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POSTED 8:49 p.m. EST, February 23, 2006

 

ALEXANDER WANTS MONSTER DEAL

 

The early scuttlebutt coming out of Indy is that running back Shaun Alexander is looking for a contract with $22 million in guaranteed money and a total value of $80 million.

 

Sorry, Shaun, but it aint' gonna happen.

 

It would be the biggest running back contract in league history, eclipsing the contract signed in 2005 by Chargers tailback LaDainian Tomlinson.  L.T. received $20 million in guaranteed money as part of an eight-year, $60 million package.

 

The problem is that the market for free agent running backs -- especially those on the wrong side of age 25 -- doesn't support that kind of investment, even for a guy who was the league MVP and who broke the single-season touchdown record.

 

More than ever, running backs are regarded as fungible.  Only a guy with truly rare skills, like a Barry Sanders or a Jim Brown-type talent, would be able to get the kind of deal that Alexander supposedly wants.

 

The Carolina Panthers might have caught wind of Alexander's financial expectations, since they unexpectedly applied the transition tag to running back DeShaun Foster on Thursday.  Because the Panthers generally are expected to make a run at Alexander, having the right of first refusal as to Foster will give the Panthers some protection in the event that Alexander's price tag doesn't get a lot more reasonable.

 

And contrary to the wire report posted at NFL.com, Foster isn't automatically "guaranteed" $5.13 million for 2006.  For transition players, the one-year tender only becomes guaranteed at the start of the regular season; until then, the team can remove the transition tag at any time, and instantly free up the cap room.  Thus, if the Panthers are at some point close to striking a deal with Alexander, all they need to do is revoke the tag as to Foster, and they'll have an extra $5.13 million in 2006 cap dollars to work with.

 

Under the franchise and transition rules, the money only becomes guaranteed for franchise players who sign the tender.  Also, and as the Chargers recently realized, a transition tender becomes guaranteed if (and only if) the transition tag is used on a guy who accepted the franchise tender in the prior season.

 

POSTED 8:07 p.m. EST, February 23, 2006

 

AGENT FEE REDUCTION A DEAD ISSUE

 

Multiple league sources tell us that the NFLPA won't be pressing for a reduction in the maximum agent fees from three percent to two percent.

 

Word is that NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw told the hand-picked group of agents with whom he met on Wednesday that union administration is firmly against the move.  The bigger challenge, as previously explained, will be to persuade the players to let it go.

 

Look for a compromise to be reached, such as the use of multiple levels of potential fee percentages on the face of the Standard Representation Agreement.  The NFLPA has been justifying the possible reduction from three percent to two percent by arguing that new players don't realize that they are able to negotiate a lower fee.  A revised SRA should address those concerns.

 

We've caught wind of additional arguments against a reduction.  Agents typically pay all training expenses for potential draft picks -- and the agents don't get reimbursed separately for the expenses.  Instead, the agent is paid for his out-of-pockets via his fee.  So at a time when training expenses can range from $15,000 to $30,000 per player, the fee the agent pockets on the signing bonus might not even get the agent out of the red.

 

Likewise, many agents provide a variety of services beyond contract negotiation, such as tax planning.  Some agents, as we've heard, will run errands for players, such as retrieving their dry cleaning.  The agents usually don't charge any additional amounts for these services.

 

Finally, there's a glitch in the IRS rules that, for many players, could mean that their ultimate bottom line take-home pay is no different under a two-percent fee than it is under a three-percent fee.  The issue relates to the minimum threshold for itemized deductions, which many players might not meet if the fee is cut to two percent.  So the agents would lose 33 percent of their potential revenue, and the players might not gain much at all.

 

It's academic, at least for now.  The fee structure apparently will remain as it has been, at least for the next year.

 

PRE-DRAFT SPIN CYCLE IN FULL BLOOM?

 

In the interests of being (somewhat) fair and balanced, reaction to our Thursday morning piece regarding U.S. ski boy Jeremy Bloom suggests that maybe, just maybe, the Bloom camp is attempting to reduce expectations regarding his performance at the combine -- either to guard against a disappointing showing or to give him even more buzz if he turns out a solid time in the 40-yard dash.

 

Said one league insider:  "I don't know who gave you the info on Bloom but it was bullsh-t.  He was doing football stuff up thru mid-November and has been running all the time.  He will run fast [at the combine] but he may be light. . . .  I think he is an interesting guy, but until he workouts out I don't know where he goes.  I would think the earliest is round four unless he really runs fast at either the combine or his [pro day] workout."

 

We reported on Thursday morning that Bloom hasn't run in six months, and has been focusing his efforts on getting ready for the Olympics.

 

Indeed, Bloom was working on football in December 2005, contrary to what we'd been told.

 

Bloom's agent, Gary Wichard, has a reputation for relentless (and effective) marketing of his clients prior to the draft.  His involvement helped nudge Pacman Jones into the No. 6 overall spot and linebacker Shawne Merriman into the No. 12 spot in 2005.  

 

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR TAMPERING!

 

The scouting combine in Indianapolis isn't only about the incoming class of NFL rookies.  With the launch of free agency a week away, there will be plenty of discussions between teams and the agents representing players who soon will be on the market.

 

The problem, however, is that such communications constitute tampering.

 

Everyone knows, no one cares.  It's how business is done. 

 

Besides, it's virtually impossible to prove -- even as it gets more and more obvious as agents (who are in town for the NFLPA annual seminar) have meetings scheduled with teams to talk about guys who are hitting the market.

 

POSTED 4:04 p.m. EST, February 23, 2006

 

DID WILF LIE TO DAUNTE?

 

By all appearances, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is an honorable man, a man of principle.  But, as he no doubt has learned in less than a year as the guy at the helm of a major professional sports franchise, honor sometimes needs to take a back seat to other interests.

 

According to The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper said on Thursday that Wilf assured him that the organization has not spoken to other teams about a trade.

 

"He told me that the Vikings not yet spoken to other teams about trading me," Culpepper said.  "I shared my disappointment with the lack of communication and the false reports about me demanding more coming out of Minnesota.  I have requested further talks so that we can explore options for the future."

 

Unless Culpepper is lying about what Wilf said to him (which is possible but not likely), then Wilf has lied to Culpepper in an effort to put the big-ass genie back in the bottle, in the event a trade can't be accomplished.

 

In this regard, we know one thing for an absolute fact.  The Vikings have talked to other teams about a trade.  The Vikings initiated the discussions.  We broke the story, and other publications with far greater resources and stature than us have confirmed it.

 

A year ago, when we first caught wind of a possible trade of Vikings receiver Randy Moss to the Raiders and then contacted his agent, Dante DiTrapano, to explore the issue, DiTrapano essentially said that we were crazy and that there was no talk of a trade.

 

Within 48 hours, the deal was done.

 

This time around, the Vikings have to account for the possibility that a deal to move Culpepper won't be reached, and that the team will thereafter have to coexist with him.  If he believes that the team tried to trade him, it'll be much harder to achieve peace and harmony.

 

So Wilf told a lie.  In this case, the truth likely would have created far more problems than the organization can afford to handle.  Wilf simply did what he had to do.

 

And if you're inclined to pass judgment on Wilf, ask yourself what you told your wife/girlfriend the last time she asked you how her moose caboose looks in those new jeans.    

 

LEWIS TRADE WOULD CARRY MINIMAL CAP HIT

 

Some league insiders are under the impression that the Baltimore Ravens won't trade linebacker Ray Lewis because such a move would trigger a staggering cap hit.

 

Actually, the net cap hit would be minimal, in comparison to the cap number that the team would absorb if it keeps him.

 

Lewis has a 2006 cap number of $8.429 million, which arises from $5.5 million in salary and $2.929 million in bonus proration.  

 

Cutting him would push another $5.858 million into the team's 2006 cap -- but the Ravens would avoid $5.5 million in salary.

 

The net hit, then, would be a measly $358,000.

 

The difference, of course, is that the lower cap number also includes having Lewis on the team.

 

Still, don't expect a trade to happen.  The Redskins offered a package of draft picks and various players last week, and the Ravens weren't interested.  Also, even though Lewis clearly isn't happy in Baltimore, he hasn't said anything publicly, and we're told that the team doesn't expect him to resort to T.O.-style tactics to force a trade or a release.  Instead, the expectation in Baltimore is that this thing eventually will blow over, and that Lewis will retire as a member of the Ravens.  

 

POSTED 2:50 p.m. EST, February 23, 2006

 

JONES USING REVENUE SHARING AS LEVERAGE

 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the primary roadblocks to the resolution of the current brouhaha among NFL owners regarding the expansion of revenue sharing.  Jones is one of the owners who don't want their enormous local earnings to be sucked into a pool and spread evenly among all 32 franchises.  

 

Hey, it's a matter of principle.  Why should guys like Jones, who have through hard work and ingenuity made a ton of money, have to share it with others who haven't tried hard enough or smart enough to maximize their earnings?

 

Of course, principle has its limits.  If Jones can get something for himself out of the deal, he's willing to compromise.

 

Specifically, we hear that Jones will yield to an expanded revenue sharing plan if he gets partial league funding for a new stadium, and if he gets a Super Bowl for it.

 

The problem with this is that, if Jones gets what he wants, then other owners who are opposed to expanded revenue sharing will put their hands out, too.  In the end, Super Bowls could be awarded to D.C. and Philly and Denver and any of the other cities hosting teams with owners who are opposed to increased revenue sharing.

 

In our view, if that's what it takes to get it done, so be it.

 

RAIDERS HIRE WALSH

 

As we'd heard right before news broke that Art Shell would be returning to coach the Raiders after an eleven-year hiatus, Tom Walsh is returning to serve as the offensive coordinator of the Raiders after an eleven-year hiatus.

 

Walsh has been out of the NFL since then.  He served for two years as the head coach at Idaho State in the late 1990s, and thereafter has not worked as a coach at any level.

 

As we'd also heard on the heels of the Shell re-hiring, Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater will be the new offensive line coach of the Raiders.

 

POSTED 9:55 a.m. EST, February 23, 2006

 

RAVENS ASKING FOR TROUBLE

 

A league source predicts that a recent article regarding the Baltimore Ravens' ongoing predicament with linebacker Ray Lewis likely will cause major problems for the organization.

 

In a February 22 article published by The Baltimore Sun, an unnamed team source explained that the Ravens wanted Lewis to sign a four-year contract in 2002, but that Lewis wanted the prestige of a larger signing bonus. 

 

To get the larger signing bonus, however, the deal had to cover more years, for cap purposes.  So in the end Lewis was able to crow about receiving $19 million to sign -- but to get it he had to sign for seven years.

 

In that same article, G.M. Ozzie Newsome summed up the situation perfectly:  "He signed the deal he signed."

 

The problem, as our source explained, is that the Ravens likely will regret these statements.  "Leaking information to bash a player," said the source, "is bad business.  Now Newsome will have guys in the locker room who don't trust him."

 

As to the unnamed team source who disclosed the details of the 2002 negotiations, our guess is that the leaker was coach Brian Billick.  Billick is on a one-inch leash in 2006, and the last thing he needs is to have Lewis moping and pouting about his contract, as Lewis apparently did throughout 2005.  Under Billick's standard "I'm smarter than you and I'll wallow in my own sh-t to prove it" approach, it makes sense for him to think that he could somehow remove the boulder-sized chip from Ray's shoulder by reminding him publicly that the team wanted him to sign for less years, and that Ray opted for more money up front.

 

But folks often don't think in rational terms when they're pissed off.  Lewis already doesn't want to be in Baltimore, and now he has even more ammunition to justify his attitude toward the organization.

 

The problem is that, as we hear it, the team isn't interested in trading him, except for a blockbuster deal.  We mentioned on Wednesday that the Ravens turned down an offer from the Redskins.  As it turns out, the offer was made just last week.  

 

So, as we see it, the Ravens need to clean this mess up, and quickly.  Though we think that Lewis should be grateful to the organization for giving him so much money, especially after his legal problems in Atlanta, this thing has the potential to become the 2006 version of the T.O. saga, especially if the organization continues to take shots at him in the media. 

 

It'd be far better for the team to move him now and get what they can, before the rest of the league concludes that he's too much of a turd to take on, killing any trade value that he might have.

 

Oh, wait -- allegedly killing.

 

BLOOM RUNNING ON FUMES

 

At a time when the decision of guys like Vince Young and Matt Leinart to skip the scouting combine is being questioned by many league insiders, one guy who's throwing caution to the wind -- possibly to his own detriment -- is wide receiver/kick returner Jeremy Bloom.

 

Bloom hasn't played football since 2003, and he has spent the past several months focusing on the Olympics, where he took a disappointing sixth place in the moguls competition last week.

 

A league source tells us that Bloom arrived in Los Angeles on Friday night, and that he began running for the first time in six months on Sunday.  He ran on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well before heading to Indy.

 

Per the source, don't expect Bloom to run much faster than a 4.5 at the combine.

 

On the surface, it makes us wonder why he's even showing up.  But since he still has two months to work on his time (and to get his weight back up to the 185-pound range from his current neighborhood of 170), Bloom will have a chance to demonstrate his progress before the draft.

 

VIKINGS GET GOOD REPORT ON DAUNTE'S KNEE

 

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Vikings have received encouraging news regarding the status of quarterback Daunte Culpepper's knee.

 

Of course, the report came from a team employee who examined the knee at a time when the team is trying to trade him, so we really don't put much stock in this development.

 

Per coach Brad Childress, head trainer Eric Sugarman recently flew to Florida to inspect Culpepper's right knee, which sustained three ligament tears on October 30.  Sugarman said that Culpepper is making very good progress, and that he should be ready to play football in 2006.

 

Juxtapose this new tidbit with the fact that the Vikings new "Triangle of Authority" has sparked a "Dodecahedron of Silence" in the Twin Cities, and the report looks to be more than a little convenient.

 

The Vikings have been shopping Culpepper for more than a week now, and one of the primary sticking points for any potentially interested team is the condition of his knee.  Coupled with a $6 million roster bonus due on March 14 and a belief on Daunte's part that he should be paid $18 million in 2006, any team is going to be leery of giving up anything of value to acquire him.

 

And if the Vikings can't trade him, they'll be forced to decide whether to pay him $6 million -- or cut him loose.

 

THURSDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

 

The Two Utes are cleaning house in a big way; we're hearing that C Kevin Mawae likely will be the next to go.

 

FB Mike Alstott is interested in playing another season in Tampa, if the money is right.

 

The Pats likely won't be placing the franchise tag on K Adam Vinatieri, since the move would require a one-year tender of $3.01 million; if Vinatieri hits the market, look for the Tuna to come calling.

 

Ravens RB Jamal Lewis, who won't be tagged and has sold his house in Baltimore, had this to say about coach Brian Billick:  "We really didn't bump heads, but I've always played for coaches who shoot the truth.  I want the truth and didn't get it here."

 

Former NFL assistant Tom Shaw is training more than 40 potential draft picks, at a likely price tag in the range of $20,000 to $30,000 each (our initial calculations indicate that this equates to, technically speaking, a whole freaking lot of money).

 

We still don't understand why NFLPA chief Gene Upshaw has declared Friday to be the deadline for extending the CBA; Mark Maske of The Washington Post reports that Upshaw told the hand-picked group of agents with whom Upshaw met on Wednesday that a deal still could occur by March 2.

 

Meanwhile, the NFL reshuffled the members of its bargaining team, but a 3.5-hour session on Wednesday yielded no progress.

 

The Packers are not expected to tag K Ryan Longwell or DE Aaron Kampman.

 

The Vikings are the only franchise in 2006 to have first-time coordinators on offense, defense, and special teams.

 

The Steelers don't expect to try to sign any big-name players in free agency.

 

Jags coach Jack Del Rio has snagged a three-year deal worth nearly $10 million (that translates to one year for every point scored by the team in the postseason).

 

Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham might be moving from the sidelines to the press box (where he's less likely to be caught giving someone the middle finger).

 

Lions OT Jeff Backus is likely to be tagged on Thursday.

 

Lions coach Rod Marinelli is looking for a few good men at the combine (since, you know, there really aren't very many already under contract in Detroit).

 

The Bucs likely won't be cutting DE Simeon Rice, despite a cap number in excess of $10 million.

Don't stop here -- we've got the poop for February 22, 2006, February 21, 2006, February 20, 2006, February 19, 2006, February 18, 2006, February 17, 2006, February 16, 2006, and four years of rumor mill archives.