Kolb seeking mega-contract deal with new team

[Bronco Billy]

LINK

 

excerpt:

 

by Tom Pelissero

1500ESPN.com

 

If it were as simple as trading a first-round draft pick for Kevin Kolb, someone probably would have done it already.

 

Not because seven starts in four NFL seasons have proven Kolb can be a franchise quarterback. Because there never are 32 of those guys, and right now, as many teams are searching for quarterbacks as anyone can remember.

 

But it's not that simple. Not with Kolb, not with the Philadelphia Eagles and not amid a labor climate that has transactions and contract talks on hold, precluding the most challenging negotiation from taking place.

 

According to league sources, Kolb's agents have spread the word they're seeking a multi-year deal from any team that acquires him, with a price tag one NFL decision-maker said is "significant enough to make me nervous," considering how little the former University of Houston star has played.

 

"There's no way I pay him like a proven guy," said an executive in personnel for an AFC team. "If you give up a one, that's your guy. You're going to ride with him, so you're going to pay him. But you've still got to make sure that the finances are such that it's based on what he's proven. Whether you're dealing with the agent or not, he has to understand I'm paying part of the price in draft picks."

 

The current cost of the Kolb package has drastically reduced the pool of potential buyers for a player who one year ago was signing a one-year, $12.26 million contract extension that included a $10.7 million signing bonus as the Eagles' new starter. And the NFL lockout has needy teams such as the Minnesota Vikings focused on options in this month's draft, rather than chancing a losing game of musical quarterbacks whenever a new league year begins.

 

This past week, four NFL personnel men -- including two with teams that don't need a quarterback -- were asked if they'd give up a first-round pick for Kolb, who has completed 60.8% of his 319 passes with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions since being drafted No. 36 overall in 2007.

 

Three of the scouts qualified "yes" answers based on the level of the pick, the type of offense Kolb would be asked to run and/or the quality of the team making the trade. One gave a firm "no."

 

"The guy's a solid prospect," an AFC personnel director said, "but man, watching the tape, I'm trying to see where the guy's worth a No. 1 selection."

 

Making peace with that part of the price is only one-third of the equation. Next, a team would have to negotiate with the Eagles, who have a reputation around the league for being difficult to deal with on trades -- contributing to skepticism about a report last month they have an offer of a first-round pick on the table.

 

Get through those steps, and it's on to the biggest hurdle: negotiating a new contract with Kolb, who never regained the starting job in Philadelphia after his Week 1 concussion opened the door for Michael Vick. Now, the Eagles appear to be trying to create a marketplace for Kolb, and his scheduled 2011 base salary of $1.392 million is too low to risk injury or diminished value while playing in a new system.

 

"You can't trade for the guy" without working out a contract extension, said an NFL source who has explored Kolb's situation. "He's not going to play for what he's making right now in the last year of his contract."

 

********************************

 

Looks like Kolb is going to be very difficult to move because of his attitude that he deserves franchise QB type money. That's asking a lot for a team giving up a 1st rounder already for a guy who has proven little on the field so far.

[BearBroncos]

Remember, Kolb was highly touted before Vick took the spotlight from him. His limited play nearly caused him to have a "Luck" moment so I think he's trying to capitalize on his previous notoriety, before his complete failure when he had his chance in Vick's stead.

[WaterMan]

He was highly touted until he played against NFL starters.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/8290/gamelog

[BearBroncos]

He was highly touted until he played against NFL starters.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/8290/gamelog

 

I'm not disagreeing. I think he will eventually be a fine QB though, once he gets into a decent system and gets some reps under his belt. I don't think he's going to be an all star, but he will be at least starting quality.

 

Remember everyone the first half of the season with Cassel? "The worst QB in the NFL" to "OMG, I need to trade for him".

[Bronco Billy]

I'm not disagreeing. I think he will eventually be a fine QB though, once he gets into a decent system and gets some reps under his belt. I don't think he's going to be an all star, but he will be at least starting quality.

 

Remember everyone the first half of the season with Cassel? "The worst QB in the NFL" to "OMG, I need to trade for him".

 

Yeah, and we all saw how that turned out so far:

 

2010 Passing

Rk Team

 

1 Indianapolis Colts

2 San Diego Chargers

3 New Orleans Saints

4 Houston Texans

5 Green Bay Packers

6 Dallas Cowboys

7 Denver Broncos

8 Washington Redskins

9 Philadelphia Eagles

10 New York Giants

11 New England Patriots

12 Detroit Lions

13 Cincinnati Bengals

14 Pittsburgh Steelers

15 Atlanta Falcons

16 Miami Dolphins

17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

18 San Francisco 49ers

19 Seattle Seahawks

20 Baltimore Ravens

21 St. Louis Rams

22 New York Jets

23 Oakland Raiders

24 Buffalo Bills

25 Tennessee Titans

26 Minnesota Vikings

27 Jacksonville Jaguars

28 Chicago Bears

29 Cleveland Browns

30 Kansas City Chiefs

31 Arizona Cardinals

32 Carolina Panthers

[BearBroncos]

I do!

 

Rk Player Team Pos Comp Att Pct Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Int 1st 1st% Lng 20+ 40+ Sck Rate

1 Tom Brady NE QB 324 492 65.9 30.8 3900 7.9 243.8 36 4 189 38.4 79T 53 9 25 111

2 Philip Rivers SD QB 357 541 66 33.8 4710 8.7 294.4 30 13 234 43.3 59T 65 14 38 101.8

3 Aaron Rodgers GB QB 312 475 65.7 31.7 3922 8.3 261.5 28 11 183 38.5 86T 54 10 31 101.2

4 Michael Vick PHI QB 233 372 62.6 31 3018 8.1 251.5 21 6 131 35.2 91T 48 12 34 100.2

5 Ben Roethlisberger PIT QB 240 389 61.7 32.4 3200 8.2 266.7 17 5 149 38.3 56T 52 8 32 97

6 Josh Freeman TB QB 291 474 61.4 29.6 3451 7.3 215.7 25 6 166 35 64 48 10 28 95.9

7 Joe Flacco BAL QB 306 489 62.6 30.6 3622 7.4 226.4 25 10 174 35.6 67 40 7 40 93.6

8 Matt Cassel KC QB 262 450 58.2 30 3116 6.9 207.7 27 7 163 36.2 75T 40 4 26 93

9 Matt Schaub HOU QB 365 574 63.6 35.9 4370 7.6 273.1 24 12 222 38.7 60 59 9 32 92

10 Peyton Manning IND QB 450 679 66.3 42.4 4700 6.9 293.8 33 17 253 37.3 73T 43 9 16 91.9

11 Matt Ryan ATL QB 357 571 62.5 35.7 3705 6.5 231.6 28 9 199 34.9 46 32 6 23 91

12 Drew Brees NO QB 448 658 68.1 41.1 4620 7 288.8 33 22 236 35.9 80T 47 10 25 90.9

13 David Garrard JAC QB 236 366 64.5 26.1 2734 7.5 195.3 23 15 130 35.5 75 39 5 33 90.8

14 Jon Kitna DAL QB 209 318 65.7 31.8 2365 7.4 236.5 16 12 117 36.8 71T 32 6 21 88.9

15 Kyle Orton DEN QB 293 498 58.8 38.3 3653 7.3 281 20 9 173 34.7 71 52 11 34 87.5

16 Jay Cutler CHI QB 261 432 60.4 28.8 3274 7.6 218.3 23 16 159 36.8 89T 41 6 52 86.3

17 Eli Manning NYG QB 339 539 62.9 33.7 4002 7.4 250.1 31 25 192 35.6 92T 57 7 16 85.3

18 Jason Campbell OAK QB 194 329 59 25.3 2387 7.3 183.6 13 8 108 32.8 73T 29 8 33 84.5

19 Carson Palmer CIN QB 362 586 61.8 36.6 3970 6.8 248.1 26 20 205 35 78T 45 9 26 82.4

20 Kerry Collins TEN QB 160 278 57.6 27.8 1823 6.6 182.3 14 8 90 32.4 80T 23 4 13 82.2

21 Alex Smith SF QB 204 342 59.6 31.1 2370 6.9 215.5 14 10 103 30.1 62T 30 7 25 82.1

22 Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF QB 255 441 57.8 33.9 3000 6.8 230.8 23 15 151 34.2 65T 39 8 24 81.8

23 Shaun Hill DET QB 257 416 61.8 37.8 2686 6.5 244.2 16 12 133 32 75T 32 3 17 81.3

24 Donovan McNabb WAS QB 275 472 58.3 36.3 3377 7.2 259.8 14 15 152 32.2 76 41 11 37 77.1

25 Sam Bradford STL QB 354 590 60 36.9 3512 6 219.5 18 15 179 30.3 49 36 4 34 76.5

26 Chad Henne MIA QB 301 490 61.4 32.7 3301 6.7 220.1 15 19 168 34.3 57T 37 4 30 75.4

27 Mark Sanchez NYJ QB 278 507 54.8 31.7 3291 6.5 205.7 17 13 162 32 74T 43 10 27 75.3

28 Matt Hasselbeck SEA QB 266 444 59.9 31.7 3001 6.8 214.4 12 17 136 30.6 87T 33 10 29 73.2

29 Brett Favre MIN QB 217 358 60.6 27.5 2509 7 193 11 19 114 31.8 53T 38 1 22 69.9

30 Derek Anderson ARI QB 169 327 51.7 27.2 2065 6.3 172.1 7 10 97 29.7 43 32 1 25 65.9

31 Jimmy Clausen CAR QB 157 299 52.5 23 1558 5.2 119.8 3 9 73 24.4 55T 16 2 33 58.4

[detlef]

dropping knowledge

 

What do you want to bet that Billy first looked up QB rankings and then, realizing that would hardly make his point, went looking for something that could, theoretically, make KC's decision to bring in Cassel look bad.

 

Never mind they made the play-offs and won as many games last year (10) as they had in the previous 3. Never mind that, when Cassel did pass, he did so more efficiently than 75% of the starting QBs in the league. No, focus on the fact that KC apparently passed less then most teams.

 

Mind you, this doesn't mean that someone should go lay out a bunch of money for Kolb, but it is anything but a cautionary tale about how doing so could back fire.

[Savage Beatings]

Given the number of 1st round rookie QB picks that we will see this year, regardless of their talent level, and given how much money those rookies will be making, I think it is a smart move for Kolb to basically put himself up against those rookies and ask for a comparable deal. That doesn't mean I think that any of them are worth it, but if that's what the market will bear, then they should all take advantage of it if they can.

[Bronco Billy]

 

What do you want to bet that Billy first looked up QB rankings and then, realizing that would hardly make his point, went looking for something that could, theoretically, make KC's decision to bring in Cassel look bad.

 

Never mind they made the play-offs and won as many games last year (10) as they had in the previous 3. Never mind that, when Cassel did pass, he did so more efficiently than 75% of the starting QBs in the league. No, focus on the fact that KC apparently passed less then most teams.

 

Mind you, this doesn't mean that someone should go lay out a bunch of money for Kolb, but it is anything but a cautionary tale about how doing so could back fire.

 

What do you want to bet that I value production more than shiny numbers.

 

The KC passing game was not as productive as it needed to be, and hence they got washed out early in the playoffs. A sub-60% completion percentage combined wiht a sub-7.0 ypa are hardly the marks of an effective QB, no matter how the other numbers shake out.

[detlef]

What do you want to bet that I value production more than shiny numbers.

 

The KC passing game was not as productive as it needed to be, and hence they got washed out early in the playoffs. A sub-60% completion percentage combined wiht a sub-7.0 ypa are hardly the marks of an effective QB, no matter how the other numbers shake out.

I'm sure a team that went 4-12, 2-14, and 4-12 over the previous 3 years can live with failing to advance beyond the first round of the play-offs. Cassel through more TDs than all but Brees, Brady, Manning, Rivers, and Rodgers. And of the guys on that list, only Brady threw less picks. That's production as well.

 

Keep in mind, I'm not arguing that Cassel is a stud QB, but merely marveling at the notion that you're implying that KC should be anything but happy with the current state of their QB position, especially considering where it's been. This hardly means they're completely satisfied, or should be, but I highly doubt their kicking themselves for bringing in Cassel.

[BearBroncos]

I'm sure a team that went 4-12, 2-14, and 4-12 over the previous 3 years can live with failing to advance beyond the first round of the play-offs. Cassel through more TDs than all but Brees, Brady, Manning, Rivers, and Rodgers. And of the guys on that list, only Brady threw less picks. That's production as well.

 

Keep in mind, I'm not arguing that Cassel is a stud QB, but merely marveling at the notion that you're implying that KC should be anything but happy with the current state of their QB position, especially considering where it's been. This hardly means they're completely satisfied, or should be, but I highly doubt their kicking themselves for bringing in Cassel.

 

I didn't mean to derail this thread with bringing Cassel into the mix. It was meant more as analogist than anything. But, I'd agree with you. Some work with their offensive line and Cassel could be a more consistent QB.

[WaterMan]

9 Philadelphia Eagles

 

Also gotta mention that with Kolb benched, his team was 9th in passing.

[i_am_the_swammi]

Geez, you guys must be thinking a little slowly since its April.

 

1. If a team trades a #1 pick for a player, that essentially means they obviously think he's WORTH a #1. Wouldn't it then go to reason that the player would believe he should be paid like one, or at least treated like one (coveted)?

 

2. He's not looking for Top-5 money. He's looking for an extension so he can have some security for the next 5-6 years. You know, just like every athlete in the final year of a contract. He's posturing, laying the groundwork for where his side stands. its called negotiating. What did you think they would say: "We're willing to sign a one-year deal for the league minimum because, ya know, I am that kinda guy".

 

1. Love the link to his stats from last year, which included one game he left early with an injury, another where he came in mid-game in relief (WAS), and another where he player with all second-string players in a meaningless game (Week 17). Do some quick math, and you'd know he'd project to top-9 QB numbers for the three full games he played that mattered (SF, ATL, TEN)...and this behind what was easily one of the worst OL's in the league (the reason they stayed with Vick).

 

This ain't rocket science, guys. With so few quality QBs available, and even fewer draftable....he knows he is a limited commodity. Don't want to pay him? Go sign Jeff Garcia.

[Avernus]

Geez, you guys must be thinking a little slowly since its April.

 

1. If a team trades a #1 pick for a player, that essentially means they obviously think he's WORTH a #1. Wouldn't it then go to reason that the player would believe he should be paid like one, or at least treated like one (coveted)?

 

2. He's not looking for Top-5 money. He's looking for an extension so he can have some security for the next 5-6 years. You know, just like every athlete in the final year of a contract. He's posturing, laying the groundwork for where his side stands. its called negotiating. What did you think they would say: "We're willing to sign a one-year deal for the league minimum because, ya know, I am that kinda guy".

 

1. Love the link to his stats from last year, which included one game he left early with an injury, another where he came in mid-game in relief (WAS), and another where he player with all second-string players in a meaningless game (Week 17). Do some quick math, and you'd know he'd project to top-9 QB numbers for the three full games he played that mattered (SF, ATL, TEN)...and this behind what was easily one of the worst OL's in the league (the reason they stayed with Vick).

 

This ain't rocket science, guys. With so few quality QBs available, and even fewer draftable....he knows he is a limited commodity. Don't want to pay him? Go sign Jeff Garcia.

 

 

bingo!

[Avernus]

Yeah, and we all saw how that turned out so far:

 

2010 Passing

Rk Team

 

1 Indianapolis Colts

2 San Diego Chargers

3 New Orleans Saints

4 Houston Texans

5 Green Bay Packers

6 Dallas Cowboys

7 Denver Broncos

8 Washington Redskins

9 Philadelphia Eagles

10 New York Giants

11 New England Patriots

12 Detroit Lions

13 Cincinnati Bengals

14 Pittsburgh Steelers

15 Atlanta Falcons

16 Miami Dolphins

17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

18 San Francisco 49ers

19 Seattle Seahawks

20 Baltimore Ravens

21 St. Louis Rams

22 New York Jets

23 Oakland Raiders

24 Buffalo Bills

25 Tennessee Titans

26 Minnesota Vikings

27 Jacksonville Jaguars

28 Chicago Bears

29 Cleveland Browns

30 Kansas City Chiefs

31 Arizona Cardinals

32 Carolina Panthers

 

 

did you look at Cassel's numbers for the 1st half of the season vs the 2nd half?.....I really don't feel like going there, but it's the 1st thing I thought of when I read the bolded part that...

[Savage Beatings]

Geez, you guys must be thinking a little slowly since its April.

 

1. If a team trades a #1 pick for a player, that essentially means they obviously think he's WORTH a #1. Wouldn't it then go to reason that the player would believe he should be paid like one, or at least treated like one (coveted)?

 

2. He's not looking for Top-5 money. He's looking for an extension so he can have some security for the next 5-6 years. You know, just like every athlete in the final year of a contract. He's posturing, laying the groundwork for where his side stands. its called negotiating. What did you think they would say: "We're willing to sign a one-year deal for the league minimum because, ya know, I am that kinda guy".

 

1. Love the link to his stats from last year, which included one game he left early with an injury, another where he came in mid-game in relief (WAS), and another where he player with all second-string players in a meaningless game (Week 17). Do some quick math, and you'd know he'd project to top-9 QB numbers for the three full games he played that mattered (SF, ATL, TEN)...and this behind what was easily one of the worst OL's in the league (the reason they stayed with Vick).

 

This ain't rocket science, guys. With so few quality QBs available, and even fewer draftable....he knows he is a limited commodity. Don't want to pay him? Go sign Jeff Garcia.

 

 

Yep, I agree with this.

[Zooty]

Only a fool would trade a high 1st for Kolb

Only a fool would sign him to a mega-deal at this point in his career.

That being said, both will probably happen and he will have a new coach and GM in 2 years

 

I have no idea why KK seems to think he's worth a mega-deal, he's done nothing remarkable. I frequent another thread where one poster claims to be in the know with KK and he seems pretty sure this will happen as well based on what KK is feeding him. I just wonder what Andy Reid keeps feeding KK. Its on thing to boost a guy's confidence but this is bordering on arrogance at this point.

 

He couldn't even beat out out a guy who's been out of the league for 2 seasons and still has the accuracy of Uncle Rico

[Zooty]

2. He's not looking for Top-5 money. He's looking for an extension so he can have some security for the next 5-6 years. You know, just like every athlete in the final year of a contract. He's posturing, laying the groundwork for where his side stands. its called negotiating. What did you think they would say: "We're willing to sign a one-year deal for the league minimum because, ya know, I am that kinda guy".

 

counting his bonus he played for $12 mil last year and he wants more. Won't that put him pretty close to top 5 money?

[Avernus]

counting his bonus he played for $12 mil last year and he wants more. Won't that put him pretty close to top 5 money?

 

 

his current contract apparently would pay him less for the 2011 season.....he doesn't want top 5 money, but probably top 15 but that's because he's going by current standards and if all starting QB's asked to re-negotiate their contracts now then he could possibly make top 20 money.......but that isn't the case...

[Ursa Majoris]

Geez, you guys must be thinking a little slowly since its April.

 

1. If a team trades a #1 pick for a player, that essentially means they obviously think he's WORTH a #1. Wouldn't it then go to reason that the player would believe he should be paid like one, or at least treated like one (coveted)?

 

2. He's not looking for Top-5 money. He's looking for an extension so he can have some security for the next 5-6 years. You know, just like every athlete in the final year of a contract. He's posturing, laying the groundwork for where his side stands. its called negotiating. What did you think they would say: "We're willing to sign a one-year deal for the league minimum because, ya know, I am that kinda guy".

 

1. Love the link to his stats from last year, which included one game he left early with an injury, another where he came in mid-game in relief (WAS), and another where he player with all second-string players in a meaningless game (Week 17). Do some quick math, and you'd know he'd project to top-9 QB numbers for the three full games he played that mattered (SF, ATL, TEN)...and this behind what was easily one of the worst OL's in the league (the reason they stayed with Vick).

 

This ain't rocket science, guys. With so few quality QBs available, and even fewer draftable....he knows he is a limited commodity. Don't want to pay him? Go sign Jeff Garcia.

Exactly. It's a negotiation. Why would he lowball himself when a glance round the league and the draft options show him that he's definitely marketable to someone?

[Bronco Billy]

his current contract apparently would pay him less for the 2011 season.....he doesn't want top 5 money, but probably top 15 but that's because he's going by current standards and if all starting QB's asked to re-negotiate their contracts now then he could possibly make top 20 money.......but that isn't the case...

 

How much is he asking for?

[Avernus]

How much is he asking for?

 

I'm not sure, but I did read this at gcobb.com

 

Kolb got an $11 million dollar bonus when he was named the team’s starting quarterback a year ago. He’s in the final year of a two year contract which he signed a year ago and he’ll make only $1.392 million in salary this year.

[WaterMan]

If there's any truth to the owners going broke, you can see why with Kolb's contract. The owners need to make smarter decisions with their money. This is just like the Panthers and Jake Delhomme.

[detlef]

I'm not sure, but I did read this at gcobb.com

You know, if you think about it, that $11 million bonus is not excessive. It appears to be a one-time pop rather than a raise, so you have to amortize it over the duration of his contract which appears to have a rather pedestrian base salary (for an NFL QB, of course) of just over $1 million. Consider also, that, when he was drafted, Philly had McNabb on the roster, so it's not as if he was just going to get the job by default. There are other teams where being named starting QB would be really no thing because they've got a bunch of FA nitwits fighting for the job and may name 2-4 throughout the year just to see if one sticks.

 

This would not be the case with Kolb. In order for him to be named the starter, that would mean that he would have to show enough to unseat a guy who had lead the team on a pretty successful fun. Even still, that bonus, when amortized over the length of his contract, would hardly make his annual salary very competitive vs other starting QBs.

 

So, it doesn't seem to be all that bad a deal either way. Philly just had to pay him like a back-up unless he turned out to be more than that. Then they simply upgrade retroactively to a somewhat modest starting QB salary if he won the job.

[Avernus]

You know, if you think about it, that $11 million bonus is not excessive. It appears to be a one-time pop rather than a raise, so you have to amortize it over the duration of his contract which appears to have a rather pedestrian base salary (for an NFL QB, of course) of just over $1 million. Consider also, that, when he was drafted, Philly had McNabb on the roster, so it's not as if he was just going to get the job by default. There are other teams where being named starting QB would be really no thing because they've got a bunch of FA nitwits fighting for the job and may name 2-4 throughout the year just to see if one sticks.

 

This would not be the case with Kolb. In order for him to be named the starter, that would mean that he would have to show enough to unseat a guy who had lead the team on a pretty successful fun. Even still, that bonus, when amortized over the length of his contract, would hardly make his annual salary very competitive vs other starting QBs.

 

So, it doesn't seem to be all that bad a deal either way. Philly just had to pay him like a back-up unless he turned out to be more than that. Then they simply upgrade retroactively to a somewhat modest starting QB salary if he won the job.

 

exactly, so when he says he wants a new contract for being a starting QB, he's not exactly asking for the moon because he barely made minimum wage for what his position requires...