You cannot compare Washington to Jones-Drew. That is a mistake. Here is a good article explaining why, and also gives a better comparison. http://nyjetscap.com/leonwashingtoncontract.html
The comparison is not a complete statistical comparison. As I have said from the start, it' the importance to the team. If Leon were not on the Jets, I doubt they would have had the marginal success they've had over the years Leon has been there. That shows his importance to the team. Comparatively, Jones-Drew was important to the Jags because he spelled Fred Taylor, and was explosive out of the backfield, on the goal line etc.... Without Jones-Drew, the Jags don't go to the playoffs two seasons ago. Importance to the team. The contract will be based on what the Jets feel Leon's importance to the Jets is. Not, exactly overall statistics. And the Jones-Drew/ Darren Sproles contracts will be the gauge.
He used it in the context that he has to "feed his family" and that is BS. Leon is great and I want him here long term but his misspoke. Again, I understand what he is trying to say it just didn't come out the right way. You have to factor in the millionaire Jet fans we have which raises the average up.
Funny that you include Sproles, who is currently playing on the franchise tag tender. That is the exact route I would take with Leon if his demands do not come down. We have this year very cheap. If next season remains uncapped we can hit him with an RFA tag. Then year after that Franchise tag. At that point you have him at 30 years old without having yet to pay out the big time bonus that would be guanenteed on a long term deal. Right now the Jets have little to gain from a long term deal with Washington. He cannot afford to hold out. the 15k a day in fines would eat up his contract for this year quickly. The RFA tender will be worth much less then the franchise number Sproles is getting for next year. The Year after that we would still have a franchise tag to use on him. If we sign him to a long term deal we take on the risk with any upfront money he gets in a bonus. If he gets injured we are on the hook for that when the cap does return. The Benefit? Getting a player to stay with us when we have several tools to keep him here anyway. Why bother? Unless he wants to give up some of the value that he thinks he has then there is no reason for the Jets to do this. Leon's importance to the Jets is not near Jones-drew's to the Jags. He got a new, big contract because he is going to be the man in Jacksonville this season. He's the number one back with very little behind him in terms of depth. Leon is at best case splitting carries this year 3 ways. More than likely he will see about 30% of the total carries out of the back feild and be our #1 receiving back. He is a good KRer, but not all world. He finished #10 in KR average last year and is most likely losing his PR duties this season. Washington is somewhere between Kevin Faulk (who had very similar numbers last year) and Jones-Drew in value. 6 Mill a year places him in the top tier if starting backs contract wise and he has not proven he can handle the workload and maintain those type of numbers. With everything we can do to keep him around and not give him the guanenteed deal we need to let things play out. There is no need to tie up a ton of money on him this offseason unless he scales back what he wants and gives the Jets a reason to put the money out there.
yeah....i was wondering that too. I wonder what "Woddy's" interpretation of "showing him hate" entailed.
I just read this msg. I dont understand. How is the FO screwing Leon? They made an offer to Leon which he rejected. Leon demands way too much. Besides, he's under contract anyways. FO is not screwing Leon. They made him an offer, even though he was still under contract, and Leon rejected. It's pretty simple. Its not like the Jets had told him he'll get a fat contract at the end of the yr if he plays good or something. It's Leon issue that he want's more money and is being public about the talks. He is the one who needs to take a $4mil contract, not a $6-7mil contract.
I have a great deal of sympathy for Leon. He has worked incredibly hard during his time here and has made the most out of his limited opportunities to show how special a player he really is. When I look what totally unproven 1st and 2nd round draft picks are being paid, I can't help but imagine Leon being both disgusted and and sick to his stomach. The current system, and how it forces teams to allocate their cap resources, is patently unfair and needs to be revised as soon as possible.
That is what you get out of a rookie contract. More than half the rookie contracts don't pay according to the salaries of the players. Some get paid than they should, some get paid far less than they should. So you can't complain about a rookie deal.
In the next CBA rookies will get nothing. Slotted like NBA players. Then they will all be on an even level and they can all wait until that contract runs out and in the meantime they can shut up.
I agree...sort of. I understand Leon is under contract, but since when do FO honor the lengths of the deals it gives to their players? The minute these guys start to decline, they are cut. In an ideal world, players would honor their contracts and FO's would not cut players who were loyal to the team. All things considered if Leon leaves NY next year, I won't give a shit that the FO was just trying to pay him his "market value". We have guys like Gladys on this team making 50 times more than Leon, so the FO should just pay the man!
Yeah but isn't Maurice Jones-Drew the Jags starter, getting the ball 25 to 30 times a game? Since LW isn't the Jets starter and isn't going to carry the load for them, it would seem the market at $6 million is too steep. Leon is an important player for the Jets, yet he is still a role player for the team and I see him signing for a touch under $5 mil per season when its all said and done.
The holyjoenamath website has posted something about the Jets upping their offer to $4.5m per, but he cites Cimini and I can't see anything on his blog yet...
