T.O. wants a new deal?

[Kid Cid]

 

never use agents to renegotiate. They just use a sword.

[major-tom]

Yes, he had a great year but that was somewhat expected.  Also, he did end the season with an injury too. 

 

 

The fact that he was injured and we really didn't see him full speed has to be a factor too. If he's going to get guaranteed money, he had better get now before he even hits the field.

[Joe Public]

Posted on Tue, Apr. 12, 2005

 

Owens says he wants to return

 

Hiring a new agent is just business, he said. As for attending minicamp: "I don't have a clue about... that."

 

By Bob Brookover

 

Inquirer Staff Writer

 

 

Terrell Owens spoke last night for the first time since switching agents in an attempt to get his seven-year deal with the Eagles reworked before the 2005 season.

 

Dining at a restaurant in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Fla., with his new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, the Eagles' star receiver answered questions over the telephone about his decision to change agents, his future with the Eagles, and a television report that claimed he often was late for team meetings and slept through many of them.

 

Owens said he fully intends to be back with the Eagles in 2005, but was noncommittal about whether he would attend the team's minicamp at the NovaCare Complex the weekend after the April 23-24 NFL draft.

 

"At this point, I don't have a clue about anything like that," he said.

 

Owens threw the Eagles a curveball last week when he informed them that he had replaced his longtime agent, David Joseph, with Rosenhaus, who represents some of the biggest names in football. Predictably, Rosenhaus' first act as Owens' agent was to meet with the Eagles on Wednesday in an initial attempt to rework the seven-year deal his client signed after being traded to the team in March 2004.

 

The Eagles have made it clear that they have no intention of modifying Owens' contract.

 

"As of right now, I'm a Philadelphia Eagle, and that's where I want to remain," Owens said. "I had one of my best years there, so why would I want to leave? I just want the fans to know this is nothing personal. It's business."

 

Owens said changing agents was the "toughest thing" he has had to do during his nine-year NFL career. "It was no knock on David," he said.

 

Joseph did not return a phone call last night.

 

Rosenhaus and Owens were upset about a report on a local television station Sunday night that said the receiver had missed team meetings during Super Bowl week. Owens said his focus was rehabilitating a severely sprained ankle.

 

"Everything Terrell did at the Super Bowl let you know that he was the consummate professional," Rosenhaus said. "It's unbelievable that anybody would question what he did. That's just a joke."

 

Said Owens: "My whole preparation at the Super Bowl was just trying to help the team win. I don't know why anybody would try to bash me on that."

 

His Super Bowl performance - nine catches for 122 yards - makes for a good argument.

 

Owens, however, did not deny the part of the TV report that said he was late to team meetings during the regular season and sometimes fell asleep, too.

 

"During the year, I was late," he said. "A lot of people were late to meetings. I lived in Moorestown, N.J., and it was a situation where I had to contend with traffic. I was new to the area. I didn't know the alternate route... so I was late."

 

And what about the naps during meetings?

 

"Ask any player in the NFL if they've ever fallen asleep in a meeting, and if they say 'no' they're not telling the truth," Owens said. "As long as you don't fall asleep on Sunday, that's all that matters."

 

Owens said he hoped his Philadelphia story has a happy ending.

 

"I love Philly," he said. "My obvious goal is to come back and play and help the team get back to the Super Bowl."

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[WaterMan]

I just want the fans to know this is nothing personal. It's business.

I think the Godfather said that also.

[Swampnuts]

Can anyone honestly say he wants less money to help out the team?

 

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Pennington offered to return 2 million of his salary to sign Laverneus Coles.

 

 

Back to the T.O. thing, watching that cornhole Sal Paolantonio last night on Sportscenter made me sick. He basically said the Eagles should do whatever it takes to make T.O. 'happy".

 

Screw T.O.

[Joe Public]

No reason he should be getting the stiff end when Moss and Harrison are making more. TO's contract thing is being blown out of proportion. He just wants the money reshuffled around, not an increase in pay.

[Swiss Cheezhead]

No reason he should be getting the stiff end when Moss and Harrison are making more. TO's contract thing is being blown out of proportion. He just wants the money reshuffled around, not an increase in pay.

 

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I actually read something about that. It looks like Philly abused David Joseph in the contract negotiations last year. If nothing changes, T.O. will be vastly underpaid this season. The Eagles need to come clean about it before T.O. does.

[Joe Public]

Last season T.O made somewhere in the vacinity of 9 million with his base salary and bonuses. Next season he is due 3.25 million.The Eagles made his contract CAP friendly, so instead of him making Randy moss/Marvin Harrison type money..In march of 06 he will be given a roster bonus of 5 million. So if the Eagles decide to let him loose after the season...he will never see that money and will have played a season for the Salary of a #2WR.

[ebartender]

Last season T.O made somewhere in the vacinity of 9 million with his base salary and bonuses. Next season he is due 3.25 million.The Eagles made his contract CAP friendly, so instead of him making Randy moss/Marvin Harrison type money..In march of 06 he will be given a roster bonus of 5 million. So if the Eagles decide to let him loose after the season...he will never see that money and will have played a season for the Salary of a #2WR.

 

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Your telling me neither T.O. or his agent didn't realize this until now? This is why players should actually be involved in their contract discussions. You can't tell me they don't have time to know what is going on about their contracts?

[skins]

I am sick of Rosenhaus. He is the go to agent for greedy players who want to renegotiate. We are dealing with his bs in DC this year with Santana Moss and Sean Taylor missing "voluntary" workouts while trying ot renegotiate. Frickin Taylor is just starting year 2 of a six year deal and wants to renegotiate already??!!

 

Brilliant.

[WaterMan]

Stephen A. Smith | Owens states his case against Eagles

 

By Stephen A. Smith, Inquirer Columnist

 

He was outspoken and even more defiant than usual. Terrell Owens, the Eagle known for spreading his wings and flexing the chiseled muscles on his arms, chose yesterday to flex the muscles in his jaws instead.

 

 

Owens still wants to be an Eagle. He still wants to play with Donovan McNabb. He still wants to catch touchdown passes in Philadelphia and help lead this team to a Super Bowl championship.

 

 

But he is not about to let whatever leverage he believes he has slip away, "regardless of the leaks coming from inside our organization," he said, especially when he believes the Eagles adroitly exercised the leverage they had last season when they brought him to Philadelphia.

 

 

And so, the soap opera continues.

 

 

"This is not about me being greedy or selfish," Owens said yesterday after taping a TV show in New York. "People should know. I was called selfish for trying to come back and play in the Super Bowl. I just want people to think about what they're hearing from all these reports about me being greedy. Just take a moment and look at my stature in the game.

 

 

"I know I'm a top player in the game, and my current contract doesn't justify that. The fact that I signed this contract, that I'm under contract, doesn't factor into anything when it comes to the National Football League. [The Eagles] can cut me anytime they want to - even if I'm performing well, I'm healthy and I'm putting up numbers, just because they don't want to pay a player that money.

 

 

"If they can do what's best for their financial future, then why can't I?

 

 

"Everyone knows my former agent [David Joseph] settled for a low-ball number because of my situation last season when Baltimore traded for me. He told me he couldn't get a cent more, knowing I deserved more than they gave me. They used their leverage to strong-arm us because they knew I wanted to leave Baltimore for Philadelphia, and they capitalized on it. I can't go for that now. It's not in me to do that."

 

 

Considering the Eagles' immunity to such chatter, their tendency to make players regret taking such a stance on contractual matters, it would appear that Owens' days in Philadelphia are numbered. But then common sense kicks in. Consider the 1,200 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns, and a valiant Super Bowl performance that only Owens can brag about, and things become quite tricky for the wanna-be champions presiding at the NovaCare Complex.

 

 

Owens did sign a seven-year deal for more than $46 million just last season. He did promise to be a model citizen for an organization whose owner once described it as the "gold standard." He did say that his spats with former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia were an aberration, that his relationships with McNabb and coach Andy Reid would be just fine, and that the Eagles would benefit greatly from that.

 

 

In Owens' mind, he has been the model citizen.

 

 

Because his desire to renegotiate his contract has caused such an uproar, because he believes that the Eagles have revved up their PR machine against him in the court of public opinion, and because Owens is convinced that Philadelphia fans don't know his position or circumstances, he has taken his finger off the mute button.

 

 

"Coach Reid - who I greatly respect, regardless of what people may think - even tried to come at me, saying, 'Terrell, you signed a contract... promising us you wouldn't cause problems.' I had to let him know that this isn't a problem. That's a misunderstanding, because this is all about business.

 

 

"Ask anyone. I'm one of the top players in the game. I want to be paid like one of the top players in the game. That's not being greedy. This goes so much deeper than what people are hearing.

 

 

"I have no problem with the money Donovan McNabb makes. I'm not trying to outdo or get paid more than Donovan or a QB. But I do want to be one of the top-10 players in the game. I am a unique player, a unique person. Everybody can't do what I do. That may sound wrong, but it's true."

 

 

As for hiring agent Drew Rosenhaus to negotiate a contract for him, Owens said: "This has nothing to do with Drew. This was going to happen with Drew, Joseph, or anyone I hired. This was going down no matter what."

 

 

Perhaps it shouldn't go down.

 

 

There is a seven-year deal in place, about $46 million on the table, and an $8.5 million signing bonus that Owens already pocketed. But when that was noted, the first words out of Owens' mouth were, "Tell me I didn't earn it."

 

 

That's when it's time to shut up.

 

 

He's right when he says if the Eagles don't have to honor the contract, he shouldn't have to, either. Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter, Brian Mitchell and a few others have been allowed to leave by the Eagles at one time or another, and Owens did not hesitate to point that out last night.

 

 

The way he sounded, Owens fully expects the Eagles to keep him around this year and let him go the minute his salary-cap number becomes too much for them. He doesn't expect to walk away with cash near the $40 million range, so he is exercising whatever leverage he thinks he has.

 

 

It may be stupid, foolhardy or downright futile. But his words last night make it clear he's determined to take a stand, no matter how many headaches he causes.

 

 

Especially now, as he's feeling the heat from Philadelphia fans, whom he says, "I adore," who are being manipulated into believing others instead of Owens.

 

 

"I love the fans in Philadelphia, but the few who try to call me selfish because of my situation just don't understand," Owens said. "I can't look into their household and judge them on things I don't understand, so they shouldn't do that to me."

 

 

And what about his remark to ESPN.com that he was not the one who was "tired and out of shape in the Super Bowl"? He never made it clear to whom he was referring.

 

 

"I said what I said because, obviously, somebody in the organization is leaking stuff to make me look bad, to turn the city against me. Now, why do that now? Think about that. Think about where it's coming from."

 

 

So much for Owens' future in Philadelphia - at least if Eagles history repeats itself.

 

 

"I'll listen to my agent and let him handle that. But Drew did bring that possibility to my attention, and recognized it as a worst-case scenario.

 

 

"But I've already prepared myself to do whatever's best for my family. And I'm not about to shortchange my family because of people thinking I'm selfish."

 

 

Contact columnist Stephen A. Smith at 215-854-5846 or ssmith@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/stephensmith.

[Swiss Cheezhead]

"Everyone knows my former agent [David Joseph] settled for a low-ball number because of my situation last season when Baltimore traded for me. He told me he couldn't get a cent more, knowing I deserved more than they gave me. They used their leverage to strong-arm us because they knew I wanted to leave Baltimore for Philadelphia, and they capitalized on it. I can't go for that now. It's not in me to do that."

 

This pretty much confirms my gut feeling.

 

Here's my take: last year, Joseph made a big mistake and eliminated a large part of the bargaining power T.O. had. Philly's stance was, essentially, "We want T.O. We'll pay T.O. for a year and see how he works out. After that, we want the option to erase T.O. from our memory." That stance certainly made sense. They were basically insuring themselves against the possibility of T.O. underachieving OR creating a locker-room mess.

 

Now, however, T.O. has justified his first-year money. I seriously doubt he'll ask for ANOTHER signing bonus in the $10-mil range. He's healthy and he's one of the top 10 players in the league. Basically, he deserves to get paid more THIS year than he would under his current contract.

 

What Owens said is absolutely true. Philly used their leverage last year in their financial best interest. T.O. is simply doing the same thing, after proving his worth on the field.

 

People STILL don't understand the nature of NFL contract negotiations. Remember -- T.O. wasn't the one who made this a public issue. It actually hurts his cause to have this on SportsCenter all week. I'm sure the Eagles mgmt. understands that and, if they leaked a few things, I wouldn't be surprised. If Owens and Rosenhaus could have handled this quietly, I'm sure they would have. Instead, the sports media jumped all over the story because it SEEMS to be another piece of evidence against the supposedly "selfish" T.O.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Swiss Cheezhead

[WaterMan]

If the promise of more money makes this unselfish guy play better, I wonder what less money would do.

[ebartender]

I think Dan Patrick had a good interview with Rosenhaus tonight. When Rosenhaus was spewing that crap about Owens not making top 10 WR money because he is only scheduled to make $3.25 million this year Patrick said what about the $9.2 million he made last year or the $8.5 million he is scheduled to make next season? I understand the 8.5 million isn't guaranteed but does he really think the Eagles will cut him if he is performing like he did last season? Think about it this way, Peyton Manning is scheduled to make about $665,000 this year because of how his contract was structured and he is arguably the best player in the game. So when Owens says he should be paid like a top player he is actually making more then 4 times what Manning will make this season. And I don't want to hear the crap about his family. The guy has been making millions of dollars for the last 7-8 years. His family won't be hurting for generations if he doesn't blow all his money.

Edited April 15, 2005 by ebartender

[The Irish Doggy]

This idiot holds the 49ers to the fire to get out of SF, then when he doesn't get traded to the team of his choice he throws a bigger tantrum. You can't dictate your team and get paid like the top superstar in my book. You have to make sacrifices. He signed the contract. F him and everything about his greedy selfish existence.

[CaptainHook]

Philly fans: WE TOLD YOU SO!!!!

 

What a complete a$$$! I thought it was wrong when people were laughing a TO's injury last year. Now I hope it happens again. While he's holding out.

Edited April 15, 2005 by CaptainHook

[broncosn05]

They'll sign him so stop with the insultsand be supportive

[Rovers]

I just heard on ESPN that BEFORE this contract was offered to Owens, Andy Reid asked if Owens would be a disruption. Reid says Owens promised he would not be. Owens came cheaper than he should have NOT because anyone took advantage of him..... there was a real question about whether or not his history of being a disruptive influence on a team was outwieghed by his ability. He was paid less, because of his problematic past. HE caused that, now he wants to go back on a face to face, man to man promise? (if Reid is to be believed)

 

Owens is trying to throw standards of pay into the Eagle's face. His word means nothing. He is a very talented dirt bag. With a very big mouth, and a small brain. Toss in a lack of self respect, of the worst kind. He respects his abilities, but not his own word, his own promises, and therefore, has no self respect. That is why he keeps searching for respect outside of himself, in this case, more money. If he ever learns how to be a man... he might be OK. I sure don't want his sorry arse on my team.

[CaptainHook]

Anybody catch the interview on CNBC's DOUBLEtake? T.O. is actually CRYING in the interview, blathering on about how we (the public) don't know all the details as to why he is doing this. But he won't go into explaining it. But he's got to do what's best for his family. LOL. How will they ever survive on last year's $8.5 million signing bonus????

 

The reason is simple T.O.:

 

G R E E D

Edited April 15, 2005 by CaptainHook

[Tyler Rose]

Somewhere Jeff Garcia is smiling because TO says and does such outrageous things on a daily basis that the whole 'smells like a rat' thing is like 4 idiotic TO outbursts ago. Oh yeah,he's also smiling because he knows he will be the Lions starter by week #4.

[Meat Face]

TO made 9 mill, last year, due to make 3.25 this year, another 9.25 mil next. The 7 year deal is about 49 mill. Average out to 7 million per year.

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I think it's the 3.25 next year that bugs him, because the Eagles could simply cut him after next season (especially if they win a superbowl), thus avoiding paying T.O. the really big bucks. The Eagles knew what they were doing by getting him "cheap" the first two years.

 

I don't feel bad for either party though.

[The Vatican Hitsquad]

I think it's the 3.25 next year that bugs him, because the Eagles could simply cut him after next season (especially if they win a superbowl), thus avoiding paying T.O. the really big bucks.  The Eagles knew what they were doing by getting him "cheap" the first two years.

 

I don't feel bad for either party though.

 

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And he knew what he was doing when he volunterily signed that contract that paid him roughly 10 mil last season.

 

I don't feel bad for the Eagles, though. This is exactly what they deserve for signing him, they were extremely naive if they really thought otherwise. Sure, he's excellent, but he's a super Megan Fox bag on level with Randy Moss (and yes, Oakland gets what we deserve should/when Moss acts out, but I think Oakland is prepared for it).

[Bill Swerski]

Last season T.O made somewhere in the vacinity of 9 million with his base salary and bonuses. Next season he is due 3.25 million.The Eagles made his contract CAP friendly, so instead of him making Randy moss/Marvin Harrison type money..In march of 06 he will be given a roster bonus of 5 million. So if the Eagles decide to let him loose after the season...he will never see that money and will have played a season for the Salary of a #2WR.

 

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So, why did he sign the contract in the first place? He could've played with the Ravens for more, no?

 

If the non-guaranteed roster bonus is the issue, I can't see him reasonably asking him for anything more than them to guarantee the $5 million. (And even that's stretching it, since he signed the contract only a freaking year ago.) Otherwise TO and his agent are greedy dunderheads who need to call me sily call me rude, but call me please.

 

  Think about it this way, Peyton Manning is scheduled to make about $665,000 this year because of how his contract was structured and he is arguably the best player in the game.  So when Owens says he should be paid like a top player he is actually making more then 4 times what Manning will make this season.

 

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That's just one of the many differences between Peyton and TO.

 

I feel sorry for you Eagles fans...

[Bill Swerski]

I just heard on ESPN that BEFORE this contract was offered to Owens, Andy Reid asked if Owens would be a disruption. Reid says Owens promised he would not be. Owens came cheaper than he should have NOT because anyone took advantage of him..... there was a real question about whether or not his history of being a disruptive influence on a team was outwieghed by his ability. He was paid less, because of his problematic past. HE caused that, now he wants to go back on a face to face, man to man promise? (if Reid is to be believed)

 

Owens is trying to throw standards of pay into the Eagle's face. His word means nothing. He is a very talented dirt bag. With a very big mouth, and a small brain. Toss in a lack of self respect, of the worst kind. He respects his abilities, but not his own word, his own promises, and therefore, has no self respect. That is why he keeps searching for respect outside of himself, in this case, more money. If he ever learns how to be a man... he might be OK. I sure don't want his sorry arse on my team.

 

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[NSab]

He thinks he has leverage now, and knows that the Eagles typically don't keep guys around long after age 30. The Eagles basically have a contract for a 2 year deal, and play it by ear after that. TO knows this and wants more guarantees. Maybe if TO shut up and played again this year, got them to the Bowl again, they might work with him. This sucks as a Fan.