West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: M Dogg™ on September 10, 2007, 09:07:45 PM
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FINALLY... Let the JaMonster era begin. I think he gets paid more than even he wanted, but the Raiders gets the language they wanted... WTF... a hold out because of language... Al Davis is a crazy old man.
Ending months of negotiations and a holdout that stretched to more than six weeks, the Oakland Raiders reached a contract agreement in principle on Monday with JaMarcus Russell, the former LSU quarterback who was the first overall selection in the 2007 draft.
Barring any glitches, and contingent on formalities like him passing a physical exam, ESPN.com has confirmed that Russell will officially sign a six-year contract on Tuesday and should be on the field for the team's Wednesday practice.
There is still considerable work to be done, however, in terms of drawing up the contract, and a source close to the negotiations said late Monday that the two sides could still be working "very late into the night and maybe into [Tuesday] morning" to craft the precise language of the deal. ESPN.com has learned that Russell is still not in the Bay Area, and will not fly to Oakland until his representatives feel comfortable with all the details of the contract.
Sources said the contract, hammered out in four days of marathon face-to-face negotiations in the Bay Area, has a maximum value of $68 million.
The deal also includes $34.5 million in the first three years, an increase of about 65 percent over the first three seasons of the deal that Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the top overall selection in the 2006 draft, will bank in his first three years.
There is a $3 million guarantee in the fourth season of Russell's deal, essentially creating $37.5 million in guarantees.
So, while it appears that the Raiders were able to hold the guarantees in the range that they had been proposing in recent discussions, the long holdout seems to have garnered Russell a very advantageous payout structure.
Of course, it also cost him any opportunity to win the starting job in training camp.
The Raiders' staff chose Josh McCown as the starter after a preseason competition with Daunte Culpepper, who was signed as a free agent during camp.
Russell, 22, staged one of the longest holdouts by a rookie in recent history. In 2002, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, the first-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings that year, missed the first eight games of the regular season. In terms of top overall picks, no one has held out longer than Russell since tailback Bo Jackson declined to sign with Tampa Bay altogether in 1986.
During his three seasons as the LSU starter, Russell completed 493 of 797 passes for 6,625 yards, with 52 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions.
After weeks of inertia, the parties met for much of the day Friday at an undisclosed Bay Area site, and drew close to an accord. The talks moved in reverse for a while when they resumed Saturday.
Because the Raiders opened the season Sunday against the Detroit Lions, there was not much bargaining.
The weekend negotiations represented the first face-to-face bargaining since the parties met in Los Angeles on Aug. 20 and there was a ramped-up sense of urgency.
The two sides then got back to work Monday and spent much of the day fine-tuning the proposal and committing it to contract language.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.
problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.
problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.
Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.
problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.
Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.
Ryan Leaf would have been Ryan Leaf no matter where he played lol. His issues werent on the field, they were in his head. But yeah, (just like every other Raider fan) I wanna see Daunte in there.
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well it's about time, i want to see what's going to hapeen the next 5 weeks with the whole qb situation.
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i think they said this was the longest hold out since Bo Jackson completely refused to play for Tampa.
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good news, but this really is not going to help us immediately. our offense looked good, but our defense was letting kitna complete everything. it looked like they were playing cover 3 the whole game and gave them everything less than 10 yards. what the hell are you doing rob ryan.
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it'll turn around. the defense is still good and the offense is still going to be a little shakey. i'd expect the defense to return to form as well as the offense (not as bad as last year though)
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+1 for using the new handle JaMonster. Glad to see that he signed, his bitch ass better live up to the fat contract he signed. We need him to become a star in the next 2 years
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
Thats a strong possibility.
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he isn't signed yet, they just came to an agreement. they are drawing up the contract now.
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yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.
After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.
problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.
Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.
Ryan Leaf would have been Ryan Leaf no matter where he played lol. His issues werent on the field, they were in his head. But yeah, (just like every other Raider fan) I wanna see Daunte in there.
i agree with u homie put in Daunte in this year and let Russell learn the playbook and start him next year
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JaMonster should be practicing wit the on wed. Also look for C-Pepp to make the start at QB for the Raiders this week.
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JaMonster should be practicing wit the on wed. Also look for C-Pepp to make the start at QB for the Raiders this week.
Life is getting better. JaMonster... get your ass in practice... we need you to start by next year, and Culpepper, make sure the offense knows how to run with a fast, gianormus rocket thrower at QB, and lets get some wins. With Culpepper at the QB, We may not beat the Broncos, but we can beat the Browns... lol.
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Looks like its almost official Culpepper is prolly gonna be starting sunday against the Bronchoes
On the final play of Sunday’s 36-21 loss to Detroit, while getting pressure from Lions defensive end Kalimba Edwards, McCown accidentally smashed his index finger into the helmet of Oakland offensive tackle Cornell Green, slightly cracking it. McCown could nLooot grip a football Monday. The Raiders are uncertain whether McCown will be able to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos, yet others around the league are skeptical. Quarterbacks with similar injuries have, in the past, been sidelined three to four weeks. It has been speculated within the Raiders organization that McCown could miss the same amount of time. It’s also possible that, when McCown shows up for work Wednesday, he can grip a football and play on Sunday. Yet slightly cracked bones are not easy injuries for quarterbacks to overcome. (NFL Network)
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Deal exceeds Russell's financial goals, but holdout hinders playing time
ESPN.com news services
Updated: September 12, 2007, 8:20 PM ET
The devil, they say, is in the details. And the early details on the six-year contract that JaMarcus Russell officially signed Wednesday seem to indicate the former LSU quarterback and first overall pick in the 2007 draft landed a devil of a deal.
One that even his mother acknowledged was worth the prolonged negotiations and the loss of all of training camp in Russell's rookie season.
"Oh, it was worth the wait," said Zina Russell-Anderson, who accompanied her son to the Bay Area, referring to a holdout that had dragged on for more than six weeks. "It was well worth the wait. It's a great contract."
At least financially, that appears to be the case for Russell, who Wednesday afternoon took part in his first practice.
Negotiated by agents Eric Metz, Ethan Lock and Vance Malinovic, the contract carries a maximum value of $68 million, a league rookie record. There are $31.5 million in guarantees and an additional $3 million in 2010, provided Russell simply reaches minimum playing time benchmarks.
But the real strength of the contract, hammered out in four days of marathon face-to-face negotiations, lies in its attractive payout schedule.
Russell, 22, can earn $34.5 million over the first three seasons of the contract, an increase of about 65 percent over the $20.95 million Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the top overall selection in the 2006 draft, figures to bank in the first three years of his deal.
In the first four years of the contract, Russell can make $44 million.
When the negotiations began, Russell's representation team set a maximum cash-flow goal of $30 million for the first three years and $40 million for the first four seasons. The final deal, which required at least seven drafts, 30-plus pages and hours of tediously poring over contract language on Monday night and Tuesday morning, exceed those targets.
The downside, of course, is that Russell missed important practice time, and likely forfeited any chance to win the starting job.
Russell mostly took part in individual drills Wednesday, but also ran some plays for the scout team. Coach Lane Kiffin said he looked in good shape and was not rusty, but said he will have to figure out how to make up for the lost time with extra practices that don't limit the time of the starting quarterback.
"He's at a definite disadvantage," Kiffin said. "You're talking about hundreds and hundreds of reps in preseason and being in games. We can't simulate what he missed. That's put him in a tough situation."
Russell staged one of the longest holdouts by a rookie in recent history. In 2002, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, the first-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings that year, missed the first eight games of the regular season. In terms of top overall picks, no one has held out longer than Russell since Auburn tailback Bo Jackson declined to sign altogether with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986.
During his three seasons as the LSU starter, Russell completed 493 of 797 passes for 6,625 yards, with 52 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions.
Adjusting to the NFL is has not been easy of late for quarterbacks. The three quarterbacks taken in the first round a year ago all started games last season. But they all were in training camp and played in the exhibition season. Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, who started the final five games as a rookie last season, said he doesn't believe he ever would have gotten in if he hadn't participated in training camp.
"He's an exceptional athlete, exceptional quarterback but it's a position where if you rush somebody in there bad things can happen," Cutler said. "He's going to come along fine but it's going to take a little bit."
For now, the Raiders are just happy to have their quarterback of the future under contract. His teammates said his late arrival wasn't much of a distraction because they didn't expect him to play much early in the season anyway.
"Coming in we kind of already knew that whether he was here or not, he probably wasn't going to be the starter for the first game, so we just moved on," receiver Ronald Curry said.
Information from ESPN.com senior NFL writer Len Pasquarelli and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Injured finger, foot put McCown's starting status in doubt
Associated Press
Updated: September 12, 2007, 8:34 PM ET
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ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders once again aren't saying who their starting quarterback will be. This time the issue is Josh McCown's health, not an attempt at a competitive advantage.
Coach Lane Kiffin kept secret his decision to start McCown over Daunte Culpepper in last week's opener against Detroit, hoping to make the Lions prepare for two quarterbacks.
McCown got the nod based on his better knowledge of the offense and went 30-for-40 for 313 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-21 loss to the Lions. He also threw two interceptions and fumbled late in the game to kill the Raiders' attempt at a comeback.
McCown did not participate in team drills in practice Wednesday because of an injured right index finger and a sprained right foot.
He hurt his finger on the final play of the opener when he hit the helmet of offensive lineman Cornell Green on his follow-through. He threw before and after practice with gloves on both hands and said he felt fine. He also hurt his foot in the first half.
"That's more the concern," McCown said. "It's pretty sore. It's actually very sore. It's kind of day to day and try to get back into it so I can get better at pushing off on it."
Culpepper played with the first team in practice and would start against Denver if McCown can't go. Culpepper didn't join the Raiders until July 31 and wasn't as familiar with the offense. However, he looked good in preseason as he tries to regain his Pro Bowl form.
Kiffin said his decision on this week's starter would depend on when McCown could return to practice but that Culpepper would be ready to start if needed. Andrew Walter is the third-stringer, while newly signed top draft pick JaMarcus Russell has a two-week exemption until he needs to be placed on the roster.
"I have great confidence in all our quarterbacks, especially the first two in Josh and Daunte," Kiffin said. "As I said before, I feel both of them can put us in a situation to win."
Receiver Ronald Curry, who had 10 catches for 133 yards and a score in the opener, said it didn't matter much to him which quarterback played Sunday in Denver because he had worked with all of them in training camp.
"If it was Week 15 or something it would, but we just broke camp and have been working with different guys, nobody was a solidified starter at receiver or quarterback spot so you pretty much work with Josh, Andrew and Pep at the same time," Curry said. "So I'm pretty much comfortable with anybody that's up in there."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press