May 2, 2008 Insider's take on Chris Baker situation The Chris Baker contract dispute has fueled a torrent of opinions, pro and con. I chimed in Thursday with my take, and Friday I received an e-mail from someone offering a different, yet compelling argument. This person does not wish to be identified, so we?ll refer to him as a ?Former NFL Insider.? As you read it, you?ll discover quickly this person knows a little something about the business. Here?s one person?s viewpoint: ?No team or front office, especially not Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini, promises a player that if they go out and play well that they will rip up their contract and give them more money. This is a locker-room cancer that is promulgated by agents and certain locker-room lawyer players. In the NFL, like life, everything is about timing. The biggest difference in the NFL is that the time frame is reduced to ?lately.? As in, what have you done for me lately? If your timing is fortunate, and you perform well when you have leverage - specifically, in a year near the end of your contract - you get paid. ?Baker was drafted in the 3rd round in 2002 and was paid accordingly on a 3-year deal. When his deal expired, he became a restricted free agent in 2005. Since Baker?s performance was little more than average during those three years, the Jets offered Baker what is commonly referred to as the RFA (restricted free agent) low tender. Baker received no offers from other teams, accepted the Jets tender and elected to play out his one-year contract. This is where timing comes in. Baker?s fourth year in the league, the 2005 season, was his big opportunity; it was his walk year. Baker played in only 8 games, had 18 catches for 269 yards with one TD. Injuries? That is part of timing. ?Baker hit the free agent market on 3/1/06. On 3/24/06, after 24 days of ?testing the market,? Baker accepted a four-year deal from the Jets, which included a $1 million signing bonus and averaged $1.5 million per year over the first three years. Baker probably believed his future market value was depressed based by his lately (2006) misfortune. But the Jets invested in Baker anyway, and they gave him a $1 million signing bonus in return for a 4-year commitment. Baker did not have to accept this offer. If he truly believed in himself, he would have taken a one-year deal and bet on himself. He did not, but the Jets did and they pushed a $1 million bonus across the table to Baker as their ?all in? bet. Baker took the money and left the table. Game over for 4 years. Baker cashed in his chips. ?The mistake the Jets did make is they tried to do ?something nice? for Baker during the 2007 season. It wasn?t all charity, as the gesture also helped the Jets. The Jets moved $700,000 of 2008 salary into the 2007 season and gave that money to Baker one year sooner than he was due to receive it. They gave him the cash and guaranteed he?d get it even if he got hurt. No good deed ever goes unpunished. In return for pushing a $1 million in chips across the table to Baker and advancing him another $700,000 from future money, the Jets have to listen to Baker whine when the Jets go and out-recruit him. ?Baker needs to shut up and play - unless, of course, he is now finally willing to wager on himself, with his own money. He can stay away and try to force the Jets? hand and convince them to trade him. The truth will come out based on the trade offers the Jets receive. If a team steps up with fair trade compensation to the Jets, and that team is willing to re-do Bakers contract, Baker wins his gamble. If Baker?s trade market in 2008 is like his free-agent market of 2006 - non-existent - his gamble will be a failure. ?Even more convincing, Baker could make an offer to the Jets to buy his way out of his contract to become a free agent. Like the Jets did in 2006, Baker could push his chips across the table and go ?all in.? No more talking, no more whining, just putting his money where his mouth is. What Baker has to decide is what is a win for him. If there?s a sports book that would accept wagers on this action, the odds-on bet would be with the Jets on this one.?
Thanks for posting hwismer... This is a great article. Explains almost everything one needs to know about the situation. If this is all true, then I agree. Baker needs to shut the fuck up! Best quote of this article? "No good deed ever goes unpunished" .... That explains everything thats going on in this situation...
This "insider" hits the nail right on the head. The Jets "owe" Baker nothing. He signed a contract two years ago and received a large chunk of up front money. Then they moved more money up front last year. So now he has a salary of $695,000 for 08 and he doesn't like it????? Too bad. And I'm sorry, but this "the Jets promised to take care of me" stuff is clearly BS. And this "I did everything they asked me to do" is BS also. What did the Jets ask him to do that was so unusual or deserving of more money or a new contract??? Play football? Block? Catch the ball? I didn't notice Baker doing anything extraordinary. He is barelly an average tight end on a bad football team. Players like that get replaced. I agree that it is unfortunate that a player like Keller who never played an NFL down will get a big contract. But that is not the Jets' fault. Baker should complain to the agents and the NFLPA to change the system to something like the NBA. In this day and age there is just no way that Tannenbaum promised Baker he would be paid more money two years into a four year deal. Baker should shut up and play. And the media should stop making it seem like the Jets are screwing their veterans. It's ridiculous.
Good article Baker is essentially whining about his low salary that became "low" only because the Jets gave him 700,000 of that last year. Baker has no negotiating leverage here- my money is on the Jets winning this staring contest.
Only reason why Keller will get more than Baker is because Keller is a first round pick. Baker I think was a 4th rounder if im not mistaken. Theres a difference of almost 100 players in between these two, not 10 or 20 players and clearly not the other way around. Im just glad he is not being compared to Allen Faneca type of blockbuster deal.
So an employer actually went out on a limb and did something in the benefit of the employee, only to get flipped off by the guy the helped..... Baker should fire his agent. He looks really bad in this situation.
Baker can actually wager the bet - if he REALLY thinks he's underpaid, then he should cough up all the money that has been advanced, then buy out the remainder of the contract then become a free agent. Don't be surprised to find him on the street if he goes that path.
Will you get him? I won't touch him if I were a GM of another franchise. He's going to pull the fast one on my franchise as well. This means his value is at best 0. No trade whatsoever.
Give him 2 options; 1. Play, live up to your contract and get paid what you agreed to. 2. Sit and don't get paid. I say let him sit.
It's a couple of agents, Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod. http://www.fantasyplayers.com/nfl/HotOffTheWireStory.asp?NOTE_ID=467456 http://sffootball.net/firm.asp And in response to your question, the thought occurred to me that these guys are going to be a true pain in the ass when contract talks start up again... or even sooner if he gets as good as he does with a re-vamped front 7 hurrying the QB.
A vocal malcontent starter with pain-in-the-ass agents would be news in any large market in the country, especially when his pain-in-the-ass agents had already planted the seeds of doubt in the minds of the public a year before with a starting team leader using the same weak-brained tactic.
It's not that altruistic. We had cap room left over last year, and rather than carry it over, we mutually decided to pay it to Baker and put it on the 2007 cap. It was a win-win, but certainly not charity. Agreed on the agent...it seems as if he has some evil retarded svengali whispering in his ear.
