Reasonable, Greed, or plain desire to move on?

[cki3915]

At what point does a reasonable demand turn into pure greed or a desire to move on?

Most talking heads are in agreement that the Saints have on multiple occasions offered Drew a contract that would make him the highest paid player in the NFL, all of which Drew has turned down. We cannot be sure that this is true, but enough journalists have reported this to give it a reasonable chance to be mostly true.

Earlier talking heads said that Drew has asked for $23 Mil. Drew has called this "disinformation on some national networks" So, we really do not know what he wants, but we can guess that whatever it is, it is more than the Saints have offered.

Now, with the ruling on Drew's Franchise tag status, he stands to make a killing in 2013 if he playes under the tag in 2012 and the Saints tag him again, which means he either makes far more money than any player ever has (which will pretty much eat up the Saints entire Salary Cap in 2013), or he gets to hit the open market. Either way, he wins.

So...would you characterize the behavior of the Brees camp in this instance to be:

A. Reasonable demands
B. Plain old fashioned greed
C. An attempt to strongarm the team to let him go after the 2012 season.

I've to this point believed his demands to be reasonable, but as more comes out, it's really looking like greed. Now, if he decides all of a sudden to sign his franchise tender, something he said in the past he would absolutely not do, then we have no choice but to consider C as an possibility, because he knows very well that the Saints will not be able to afford him at that price in 2013 and still field a team and will have little choice but to let him go in free agency.

[Swampy Saint]

I'll go with
d. tacoes

Seriously. I'm a Saints fan first and foremost. I hope Drew retires a Saint and he is my all time favorite player. But he will never be bigger than the team in my mind.

I know it's getting close to D-Day, but I refuse to over-react. I believe the deal will get done. No amount of stress or anxiety will speed up the process.

I will love, love, love my Saints regardless of the outcome.

[slowchild25]

Just because the Saints are offering "OMG!!111!!! Highest paid player ever" doesn't really mean much. The Saints can offer Brees a 10 year deal worth 200 million but if the first 3 years of that deal only has 30 million of guaranteed money it, it's going to get turned down.

[FullMonte]

Originally Posted by cki3915

Earlier talking heads said that Drew has asked for $23 Mil. Drew has called this "disinformation on some national networks" So, we really do not know what he wants, but we can guess that whatever it is, it is more than the Saints have offered.

We can't guess that at all. Drew may want $23million for 5 years. That's $115 million. The Saints may have said, ok, we'll agree to that. We'll give you $5 million this year, $7 million next year, $10 million in year three, $20 million in year 4, and $73 million in year 5.

Drew won't accept that, even though it's the same amount of money, because he knows that they can cut him in year 4, and he's out $70 million.

(Note, this is an exaggeration, but just making the point that there is a lot more involved that the simple dollar amount average per year)

The reality here is simple. Negotiations are always a game of chicken, you hold out until you think the other side won't budge. You've got two sides negotiating a deal, and both have a lot of leverage. Drew wants $100 million a year for the rest of his life, and the Saints want to pay him around $100 a year. Eventually they got to the point where they are now, according to reports, around $3 or $4 million a year apart. There is no way that either side will let this deal go away without getting it done. It's like going to buy a car from someone. They want $20,000 for it, you offer $18,000. If you really want the car, and they really want to sell it, you'll get the deal done.

Drew has a huge potential to lose a lot of money if he doesn't sign a long term deal. He'll already lose the $3 million or so difference between playing under the tag and what the Saints have reportedly offered him. Plus, with the status of the front office, there is the potential for the Saints to have a bad season this year. That doesn't help his negotiating ability.

The Saints have the huge potential to lose a lot of money if he doesn't sign a long term deal. With the state of the front office, if Drew plays under the tag, and leads the team to a great season and post season, they end up paying him more money long term.

[75Saint]

But in my mind there is little chance the saints ever cut him out right, making the whole contract just about guaranteed, so guaranteed money shouldn't be a factor, I think he plays out what ever contract he signs ( just my opinion )

[darkhornet]

D. Hard negotiations

I think Drew's already determined he'll sign the contract. I think he's just going to let Mickey sweat until the last minute to see if he'll move.

[95stang]

I truly hope that it's not greed, because how can you take a big chunk of the team's cap space and see your team as a contender after this season? Monday will give us the answer to the question of greed, reasonable, or a way to get out. I my opinion, I don't see it as a way for Drew to get out, because he would not be making such an effort to entrench himself in the community with his business ventures. A superbowl title and a string of record breaking seasons sure entitles him to a big payday, but at what expense? I know I'm flip flopping more than a fish in a ice chest, but who isn't? We are all a little puzzled by the situation and are looking for the end of all of this, so we can move on knowing we will have the best offense in the NFL again this season, with the ultimate captain at the helm.

[kooldak]

Originally Posted by darkhornet

D. Hard negotiations

I think Drew's already determined he'll sign the contract. I think he's just going to let Mickey sweet until the last minute to see if he'll move.

Yeah. This.

I've been saying all along that this is just about business. Nothing more, nothing less.

Some of us here take it personal. We shouldn't. There is nothing personal about this negotiation.

A. Brees isn't reasonable or unreasonable. He is simply pushing the market to get the most that he can from the situation.

B. Brees isn't "greedy" (how do you define greed, anyway?). This is his job and he wants to get paid the most that he can. I would, too.

C. Brees doesn't want to move on. He isn't mad at Loomis/Benson/Payton/Saints/fans/etc. This is where he wants to play, but that doesn't change how he and Condon should go about their negotiation.

So - D. Hard negotiations. It is just that simple and no more nefarious or complex than that.

[cki3915]

If they come to a deal, it will have been all business.

If he holds out, it will continue to be business.

If he signs the tender, then that brings a bunch of varied scenarios into play, none of them good for the Saints.

[SeLuSaint]

The last 48 hours before the deadline, things should start to get moving. The last 24 hours is when the final push will happen. Hopefully someone budges and a deal gets done. I don't care which side gets the better deal. Just get it done baby!

[saints1604]

If I'm Brees and the saints made me an offer I can live with but wasn't what I wanted my only leverage at this point is to wait till the last possible minute to see if the saints give me more. At this point he isnt missing any team activities so no sweat until the 16th.

[SWAMP_THING]

i just know not ever winning an MVP has factored into these negotiations. here we have brees' agent saying brees is arguably the best of all time, but he can't even be the best right now apparently, lol. no MVPs gives loomis some leverage against that 'best all time' argument, and puts into question how much does brees and his agent feels he's really worth. i suspect a regular season MVP would have bolstered brees to where there's absolutely no question and no stalls in negotiation. just my opinion

here's another good example- when is the last time a player has been offered the biggest contract ever and has never sniffed an MVP ?

[starbuck2907]

Originally Posted by SWAMP_THING

i just know not ever winning an MVP has factored into these negotiations. here we have brees' agent saying brees is arguably the best of all time, but he can't even be the best right now apparently, lol. no MVPs gives loomis some leverage against that 'best all time' argument, and puts into question how much does brees and his agent feels he's really worth. i suspect a regular season MVP would have bolstered brees to where there's absolutely no question and no stalls in negotiation. just my opinion

here's another good example- when is the last time a player has been offered the biggest contract ever and has never sniffed an MVP ?

With Payton out of the picture, this will be the year that Brees wins MVP. When we have a good season, people will rant and rave about his leadership has carried the team when the coach has been gone. I really think this will be the season that the media hype gets behind him for MVP.

[Swampy Saint]

Originally Posted by SWAMP_THING

i just know not ever winning an MVP has factored into these negotiations. here we have brees' agent saying brees is arguably the best of all time, but he can't even be the best right now apparently, lol. no MVPs gives loomis some leverage against that 'best all time' argument, and puts into question how much does brees and his agent feels he's really worth. i suspect a regular season MVP would have bolstered brees to where there's absolutely no question and no stalls in negotiation. just my opinion

here's another good example- when is the last time a player has been offered the biggest contract ever and has never sniffed an MVP ?

Not buying it.
If never getting MVP gives Loomis the edge, why did he put the biggest contract offer on the table?
I agree several posters who believe it's all posturing at this point. There is nothing left to figure out.
Chill, it's gonna happen.

[insidejob]

I may be a Saints fan first and foremost, but if this deal doesn't get done, I'm gonna be just a little miffed to say the least.