Selfish b*stard! I guess us Philly fans got what we asked for though. My friend thinks he won't be there next year but if he is my dumb ass will probably still be cheering for him. T.O. and His Agent Say the Wide-Out Has a "Sub Standard Deal" 2004 SEASON STATISTICS Rec Yds TD Avg Long YAC 77 1200 14 15.6 59 404 Terrell Owens already wants a new contract from the Philadelphia Eagles before he starts his second season with the team. Owens, who helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia, is looking to renegotiate the seven-year deal worth almost $49 million he signed last March. "This is not about me being greedy or selfish," Owens told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Thursday's editions. "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." Owens set team records with 14 touchdown receptions and seven 100-yard games, and finished with 77 catches for 1,200 yards. He broke his leg and severely sprained his right ankle in Week 15 against Dallas, an injury that sidelined him until the Super Bowl. Owens defied his doctor's advice by returning to the starting lineup against New England just 6½ weeks after ankle surgery, and was Philadelphia's best player on offense. He caught nine passes for 122 yards in the Eagles' 24-21 loss to the Patriots. Owens fired longtime agent David Joseph and hired Drew Rosenhaus, who met with Eagles president Joe Banner last week. Last year, Joseph failed to file papers that would have made Owens a free agent from San Francisco. Instead, Owens protested a trade from the 49ers to Baltimore, refused to show up for a physical and eventually the three teams agreed to a trade before an arbitrator could rule on the case. Rosenhaus, in an interview with Dan Patrick on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, said Owens was forced to take a "sub-standard deal" with the Eagles. "The NFL got him out of the trade [to Baltimore]," Rosenhaus said. "They brokered a deal to the Eagles, but he had to take a sub-standard deal because he had no leverage." "Everyone knows my former agent settled for a low-ball number because of my situation last season when Baltimore traded for me," Owens said. "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." According to Rosenhaus, the contract Owens signed "sounds great on paper, but in the first two years of the deal he is not even in the top ten highest paid receivers in the NFL." Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas told ESPN Radio on Thursday night that he disagreed with Owens' desire to have his contact re-negotiated. "I don't agree with [re-negotiating a contract] because I believe that when you sign a contract you're bound by that contract," Douglas said. "He's doing what he feels he needs to do, but I do believe that if you sign a contract you should honor that contract whatever circumstances you signed it under." The playmaking, showboating, brash-talking Owens lived up to his hype in Philadelphia, delivering everything from his innovative touchdown celebrations to his outrageous antics -- including a steamy segment with actress Nicollette Sheridan for an intro to "Monday Night Football." "I know I'm a top player in the game, and my current contract doesn't justify that," Owens said. "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?" Rosenhaus echoed Owens' comments, pointing to teams' ability to part ways with players despite signing them to long-term contracts. "He was nothing short of remarkable last year with the Eagles," Rosenhaus told Patrick. "He absolutely outperformed his deal. I've had many players ... [who] have been cut when they underperformed despite having just did a multi-year deal the year before like Hugh Douglas with the Jaguars. " ... Why can't we say that he outperformed this deal which was done under poor circumstances. What's wrong with that?"
If this were baseball or basketball, I'd agree with you. However, the Eagles could cut Owens tomorrow and he'd have nothing but his bonus (which is a lot), so why can't he do this?
Wait...you would have gotten a fine deal by going to Baltimore...but you AGREED to take a lesser deal because it was worth it to go to Philly....BUT NOW THAT'S NOT A GOOD EXCHANGE?? THEN WHY'D YOU DO IT???? Is that your signature, Mr. Owens? It is?? Then shut up and play football.
he absolutely can...and he can go play elsewhere when his contract expires. but that's really his ONLY leverage
To Lil Pun "HAR-HAR!" I am so glad that I don't have to root for this clown - if he ever joined the Broncos, I will become a full-fledged Titans fan.
However, they would not. Owens is one year into a contract. If he got hurt tomorrow, he's generated enough good will within the community that he would have still gotten a portion of his contract as a gesture from the ownership. He has officially blown that goodwill out of the water with this stupid move.
So what? It doesn't stop owners from cutting other players they've entered into a contract with (yes, I know it's the fault of the ****ty NFLPA). I have no sympathy for owners when things like this happen. At least he's doing it now instead of mid-July.
The NFL is unlike any other pro sport. In the NFL the management is the bad guy. They cut players that give everything to the team in a heartbeat. They constantly ask players to restructure contracts for less money to add other players. This is a rare case were the play is actually using his hard earned leverage. Owens risked his entire career for the team! He can do whatever the hell he wants. Dont complain about this. Complain about guys like Jamie Sharper getting cut...
Yea but if Shanahan doesn't win a playoff game soon (hint this upcoming season), I think he is out of Denver and those tactics may leave as well. Plummer is maddening to watch because of his phenomenal talent but his habit of doing stupid things - reminds me a lot of Vinny Testaverde.
But T.O. isn't "other players." Like I said, he had generated enough good will that he would have been taken care of, even if his ankle injury is more severe than we know. But again, he just screwed himself. Philly is the last team to push around for a contract demand. They've shown they are quite willing to cut quality veterans in the past due to outrageous salary demands. Then he cries on TV b/c he "just wants to take care of his family" He and Sprewell should be sent to a deserted island away from society.
Drew Rosenhaus gets no cut out of TO's contract until he helps him sign a new one. TO wants a new contract days after firing his agent.
Exactly! Besides all this whining about how NFL contract aren't guaranteed would be valid if there weren't signing bonuses. Its not as IF TO think he would be making the big bucks for 7 full years. He just wants another big signing bonus.
MADMAX - I think that other than leaving after the contract, the leverage that he holds is the Barry Sanderesque retirement/holdout. That's some serious hardball and I doubt that TO could fall out of the spotlight to pull it off, but if he thinks that the Eagles will cave first, then he might do it. Personally, knowing that he can either play with his current contract or holdout for a new one, he's taking a big chance holding out for a new one, but I think that he has earned the leverage that it takes to hold out for a new contract. He stepped up big and became the player that deserves a good contract. Also, like it's been mentioned that it's a screwy situation that in the NFL they can back out of contracts at their own whim. That takes credibility away from both sides of the contract.
It is if the Eagles don't want to lose arguably their best player. If they'd just make it like the other sports, then you wouldn't see anything like this. Until then, I have absolutely no problem with what T.O.'s doing. How he's doing it may be another argument, however.
I'm not saying I have a problem with it, really. Frankly, I really don't care. But it seems silly to me to sign a contract willingly, knowing you're giving stuff up to sign it with one particular team over another team...and then one year later complain about the contract you JUST signed, saying you could have gotten a better deal with the team you didn't want to play for in the first place. It's not like he's a brand new, breakout player now. Like he was never a top receiver before. He was so coveted because he WAS that type of receiver. The Eagles would arguably lose their best player...and TO would lose his streams of income as a football player. I don't know what other marketable skills the man has. Again, that doesn't sound like great leverage.
