You know what ticks me off...the Packers are cheap, that is what ticks me off. Then they wait and wait and end up paying a lot more for the same player. Freeman could have been done last year for $3 million. Levens could have been done for less, could have kept Evans for less, and Hentrich.....the list goes on and on. I think this is the one area where Wolf fails. He can evaluate talent, but he has a hard time keeping it all together. We end up losing signficant talent because these contracts are not done in a timely fashion and then the market will price these guys right out......
-Scott
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If deal isn't done, Freeman will skip Packers' minicamps
By D. Orlando Ledbetter and Tom Silverstein
of the Journal Sentinel staff
February 18, 1999
Antonio Freeman, the Green Bay Packers all-pro wide receiver, does not like how his negotiations with the team are going and is bracing for
a holdout.
Freeman doesn't plan to attend any minicamps until his contract is completed and said he wouldn't play for less than $6 million per year.
Before the Packers designated Freeman as their franchise player, they offered him a contract that averaged $4.4 million per year, Freeman
said Wednesday at the Bradley Center after viewing the Milwaukee Bucks game against the Chicago Bulls.
Freeman and his agent, Joel Segal, told the Packers they believe the receiver is worth $6 million per year.
When asked if he would play for less than $6 million, Freeman, matter of factly, said, "No."
Then he added, "That's what the market value is right now. All we do is make the situation worse when we wait and wait. We could have
gotten it done last year for $3 million and they didn't want to get it done then. The market is set for what I'm worth. I've got to cash in on it. I
can't miss the opportunity."
By receiving the franchise tag, Freeman could play for the one-year tender offer, which is the average salary of the top five receivers in the
league. It was $2.84 million in 1998 and is expected to go up to around $3.5 million this year.
Any team that signs Freeman would have to compensate the Packers with two first-round draft choices.
Freeman believes the market could go even higher if free-agent wide receivers Carl Pickens, Rob Moore or J.J. Stokes sign a deal averaging
$6 million or more per year.
"The market is not (Yancey) Thigpen money anymore," Freeman said. "It's gone up."
Freeman was also perturbed that the Packers signed defensive tackle Santana Dotson to a deal averaging more than $5 million per year and
then only offered him a deal averaging $4.4 million.
"Hey, they signed other guys to big contracts, which we saw in the last week," Freeman said. "Why can't I get mine?"
Freeman doesn't believe the situation has gotten as acrimonious as it did last season between the Packers and Dorsey Levens' agent, Hadley
Englehard.
"It could be a spiteful situation and I don't want it to get that way where management has a grudge against me and I have a grudge against
them," Freeman said. "I just want to get back with the team."
Talks continue
Contract negotiations between the Packers and cornerback Tyrone Williams have resumed despite the team's tenuous salary cap position.
Williams' agent, Dick Davis, said he had spoken with negotiator Lance Lopes and thought he'd know
within a week whether the two sides would be able to agree on a long-term deal.
Williams is a restricted free agent who was tendered a first-round offer of $934,000, meaning that if the
Packers don't choose to match an offer he receives, they would receive a first-round draft choice in
compensation.
Since it's unlikely anyone will give up a first-round pick for Williams, the two sides are trying to work out
a long-term deal so that Williams can receive a significant signing bonus and the Packers can assure that
he won't become an unrestricted free agent next year.
It's unclear how much Williams is seeking, but it's safe to assume he wants at least $2 million a year.
The Packers will use up $4.906 million in cap space when they sign defensive tackle Santana Dotson and linebacker George Koonce to their
agreed-upon deals.
After signing Dotson and Koonce, they'll have roughly $250,000 of cap room with which to work.
Done deal
The Philadelphia Eagles didn't waste any time with Doug Pederson, signing the Packers backup to a three-year, $4.9 million contract,
including a $2 million signing bonus.
Pederson is reunited with former Packers quarterbacks coach Andy Reid, the Eagles' new head coach. Reid immediately appointed
Pederson, 31, as his starter for next season.
More interest
Linebacker Lamont Hollinquest visited the Kansas City Chiefs this week and will fly to Charlotte to meet with members of the Carolina
Panthers organization next week.
Running back Darick Holmes, meanwhile, visited Indianapolis Monday and New Orleans Wednesday, but it doesn't appear he will sign with
either team soon. Holmes has visits with San Diego and New England scheduled for next week. |
