According to a report by the Denver Post, Broncos’ receiver Brandon Marshall has asked the team for a pay raise.
In Marshall’s defense, his salary request is affordable for a receiver who averaged 103 catches and 1,295 receiving yards the past two years. Larry Fitzgerald averages $10 million a year, Randy Moss $9 million, Andre Johnson has an eight-year deal at $7.5 million per and Anquan Boldin is holding out in Arizona trying to get a deal worth at least $9 million per.
Even if Marshall is another big season away from gaining inclusion in the elite receiver group, he believes he is considered close enough to the neighborhood to seek greater compensation.
The timing of Marshall’s contract request, however, is peculiar given so many other issues that could negatively affect his immediate future. Begin with the arthroscopic hip surgery March 31. Although Marshall started running last week and is expected to be fully healthy by training camp, an injured hip can be a delicate injury for a receiver.
There also is the matter of Marshall’s ongoing legal trouble that could draw a second NFL suspension in two years. ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” will air a story Sunday that rehashes Marshall’s past troubles with former girlfriend Rasheeda Watley.
Marshall’s on-field production certainly garners a pay raise, but his off-field issues will keep the Broncos from giving him one. Why would Denver risk giving him more money and/or more years when he can’t keep his act together off the field? No matter how much money he brings in, it wouldn’t be wise for a fortune 500 company to give its top salesman a raise when he goes out drinking all the time, beats women and winds up in trouble with the law, so why would the Broncos cater to Marshall? It’s a similar situation in that it’s just not a smart business move.
Marshall needs to concentrate on being productive on the field, flying right off it and then the money will come. His past actions are hurting his future financial gain and he should learn from the mistakes he’s made.
