Grits and Shins Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I think this hardlined approach is incorrect for this scenario. Every great coach will tell you they treat every player fair, but every player gets treated differently. Gates, so far, has never displayed T.O.-like behavior and his holdout was fully justified. He wasn't even under contract, so his holdout is nothing like Walker, T.O. and the likes. Gates $380,000 is clearly a low-ball figure. He set the league record for TDs last year and is a bonified stud. I'm not saying he should be getting Gonzo money after one year, but he needs to be compensated fairly. The Chargers, I hope, get theirs when Gates signs with someone else next year. They Oprahed up IMO. 940469[/snapback] Then they shouldn't have drawn the line in the sand. Fact of the matter is they said report or else. Now if they don't follow through on the 'or else' they won't have a leg to stand on in negotiations and any other player in the future will doubt their fortitude. Nope they drew the line now they need to follow through. Gates was great last year ... but it was only ONE year. How many players have we seen have one good year and fade into oblivion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turf Smurf Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 The Chargers are in a great position. Next year, they can match ANY offer Gates gets. This year, if he signs the one year tender, the Chargers get a bargain, and can sign him to the big money next year, as long as he proves he was not a fluke. Or he could sign the long term offer the Chargers are currently offering, which is less than the top TE's in the league. Either way, Gates is a Charger, and the Chargers win. They are using the system perfectly. 940127[/snapback] Agreed Hook. Obviously he deserves more money, but for those above, can we say this one more time, THE NFL IS A BUSINESS! The fact that every year a few players either don't understand or more often over inflate their position is not the organizations fault IMO. To hold out in most cases is stupid and only hurts the player. Get into camp and then we'll get the deal done. I know there are exceptions, but I just don't understand the influx of people that don't know how or won't do the right thing. The NFL needs a few more Jerry Rice's and Barry Sander's that just love the game for what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Agreed Hook. Obviously he deserves more money, but for those above, can we say this one more time, THE NFL IS A BUSINESS! The fact that every year a few players either don't understand or more often over inflate their position is not the organizations fault IMO. To hold out in most cases is stupid and only hurts the player. Get into camp and then we'll get the deal done. I know there are exceptions, but I just don't understand the influx of people that don't know how or won't do the right thing. The NFL needs a few more Jerry Rice's and Barry Sander's that just love the game for what it is. 940503[/snapback] You can thank the professional agent for that 'lack of understanding'. If the player doesn't get paid neither does the agent ...but the agent has other clients while the player has only one career/paycheck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turf Smurf Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Understood....I was trying to keep the weeds off the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 The Chargers, I hope, get theirs when Gates signs with someone else next year. They Oprahed up IMO. 940469[/snapback] THEY CAN MATCH ANY OFFER NEXT YEAR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) According to Dean Spanos, Chargers President and CEO, being interviewed during the Chargers pre-season game, Gates will report after the game and sign the one-year tender. They will probably continue negotiating on a long term deal. According to him, the team is unaware of a way to lift the 3 game suspension, and Gates will probably miss Week 1. Edited August 21, 2005 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Score 1 Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 According to him, the team is unaware of a way to lift the 3 game suspension, and Gates will probably miss Week 1. 940637[/snapback] Guess somebody needs to clue Spanos into the Huddle. We could let him know how to lift the roster exemption. Hey DMD, why don't you give Spanos a break and call him. Give him the Huddle's url and tell him to bookmark it for future reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Guess somebody needs to clue Spanos into the Huddle. We could let him know how to lift the roster exemption. Hey DMD, why don't you give Spanos a break and call him. Give him the Huddle's url and tell him to bookmark it for future reference. 940729[/snapback] He commented that Gates' agent brought up the issue of having the commissioner lift the suspension. Obviously Gates and his agent miscalculated the seriousness of the Chargers deadline. They obviously don't seem like they are preparing to change their minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingd Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 He will watch the game from the sideline, which is where he will apparently stay through the season opener because the team will place him on the Roster Exempt List. So they haven't actually placed him on the list. He can report, they don't have to, and it's all hoopla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 So they haven't actually placed him on the list. He can report, they don't have to, and it's all hoopla. 940780[/snapback] actually no, he did not show up for the game, and Spanos said that he had been placed on the list already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingd Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 actually no, he did not show up for the game, and Spanos said that he had been placed on the list already. 940807[/snapback] Is this confirmed? They don't list the transaction on any transaction site I can find, and the press release from the Chargers only says they WILL, not that they have. What's to stop them from not doing it if they haven't already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Is this confirmed? They don't list the transaction on any transaction site I can find, and the press release from the Chargers only says they WILL, not that they have. What's to stop them from not doing it if they haven't already? 941072[/snapback] I'm just going by what the Chargers president said live during the game today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingd Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I'm just going by what the Chargers president said live during the game today. 941095[/snapback] Ok, that's more info than I could find in print. If they actually have put him on the list, that changes things slightly. I kept him for $1 in my auction league, didn't wanna risk it (had to announce keepers Thursday afternoon), so am watching this closely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Apparently once a team places a player on the roster-exempt list, they cannot reverse it themselves. The team has to appeal the roster-exempt status to the Commissioner, who has the sole authority to reverse it. Only the team can appeal it, not the player or his agent. 939990[/snapback] Thanks - I didn't know that. I also read it in the paper earlier today, but it was total news to me. I didn't even know there was such a list, but it looks like the NFL have a list for every occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunther Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 (edited) Is this confirmed? They don't list the transaction on any transaction site I can find, and the press release from the Chargers only says they WILL, not that they have. What's to stop them from not doing it if they haven't already? 941072[/snapback] This appears to be the transcript of the broadcast that Hook mentioned (also pasted below): Link Summarized, A.J. Smith said they were fully aware of what would happen when they sent the letter...that once Gates signed the tender, the NFL would put him on the Roster Exempt list. He says that if there is a possibility of a hearing with Tagliabue, then they may explore that, but otherwise they will just go with not having Gates available until Week 2. A.J. Smith addresses Gates situationBy Joel Price, Chargers.com Sunday, August 21, 2005 Chargers general manager A.J. Smith discussed with the media at halftime that Antonio Gates was expected to arrive in San Diego later Sunday night and sign his tender. The complete transcript provided by the Chargers public relations follows below. (Note: Antonio Gates officially signed the $380,000 tender Sunday night to end his holdout with the Bolts.) Chargers general manager A.J. Smith on the Antonio Gates situation: “As you know, all the rumors were that he was on his way. We had not officially heard that, but we got a phone call before kickoff. He’s on his way. He is going to sign his tender this evening. We finally found out officially what you all were reporting.” “(Gates’ agent) Andre Colona said that negotiations are dead in the water, and we agree with that assessment. We just can’t seem to get it going. We’ve been at this thing for more than 10 months, so hopefully we can keep banging away at it. Andre said that Antonio will sign the tender and play for $380,000 and then go into the restricted free agent market. We’ve pretty much established that at this point and time. After 10 months of talk, we accept that position. It looks like the tender will be signed, and he will play.” “Andre said that there would be no negotiations after the (Sept. 11) Dallas game. We understand the position on that, so that’s clear. It looks like we’ve got a window now from when the tender is signed until Dallas. Andre said that they’re willing to negotiate up until the Dallas game. We also are willing to do that. It’s clear that when he comes in tonight and signs the tender, hopefully, we’ve got a timeframe to bang out a contract.” “There’s really nothing more to talk about because we just can’t seem to get it together. I’ve tried to update you and make contacts, but I hate spinning the wheels. I know that you’ve got a job to do and you’re trying to find out where we are, but we’re not getting anywhere. Andre is very much aware of our position on negations, and we are aware of his. Again, we can’t get it together. That’s clear for everyone to understand. We look forward to his call, and we look forward in the window that we have up until Dallas to bang out something.” “I don’t want to go back and forth with these questions and answers. I’m exhausted after 10 months of it, locally and nationally talking about the same thing.” A.J. Smith on the possibility of Gates’ three-game suspension being repealed: The understanding is the players union has informed (Gates and Colona) that there is a possibility of a hearing. Our understanding is that it’s 100 percent guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement that if you send a letter, you’re out the Dallas game with your player. It affects us, too. Not only is Antonio out of the game, the Chargers are out of a tight end in the game, but we understood that when we sent the letter. The debate that we’re hearing in the media is that there could be a hearing with the commissioner. We’re not aware of that, but we certainly would love to explore that. If that’s the case, then it makes sense to me that if he signs the tender, which he will tonight, it’s wonderful. We’ve been told that it’s 100 percent that you can’t get your player back. We’re going to go along with that. If there’s some development that you all are reporting that we’ll explore and there is a hearing and the commissioner says that he can come back to the San Diego Chargers for Dallas, I think that would be unbelievable. That’s exciting! He signs the tender and he’s back, and the commissioner rules that he’s in for Dallas. I think that would be unbelievable. But you guys are way ahead of me on that. We’ll explore it. We’ll weigh the options and go from there. This is a new development that we’re exploring. How long is the hearing? When does it take? What are the results? I don’t know. But to cut to the chase, if there is a hearing and they tell us that we can have him back, we only went by the 100 percent guarantee that if you send the letter, then you’re out the player. That’s what we were told by management council. That’s what was reported to us. We’re just hearing this rumor – I hate to call it a rumor when maybe it is a fact – that the player’s union says that there can be a hearing and they can rescind it. We’ll explore it, but first the tender will be signed. My point is jumping ahead if there is (a hearing). Go ahead and have a hearing. I’ll sit by the phone. That’s pretty strong, the management council telling me it’s 100 percent. If there’s something else, I’ll let the other people handle that. Check back with us and we’ll see where our options are. A.J. Smith on if he regrets the decision to place Gates on the Roster Exempt list: No, no, no, no. We knew that if we sent the letter, we were 100 percent without the player. We need to get this thing going. We’re not getting anywhere. Now we’re moving forward with the player coming to sign the tender. We’re thrilled with that. Edited August 22, 2005 by Gunther Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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