At best it doesn't sound good for New Orleans (it seems he will be sit for at least the early part) ...a team already in a bad situation. Looks as if the Texans might not have been so crazy. Who knows. Will Reggie run a reverse? By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports July 21, 2006 Jason Cole Yahoo! Sports No. 2 overall pick and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush not only appears headed for a holdout with the New Orleans Saints, a league source said Bush is toying with the idea of sitting out the entire season and going back in the draft in 2007 if he doesn't get his price. "No player has ever had the kind of leverage that Reggie Bush has right now," the source said. "The Saints made it clear what they were willing to do before and now we'll see if they're going to get there." It seems unlikely the Saints will do that in time for Bush to report to training camp with the team on Thursday in Jackson, Miss. Two sources said that talks between the Saints and agent Joel Segal have been nearly non-existent. On Wednesday, Mike Ornstein, who is Bush's marketing agent, told the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., that he didn't think Bush would be signed in time for camp. Ornstein is not allowed to negotiate contracts, but he is acutely aware of all of Bush's business matters. One of the sources took that a step further, saying Segal was considering not having Bush sign at all. Segal declined to comment when contacted Friday and messages left with multiple members of the New Orleans organization weren't returned. ADVERTISEMENT While it appears unlikely on face value that Bush would sit out, he appears well-positioned to do so if he really wants. Bush supposedly has more than $5 million in the bank from multiple endorsement deals Ornstein has negotiated since Bush left the University of Southern California. That money is guaranteed regardless of whether Bush plays this season. Next, Bush could probably sit out 2006 and still be a high pick next year. Furthermore, Bush probably has the public sentiment running in his favor. Even though holdout players are generally unpopular, Bush has caused tremendous excitement in New Orleans. In May, shortly after Bush was drafted, the Saints had already set a franchise record for season-ticket sales, having topped 55,000 at that time. That's extraordinary, especially considering the condition of the hurricane-ravaged city. Moreover, team owner Tom Benson is immensely unpopular in New Orleans. Ranging from his hard-line negotiations with the city and state to constant threats that he will move the team, Benson is often treated with open scorn by Saints fans. Bush has also worked hard to endear himself to fans in the city after it came out that he didn't want to play in New Orleans. Bush has made multiple donations to hurricane relief. Jason Cole is an NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Link
damn it u got to it rite be4 i did but thats cool, wow if he really sit out for the whole season this could be a huge blow to NO, think about the amount of people who are going to be screaming for their refunds Bush or no Bush I think this is a really low move.
We're still gonna suck really bad this year. Maybe he'll sit out and we can have a chance to draft Bush next year! Aww, who am I kidding. We all know the Texans would screw it up yet again.
This is what gives pro athletes a bad name. Dude hasn't played a down and the NFL and he is threatening to sit out. I don't know why the NFL doesn't have a set salary for draft picks...it's ridiculous. I hope he sits out and ends up like Clarett and Mike Williams (though the jury is still out on him) ... then he'll be wishing he took the money now.
So does Bush want out, the way Eli Manning or John Elway forced themselves out of a town, or does he simply want to be paid like a #1? I can't see Tom Benson be cheap now when he had gazillion great trade offers before the draft. It makes no sense unless Bush's demands are simply outrageous. If that's the case, then I'm glad the Texans aren't putting up with this headache right now.
Not only does he want to be paid as a #1... he wants to be paid MORE than the #1 pick got this year. The Saints are following the same pay scale that has been used for every NFL draft since its inception... that the #2 pick gets paid less. Bush can "afford" to do this because he's already got a year's worth of salary in endorsements... but I doubt those stay around that long with the hit that his image will take if he sits out the season. It is weird, however, to see him on the cover of SI this week with a saints jersey... I doubt he ends up skipping the entire year, but you can clearly see why the Texans had some reservations about this "can't miss" prospect, who seemed to want more than he has "earned" from the get-go.
Bush seems to be all about the $$$. Good job by Kubiak, McNair, and Casserly spotting that out and not drafting him. He may have some spectacular seasons but I foresee him getting traded a lot in his future.
Yeah, they really screwed up by signing their #1 draft pick before they drafted him and passing over a guy who is willing to sit out the entire year if he doesn't get what he wants. Damn you, Bob McNair. LOL, Bush has a regular agent and a "marketing" agent? Two different agents? It sounds like he's been rallying the fans to take his side so he'll have more leverage. What a douche. The Texans said a big reason they didn't pick Bush was because he would be hard to sign. Looks like they made the right decision. It's just too bad for Saints fans. I was really looking forward to seeing the Saints back in the Superdome. Having Bush play well would really be great for that city.
They said that? I remember them saying they could have signed either of them. Whether its true or not, who knows? But they did say they had a deal for both
This is not about the TEXANS. Don't tarnish my beloved Texans' forum with crap like this. Please move this thread to the HANGOUT. Who gives a sh*t about this Reggie guy? Only if you live in New Orleans, or already picked him in your fantasy football team... and that's HANGOUT stuff. Please move this thread.
Wouldn't losing an entire year worth of paychecks cost him more money in the long-run than if he signs a contract similar to Williams? There is no guarantee that he would be the top pick next year with Peterson, Quinn and Posluszny coming out.
He'd be real stupid to hold out & re-enter the draft next year. He's guaranteed #2 money this year. If he re-enters the draft next year, he'll lose a year's salary, interest on his bonus & 1st year's salary, & in all likely hood, drop down to the 5-10 pick range. That'd be giving up a huge amount of money just to stroke his ego. By the way, having sat out a year, he'll in all likely hood, be competing against players coming off of great seasons like Brady Quinn, Adrian Peterson, Paul Posluszny, Sidney Rice, Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, & who knows what players will come out of no where to be the next Mario Williams, Vince Young, Vernon Davis, or Donte Whitner. Being out of the limelight for a year will automatically tarnish Bush's prospects. If his agent allows this, he'll take a hit from future college draft picks, because he will have cost his client a lot of money. But, that's just my opinion. I never wanted Bush from the beginning anyway.
I put it in here because there were rumors leading up to and after the draft that Bush was too difficult to work with over money and that was a big reason for the Texans passing him up. I even indicated such with my second sentence.
That was the rumor right after they announced (the night before the draft) that they had signed Mario. But with this turn of events, it sounds like it was more than just a rumor. Reggie is the #2 pick and he wants more $$ than the #1 pick, according to that article. That's just crazy. What right does he have to demand more money than the guy picked ahead of him? Can you imagine if he WAS the #1 pick? Mario = signed before draft day, took part in pre-camp workouts, will be in camp on time and ready to go, and best of all, held the door open for ima while he was rolling his gear to the loading dock at the 'Open House' last month. Bush = demanding more money than the guy picked AHEAD of him and is willing to sit out the WHOLE YEAR to get it, and has a "marketing" agent in addition to his regular agent. I didn't think so at the time, but now I think the Texans made the right choice.
Precisely. If this report is true, then what a pompous dick. For every span of games he'd help the Texans win, there'd be months he's nothing but a total freaking disastrous distraction to the whole franchise. Above all, I hope the report is false or overplayed. If it's true, I agree with the poster who hopes he's the next Maurice Clarette (sp?). Agreed.
Dang . What an a**hole . I was upset at first for the home team not taking him . This just backs up what the Texans already knew , he was a money grubbing A-Hole . I wonder if Subway is mad .