis-you-can%e2%80%99t-be-serious/feed/ 1 http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/06/14/revis-jets-needs-to-be-more-reasonable-about-contract-situation/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/06/14/revis-jets-needs-to-be-more-reasonable-about-contract-situation/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:21:39 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=41206

Darrelle Revis wants to be the highest paid cornerback in the NFL.

The Jets want to give him a new contract, but they don’t want to pay top dollar for him.

Both need to step back into reality.

Revis has emerged as the best cover corner in the NFL. That moniker used to be in reference to Nnamdi Asomugha, which is why Al Davis gave him a $45.3 million contract in February of 2009.

But Davis is also completely out of his mind. The first two years of Asomugha’s contract ($28.6 million) are fully guaranteed. Another $4.7 million is available through incentives and in order to keep the cornerback under contract through 2011, the Raiders must pay him either the franchise number for quarterbacks that year, or $16.875 million (whichever is greater).

That’s what Revis wants from the Jets. Actually, he actually wants a contract larger than that and is willing to skip training camp until he receives it.

There’s no question that Revis is underpaid and if it’s true that the Jets didn’t offer him any guaranteed money in a recent proposal, then he was right to call their offer “an insult.” But if you’re GM Mike Tannenbaum, it wouldn’t be a good business decision to pay Revis what Asomugha makes. Asomugha shouldn’t even make what Asomugha makes and that’s not a dig on his ability as a player, that’s just stressing that his contract is ridiculous.

Tannenbaum can’t do for Revis what Davis did for Asomugha. He has an entire roster of players to think about and the Jets are trying to win a Super Bowl. He needs to put together a respectable deal to ensure Revis is happy and eventually reports to camp on time.

What constitutes respectable? Champ Bailey makes $9 million a year and turns 32 later this month. Dunta Robinson just received a new deal that will pay him an average of $9.5 million a year and he’s currently 28. Revis (24) is younger and more productive than both of them, so what if the Jets gave him $12 million a year with $25-30 million in guaranteed money? That would be respectable. Revis wouldn’t make what Asomugha makes, but again, the contract Davis gave Asmougha is absurd and it hamstrings the Raiders in other personnel decisions. Tannenbaum doesn’t want to do that to the Jets, but he still has to understand what the market currently dictates for top corners.

I think $12 million is more than fair and if Revis more concerned about being the highest paid cornerback in the league than he is about winning a Super Bowl, then shame on him. And if the Jets don’t want to pony up in order to pay the best corner in the league, then maybe Revis should protest his contract.

Either way, both parties need to come to their senses before this situation gets even uglier than it already is.

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