Johnson

[Mongo]

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) - Rookie wide receiver Calvin Johnson signed a six-year deal with the Detroit Lions on Friday, ending the No. 2 overall pick's eight-day holdout.

Johnson's signing allowed him to get into camp for workouts, where he was out catching passes Friday morning. Fellow wideout Roy Williams said a day earlier that "the rookie needs to get in here."
Johnson was regarded by some as the best player in the draft after catching 78 passes for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns during his All-America junior season at Georgia Tech. He won the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top college receiver.

The Lions, 3-13 last season, in April made Johnson the fourth receiver taken with their first pick in the past five drafts.

"He's going to be a big part of getting us to where we want to go," Lions president Matt Millen said after Johnson was drafted.

The Lions are 24-72 and have missed the playoffs every season since Millen joined the front office in 2001. The soft-spoken Johnson figures to get ample opportunities in offensive coordinator Mike Martz's pass-happy scheme.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7062714

 

[Wp28]

JOHNSON DEAL SETS STAGE FOR RUSSELL CONTRACT

A league source tells us that the contract signed to Lions receiver Calvin Johnson includes no option bonus.

As a practical matter, this wrinkle could quickly crack the impasse between the Raiders and No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, since the Raiders and Russell's agents have been wrangling over the amount of Russell's option bonus.

The team is willing to include some of the money as a roster bonus -- but Russell's agents want to maximize the amount of the option bonus. The concept of the option bonus has become significant this year, since teams cannot seek reimbursement of any amount of the option bonus if the player later holds out, is suspended, or otherwise defaults.

Since Johnson got no option bonus at No. 2, the Raiders have some extra leverage to hold the amount of the option bonus down.

Also, the fact that Johnson even has a deal in place significantly increases the chances of a Russell deal getting done, since now there's no way that the Russell deal can be eclipsed after the fact. We previously reported that the Russell camp would wait for the Johnson deal to come in before finalizing anything with the Raiders.

In lieu of an option bonus, we're told that Johnson will receive an $8 million advance on guaranteed future salaries early in the 2008 league year. Though we haven't researched this specific issue, we assume that the Lions would be able to recover the advance on the future salaries if Johnson later defaults in some way.

 

[Wp28]

BTW, this pretty much agrees (I think) with what Collin said earlier about Hurney needing to come up with another creative option if they don't want to give a 2nd year option. get it done Marty you ass~bag

 

[Mongo]

BTW, this pretty much agrees (I think) with what Collin said earlier about Hurney needing to come up with another creative option if they don't want to give a 2nd year option. get it done Marty you ass~bag

Negotiation takes 2. The agent can come up with other options as well. But this does not appear to be about paying the money as much as it's about the team being able to recover the cash if certain events such as hold-outs or off field idiocy come to pass.

 

[Wp28]

Negotiation takes 2. The agent can come up with other options as well. But this does not appear to be about paying the money as much as it's about the team being able to recover the cash if certain events such as hold-outs or off field idiocy come to pass.

"In lieu of an option bonus, we're told that Johnson will receive an $8 million advance on guaranteed future salaries early in the 2008 league year. Though we haven't researched this specific issue, we assume that the Lions would be able to recover the advance on the future salaries if Johnson later defaults in some way."

 

[UNCdubya]

...such as hold-outs or off field idiocy come to pass.

which isnt all that uncommon, i can understand the teams wanting to protect themselves.

 

[Collin]

which isnt all that uncommon, i can understand the teams wanting to protect themselves.

Good lord. Do you also believe that shark attacks aren't uncommon because they get publicized every now and again? Only a handful of players are ever asked to return bonus money. And it's especially ridiculous to be quibbling over that with Beason, not only because it's even more rare with rookie contracts, but because it's not involving that much money.


I can't say that I'm really surprised at how many stupid things some fans will say just because they're inclined to automatically side with the team about anything, but it's still frustrating. I mean what's the point of those people even engaging in conversation if they're so biased that they won't listen to reason?



Wp28:
Yeah, that's one of the many ways that Hurney could resolve this impasse. But if reports are accurate, his proposals of roster bonuses and/or incentives are obviously not enough. I have no idea what we're doing, and it's frustrating. First we cut Keyshawn for petty personal reasons, leaving the receiving corps thin and experienced, and now this. The games themselves can't come fast enough, because I'm sick to death of this front office.

 

[Mongo]

"In lieu of an option bonus, we're told that Johnson will receive an $8 million advance on guaranteed future salaries early in the 2008 league year. Though we haven't researched this specific issue, we assume that the Lions would be able to recover the advance on the future salaries if Johnson later defaults in some way."

I didn't miss that. Your post made it sound as though the entire responsibility for coming up with a "creative option" was on Hurney. My point was that Beason' agent has a responsibility to work toward getting his player signed as well. He can come up with "creative options" as well. He has decided to negotiate in the media. Do you expect that he would publish if he had been given an offer structured like this, with money required to be returned in certain situations, if he had turned it down?

 

[Collin]

Your post made it sound as though the entire responsibility for coming up with a "creative option" was on Hurney.

It is his responsibility. If you and I are negotiating over something and I insist that some standard clause isn't acceptable to me, then I'm the one who has to come up with a viable alternative.

 

[Mongo]

It is his responsibility. If you and I are negotiating over something and I insist that some standard clause isn't acceptable to me, then I'm the one who has to come up with a viable alternative.

And I made my offer, the third year bonus tied to incentives. Ball back to your side of the court.