Mo opens up: "Did what I had to do for a new contract"

See I am not in the home grown star caliber player club. Fine if you are. But whether a guy is home grown or not means nothing to me. The only way to keep a home grown guy is usually to overpay. I am against overpaying for anyone, except maybe an elite QB. I have been watching this team too long. I do not want warm fuzzy relationships with players. I want New England.

 

The Jets overpaid for almost every FA they signed this year, have you been against every FA signing we made? Signing a talented player to a contract consists of overpaying 99 times out of 100, whether they are home grown or not. The benefit of the home grown guys is that you know what you are getting already and how they will fit the team, personally and professionally

Oh btw, F New England

 

Right. What people do not understand is that the Jets do not have to pay Mo what he wants. If Williams gets hurt maybe they will feel they have to You do not pay a guy what you have to until you have to. Why is it so hard for people to grasp this?

 

That is disingenuous. A lot of these contracts are cuttable before next season. Yes they overpaid Revis. I have been against overpaying Revis for years. And I thought signing Cro un-advisable. But I have never been a big Cro fan.

Finding a QB and signing Mo or Sheldon are not mutually exclusive items.

 

What's disingenuous? Players get overpaid all the time and that's how the average market is set, you're being disingenuous if you try to say otherwise

I'm not saying the guy should get Suh or Watt money, never have, but signing Mo long term will be considered overpayment in some aspect because the market is constantly trending upwards with the increasing salary cap, Watt and Suh were both grossly overpaid but hey that's how the market is set

"Finding" a QB isn't exclusive, but if the Jets seem a QB worthy of a top 10 salary then they won't be able to pay both of them long term at the same time, one would have to go

 

I'm sure he's frustrated but I don't think it's the type of frustration that is going to "boil over". I don't believe he plans to hold out based on his tone, and I think he'll suit up and play it out.

Plus, he has to...He's in a contract year and this year will make or break what he gets on the market. He can't afford not to play. The Revis situation was ENTIRELY different, and the comparisons here to Revis are to me not reasonable.

Mo wants an extension, yes. The Jets likely want to extend him as well.

However, as Mo stated it's a business. With that, the Jets need to work out what's best for the business. That's the bottom line.

 

As much as I like Mo I am starting to accept the reality that he might become a casualty of "too much of a good thing is not a wise business move" in a cap constrained league and probably be playing for another team in 2016.

I guess from my view point the crux of the issue is that Mo is expecting to be considered and paid as an elite player and a difference maker on a top knotch front line where unfortunately for him he is not even the best DE on his team. He is very good, but not Richardson type good. As a result the perceived value gap is too large, particularly on light of a rookie in the wings with the potential to overshadow his contributions and take his place next year.
If he was willing to accept the $12M a year range with reasonable guarantees I suspect the front office would have sealed the deal already. If he asking north of $70m for five with a hefty guarantee the deal will not get done.

I have a feeling when it's all well and done he will be provided the option salary in 2015, and in all likelihood traded for a pick in 2016.
Franchising him will be the worst possible move in MHO, so if Williams shines and Mo does not lower his expectations he might be traded for a second rounder or better and find his way to a team like Cleveland, NO or the Raiders.

Had we been blessed with a similar rich crop of talent in the secondary instead this problem would be reversed, may be a non issue issue, but business is business, and a good player like Mo might find himself being the odd man out in a super talented front line.

 

If a player gets overpaid before he hits the open market at least one of three things has happened:

1. Bad management.

The team just doesn't understand how competitive advantage works and they've double-visioned the player into more value than he actually represents.

2. Desperation.

The team doesn't have other answers at the position and losing the player would open a gaping hole.

3. Marketing.

The team has recently won or expects to win in the near future and the player is highly marketable and sells tickets.

Often, as in the case of Joe Flacco, #2 and #3 combine. This will be the Russell Wilson situation if the Seahawks re-up him above market.

Sometimes all 3 are in play, which is how Mike Smith got fired by the Falcons.

If the Jets signed Mo above market for a player under contract it would be #1. They aren't desperate at the position, in fact defensive line and specifically guys who can play inside and outside is the main strength of the team. The Jets arguably have 4 of these guys although Coples is masquerading as a rush LB at this point. This is understandable given they have spent 4 1st round picks on these guys in the last 4 years.

The Jets talent base now is malformed towards a Rex Ryan ideal talent base. Lots of flexible talent up front and a bunch of CB's. Even with Bowles having similar schemes the Jets probably need to reconfigure the talent base under the cap a bit to bring it back into balance.

They may wind up extending or even re-signing Mo after he hits free agency, however doing that is not one of their primary needs.

 

That is not exactly true. Comparing a non-athlete to an athlete in terms of pay and job opportunities is not even comparing apples to bananas, it's comparing completely disparate situations. Mo could get a job tomorrow too. I only have leverage if I have another comparable job waiting for me the instant I am unhappy with my current job. How many people have that at any time? We could get into a long discussion about the numerous differences between pro athletes and the rest of the working world, but it would take a long time. To sum it up, the NFL is really one employer. Teams compete on the field, but not economically. The Jets want to beat the beat the pats on the field, but don't want to drive them out of business. Kraft and Johnson are business partners. On the other hand, Coke and Pepsi are not business partners and compete for my and your money.
Mo's employment situation could not be any more different from mine or any other non-athletes. The sports world would fall apart if it were the same. So let's not even pretend to go there, OK? If Mo doesn't like that he won't make $10 million instead of $7 million this year , he can leave football. If it was so easy for every person to get a comparable job any time he or she wanted, the job market would be in constant flux. People stay in jobs for years for a reason and people who lose jobs don't get hired in a heart beat except in unusual circumstances.

It is a fallacy that I or others have leverage while athletes do not. Period.

 

Mo is what made that line super talented, Sheldon benefitted from having Mo on that line, now all of a sudden Sheldon, Williams and Coples are the future?

Coples is still trying to find his potential, Williams has proven nothing yet, only that he is trying to date one of our fellow gang green members girlfriend, and Richardson is the only one left.

How is Mo the odd man out? If the jets lose him, I feel he will be a bigger loss than you guys think.

 

The "Snacks" contract situation throws another interesting wrench into this.I think when it comes to he & Wilkerson..one stays & the other is gone.Alot of that depends on Leonard Williams development & how he is utilized on the field.

I dunno how others feel but Williams could do a lot of damage as a penetrating nose & would allow Harrison to be the Jets "Gilbert Brown" as both a short yardage/goalline monster or a "change of pace" against certain blocking schemes.

 

Wilkerson is a great player but he's not worth Suh/JJ money...

Cam Jordan is much more his going rate. Maybe a bit more... Something like $65 mil with 35 guaranteed is the max I would consider for him.

 

Ok, let me put it another way. Tomorrow you *could* leave your job for a better one if the opportunity arose. You could spend today making that opportunity arise.

There is no chance that Mo can leave the Jets tomorrow, or for the next 8 months at least, for a better job. There is no chance that he can legally spend today trying to promote better opportunities to leave tomorrow, not unless he works with the Jets to make that happen.

If you are under contract with your employer and that contract includes clauses that prevent you from breaking it then I take back the statement above. You're just as tied down as Mo is at the moment.

The highest paid job of my life, an agreed upon double promotion over three months, happened because I found another opportunity during the internet boom of the late 90's. I brought the opportunity back to my boss and she took it to her boss and my pay nearly doubled over the next three months.

It's a fallacy to believe that you do not have that possibility sitting out there somewhere. You just don't know how to get there from where you are or you're not interested in making the investment of time or you just like your job and are willing to live with the compensation.

 

Doesn't he make 7 mil this season? Wilk should shut up. It's not like his next contract wont be big if the Jets don't negotiate. Barring a catastrophe, his next contract will be huge.

 

If the contract says that they can cut you after X amount of years then yeah you deserve what you agree too

 

Yes he should get paid more when they make him a new contract, I am just saying that no player is in the right too hold out. You agreed to play for X amount of money. When you do good enough you should get a new contract but until then you do what you agreed to do.

 

Thats the problem, I want to keep him just as much as the next guy but he really should not be paid more then that.

 

I hate to draw comparisons to New England but they are a pretty model franchise in terms of replacing players.

This situation mirrors how they handled Richard Seymour even though he was significantly older. They didn't want to pay a 3-4 defensive end despite the fact that he was a cornerstone of that defense, and a 3 time All-Pro at the time. It's not like he became some slouch either he remained productive after the trade. It just doesn't make sense to pay Mo $13 million a year when we have essentially 3 ends that are all at least two years away from being free agents and one is arguably (last season at least) better.