POSTED 9:20 a.m. EST; UPDATED 9:45 p.m. EST, February 22, 2006

 

JETS LOOKING TO SWAP WITH SAINTS?

There’s talk in league circles that the New York Jets are sufficiently smitten with Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler to prompt serious consideration by the front office of a trade up in the April draft from the No. 4 overall spot to No. 2, which pick currently is held by the Saints.

The Jets’ objective would be to leapfrog the Titans, who sit and No. 3 – and who likewise are thought to be thinking seriously about drafting Cutler.

The only hitch is that the Saints are believed to be primarily interested in USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who very well could be plucked by the Titans at No. 3 if Cutler is off the board.

Stay tuned.

SAINTS NOT TAGGING BENTLEY

A league source tells us that the New Orleans Saints won’t be applying either the franchise tag or the transition tag to center LeCharles Bentley.

This means that the four-year veteran from Ohio State will hit the market without restriction of any kind.

Bentley likely will be the top offensive lineman in the free agent market, especially if the Seahawks apply the franchise or transition tag to guard Steve Hutchinson.

ABRAHAM TO SIGN TENDER?

Word out of New York is that defensive end John Abraham plans to sign the one-year, $8.33 million franchise tender, which would make his salary fully guaranteed for 2006.

The move would be aimed at putting maximum pressure on the Jets to trade Abraham to another team, and to block the team from revoking the tag after the early money flows in free agency.

The only drawback from Abraham’s standpoint is that signing the tender obligates him to attend all mandatory offseason minicamps and training camp.  A player who has not signed the tender is not under contract, and therefore has no obligation to the team.

 

NO TAG FOR EDGE

 

When word broke that the Colts had reached a long-term deal with receiver Reggie Wayne the day before the deadline for slapping the franchise tender on him, many casual observers assumed that the Colts would instead use the tag on running back Edgerrin James.

 

There's no way it will happen.

 

Slapping the tag on James would require a 20 percent increase in his 2005 salary of $8.08 million.  That's a whopping $9.696 million in 2006 cap dollars.

 

Moreover, the Colts were thought to be close to revoking the franchise tag a year ago, which would have made James an unrestricted free agent.  That's why James signed the tender not long into the offseason; he was concerned that the Colts were going to take the money off of the table.

 

This time around, James would be wise to sign the tender immediately, if the Colts were dumb enough to use it.  It would equate to a two-year haul for James of nearly $18 million -- and he'd then hit the open market in the uncapped year.

 

POSTED 2:10 p.m. EST, February 22, 2006

 

UPSHAW OPPOSED TO FEE REDUCTION

 

We realize that most of our readers don't give a Shiite about the currently raging question in agent circles as to whether the maximum allowable fee should be reduced from three percent to two percent.  

 

But that isn't gonna stop us from talking about it.

 

Why?  Because it really is an important issue, and it's an example of a potentially short-sighted decision that could eventually prompt quality agents to realize that they can earn a better living by focusing their talents elsewhere, leaving the NFL players to contend with a collection of slapdicks and crooks.  (Sure, there would still be some good agents, but not nearly as many as there are now.)

 

We're told that NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw actually is opposed to a reduction in the maximum fees.  Upshaw, we hear, understands the importance of having good agents available to the players -- especially at a time when there could be outright chaos over the next couple of years if a new CBA isn't finalized.  Still, Upshaw can't ignore the issues being raised by the rank-and-file, through the various team-by-team representatives. 

 

As we hear it, the current push to reduce the maximum fees from three percent originates with the players, starting with NFLPA president Troy Vincent.  We also hear that a disproportionate number of the player reps are kickers, punters, and/or long snappers, and that these kinds of players typically are the ones who complain the loudest about paying three percent in agent fees. 

 

Hey, guys -- let it go.  The average NFL salary, we're told, is $1.25 million, and pay beyond the signing bonus rarely is guaranteed.  In the NBA, the average salary is $4.92 million, the contracts are guaranteed, the wages are pretty much set in stone, and the agents can still charge up to four percent.  

 

In baseball, the average salary is $2.47 million, the contracts are guaranteed, and there's no limit on the agent fees.

 

So how are fees determined in baseball?  By the open market.  

 

"Capitalism," said one source.  "What an amazing thing."

 

TRUE CROSS-SECTION OF AGENTS AT MEETING

 

We need to send out an apology to the NFLPA for suggesting in this space on Tuesday that the union selected only a group of high-end agents to attend Wednesday's pre-Friday meeting, um, meeting.  As it turns out, the NFLPA truly has picked a cross-section of agents for the more intimate session that will be followed on Friday by a full-blown clusterfudge with hundreds of agents present.

 

Per a league source, the guest list for Wednesday includes:  Fletcher Smith, Jim Steiner, Mark Bartelstein, Drew Rosenhaus, Ian Greengross, Paul Sheehy, Vann McElroy, Mike Sullivan, Tank Black, Tony Agnone, and Angelo Wright.  (Tank Black really isn't invited -- we were just seeing if you were paying attention.)  There are five or six more whose names we have not yet obtained.  

 

The selections were made in part, we're told, based on the positions espoused by several of the invitees when the issue of fee reductions was addressed a couple of years ago, with some of the folks who were invited in favor of the move and some opposed to it.

 

Despite the specific composition of the attendees, there is plenty of rancor in agent circles regarding the manner in which this matter was handled.  Invitations were issued on a top-secret basis, with each invited guest receiving a letter than did not identify the other agents on the list.  It is also believed by some agents that the persons invited to attend were asked not to discuss the matter with other agents.

 

A far better approach, in our view, would have been for the NFLPA to advise all agents of the Wednesday meeting, and to encourage all agents to give input on the issues to be discussed to one or more of the agents who are scheduled to attend.  As it was handled, the whole thing smells bad -- even if there were no improper motives.

 

One source told us that it's simply an example of the NFLPA doing what it wants, when it wants, and how it wants, without regard to the appearance that it creates.  

 

POSTED 9:45 a.m. EST; LAST UPDATED 11:28 a.m. EST, February 22, 2006

 

NO TRUTH TO RAY-TO-'BOYS RUMORS

 

We caught wind of a rumor recently that the Cowboys and Ravens could be working out a trade that would send disgruntled linebacker Ray Lewis to Dallas for a second-round or a third-round pick.  

 

A league source tells us that the rumor is off the mark.  

 

However, we're told that the Redskins previously have made a significant offer for Lewis -- and that the Ravens declined.

 

Although the Ravens aren't inclined to give Lewis the salary increase that he so desperately wants, they're holding out for a big package of picks and/or players for a guy whom many still regard as one of the best defensive players in the game -- and they're apparently willing to keep him under the terms of his current deal, even if he's not happy with it.

 

Lewis is entering the fifth year of a seven-year deal.  He is scheduled to earn $5.5 million in 2006, $6.5 million in 2007, and $6.5 million in 2008.

 

WEDNESDAY AGENT MEETING NOT A TEA PARTY

 

We've gradually obtained more information regarding the hand-picked group of agents who will be attending the Wednesday meeting with the NFLPA, which will precede the Friday agent meeting held annually in conjunction with the combine.

 

As best we can tell, there will be either 15 or 16 agents attending -- and not all are coming from big, established firms.  Likewise, the list of invited guests does not exclusively include guys who will be inclined to simply go along with the opinions and suggestions of the loudest and biggest talker(s).

 

And if the NFLPA tries to lay the foundation for pushing through a reduction in the maximum fee from three percent to two percent, there will be opposition.

 

As an initial matter, cutting the fee limit from three percent to two percent isn't just a one-percent cut -- it's a 33 percent reduction in the maximum possible earnings of agents.  

 

Other arguments we're hearing are as follows:

 

1.  If the move is, as the NFLPA apparently believes, a response to concerns that incoming players don't know that they can strike a lower rate than three percent, we're told that most if not all players do know that the fee is negotiable.  "Most are willing to pay the max because they understand that you are about to drop between $15,000 to $30,000 on them in training and other expenses," said one source.  

 

2.  The current three-percent limit is already the lowest of any of the four major sports.

 

3.  Because NFL players have shorter careers and non-guaranteed contracts, NFL agents spend far more time servicing their clients after the deal is signed.  "We can't just do the deal and three years later tell a team to go stick it because our client gets his money anyway," another source said.  "We actually work for living."

 

Hey, we're willing to be fair and balanced on this one.  But we've yet to hear a solid argument in support of cutting an already ridiculously low limit of three percent down to two.  

 

BRONCOS ADDRESS OUR "GANG OF NINE" REPORT

 

Bill Williamson of The Denver Post writes that Broncos executive V.P. of business operations Joe Ellis emphatically denied "a Profootballtalk.com report" that owner Pat Bowlen is a member of the nine owners considering legal action if expanded revenue sharing is forced onto the high-earning teams.

 

"Pat Bowlen has no intentions -- and underline the no -- or interest in a lawsuit," Ellis said. "He is interested in a solution to revenue sharing that serves the best interest of the National Football League."

 

Allow us to clarify, a bit.  (We were going to say "a tad" until we realized how gay that sounds.)  The Broncos are one of the nine teams opposed to expanded revenue sharing.  We identified the nine teams in the context of a story regarding statements from NFLPA chief Gene Upshaw suggesting that there is a group of nine owners who will sue to block expanded revenue sharing.  We were confused by Upshaw's comments, since the nine nay votes from those teams will be enough to block such a dramatic change in the way that the league currently does business.

 

As we now understand it, the lawsuit option arises if one or two of the teams currently leaning against enhanced revenue sharing pulls a John Kerry and votes in favor of the plan before they vote against it -- and if the 23 other teams vote for more revenue sharing as well.  Then, the remaining eight or less will have to decide whether to go nuclear on the Billionaire Boys Club.

 

So what Ellis is saying is that, if it come down to litigation, Bowlen won't go that route.  

 

But what Ellis didn't answer is whether Bowlen currently is one of the nine guys who, banded together, have the votes to protect their currently unshared revenues.

 

WEDNESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

 

Said one league source in response to the news that Steelers OT Trai Essex recently was arrested as a result of a fight occurring outside a night club:  "Are you sure he wasn't arrested outside a donut shop?  That fat ass couldn't last three minutes in a fight with a blow-up doll." 

 

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf acknowledged that the team is in the process of determining its future with QB Daunte Culpepper.

 

The Vikings are expected to use the first-round tender on WR Nate Burleson, a restricted free agent.

 

The Raiders won't use the franchise tag for the third straight year on CB Charles Woodson.  (In other words, no new car for Carl Poston.)

 

The 49ers likely won't use the franchise tag for the second straight year on LB Julian Peterson.  (In other words, no new car for Kevin Poston.)

 

The use of the franchise tag on DE John Abraham means that the team must hold $8.33 million in 2006 cap space until he is traded, or until the tag is revoked.

 

Brian Baker is the new defensive line coach in St. Louis.

 

Pats QB Tom Brady had his hernia repaired last week, and was already golfing on Tuesday in Miami.

 

A bunch of Jets offensive players will be getting cut soon, which likely means that QB Chad Pennington will be out the door, too.

 

Texas QB Vince Young could be poised to slide on draft day.

 

At the USC pro day on April 2, QB Matt Leinart possibly will throw to former NFL wideouts Curtis Conway and J.J. Stokes.  (What, Harold Carmichael and Otis Taylor aren't available?)

 

The contract extension signed by Broncos S John Lynch creates $2 million in cap room.  (T.O. says "thanks.") 

 

The Lions are bringing back WR Charles Rogers in 2006, since they parked him just long enough in 2005 to keep him from triggering a huge incentive payment.

 

The Bills might say buh-bye to WR Eric Moulds and OT Mike Williams.

 

The Broncos have extended the contact of G.M. Ted Sundquist through 2009.

 

It looks like Lions QB Joey Harrington will get another chance to play like crap in 2006.