Bennett still grumbling to the media

[Exittium]

I don't mind letting him stay home. That'll give Clark a chance to show what he's got. At which point if I was Bennett I'd be sweating my job. Because these antics wont help him down the road. Eventually the team will get tired of it, and they may pursue the Percy route and he'll be bye bye. And be known around the league for his antics, because the media will blow it all up.

 

[kearly]

I have a theory that Bennett is actually afraid of holding out and racking up fines, so as a 'hail mary' desperation ploy, he's trying his best to get concessions from the team before it gets to that point by making threats through the media.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Bennett drops the act once the threat of the first fine comes. Bennett can't be 100% sure that he'll have enough leverage to have the fines forgiven later.

 

[sc85sis]

Bennett is an important part of our d-line rotation and it would suck if he held out. He is not irreplaceable, however. He needs to realize that if he doesn't already.

Marshawn got a small concession last year in moving some money up front a year because of his importance to the team. Bennett's importance is not on the same level.

 

[ringless]

Bennett isn't going to hold out. He has ZERO leverage. He still has 3 years left on his contract. There is nothing he can do but show up or lose money on something he has no shot at. If I were you guys I'd just ignore what he has to say... He isn't going to see another dollar added onto his contract anytime soon.

 

[The Outfield]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

Totally agree, all NFL contracts should be guarenteed money. Damn teams need to stop cuting players because their cap hit is to high or believe they are now over paying a player.

The NFL should not have guaranteed money contracts. This is not the MLB. There is a hard salary cap in the NFL, so an injured player with a large sum of guaranteed money could absolutely cripple a team for years. In the MLB, teams have much more leeway because there is not a hard cap. Their only limitations are the luxury tax and how much money they have available to spend.

 

[dumbrabbit]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

Totally agree, all NFL contracts should be guarenteed money. Damn teams need to stop cuting players because their cap hit is to high or believe they are now over paying a player.

The NFL should not have guaranteed money contracts. This is not the MLB. There is a hard salary cap in the NFL, so an injured player with a large sum of guaranteed money could absolutely cripple a team for years. In the MLB, teams have much more leeway because there is not a hard cap. Their only limitations are the luxury tax and how much money they have available to spend.

This.

Hard caps and fully guaranteed contracts do not mix.

 

[Overseasfan]

It is just not possible for Bennett to get a new deal right now. Maybe after both Wilson and Wagner get a new contract but certainly not before.

 

[Fudwamper]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

Totally agree, all NFL contracts should be guarenteed money. Damn teams need to stop cuting players because their cap hit is to high or believe they are now over paying a player.

The NFL should not have guaranteed money contracts. This is not the MLB. There is a hard salary cap in the NFL, so an injured player with a large sum of guaranteed money could absolutely cripple a team for years. In the MLB, teams have much more leeway because there is not a hard cap. Their only limitations are the luxury tax and how much money they have available to spend.

This.

Hard caps and fully guaranteed contracts do not mix.

My response was mostly tongue in cheek.

They sure can have guaranteed contracts. they do all the time with the guaranteed portion. Call the contract what it is stop with the ridiculous 6 years 100 mil that has 2 years that the player will never see.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Bennett is an important part of our d-line rotation and it would suck if he held out. He is not irreplaceable, however. He needs to realize that if he doesn't already.

Marshawn got a small concession last year in moving some money up front a year because of his importance to the team. Bennett's importance is not on the same level.

The team capitulating to Marshawn's hold out last year showed everybody how to get more $. That's why they'll never give in to Bennet.

 

[Chukarhawk]

the new CBA makes holding out a losing prospect. Makes me laugh everytime some idiot likes Bennett spouts off. Uh, no you won't, dumbass.

 

[McGruff]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

They will do that when teams are forced to do the same.

 

[drdiags]

Bennett isn't going to get his wish but if he is that bent out of shape on his contract he can choose to make demands if that makes him feel better. He must have a lousy agent to have to turn-around in year two of a 4 yr deal and demand a re-negotiation. You would think part of the agent's role is to be able to forecast what Bennett's worth would be before having him agree to the cash outlay they did last year.

Fans tend to side with the club on the whole contract thing. If the club is only responsible for honoring the guarantees, which sometimes don't seem as guaranteed as the word signifies, then a player should be able to end the contract once all guarantees have been met.

To avoid this type of haggling, the NFLPA should fight for the ability of a player to end a contract as easily as the team can walk away, with the stipulation that the player has to pay back any unearned pro-rated signing bonus that made up the contract. That will never happen so the NFL player pretty much can only blame his union for not helping to negotiate him a CBA that gives the player as much flexibility as the clubs.

 

[KiwiHawk]

If a team cuts a player but pays them the guaranteed dollars they promised then there is no problem. Both sides negotiated that possibility at a bargaining table, and employment only works when both sides are satisfied with the arrangement.

If a player holds out but pays the fines associated then there is no problem. Both sides negotiated that possibility via the collective bargaining agreement, and employment only works when both sides are satisfied with the arrangement.

There's no reason to take this sort of stuff personal as a fan. You probably don't get upset when an employee at a company you buy stuff from is asking for a raise, and you probably don't get upset when that same company moves on from another employee because of performance or pay. The only difference here is everything is public and so people think they need to have an opinion on stuff that they don't.

I'm with you to a point. In this case, the employee of a store that I frequent can, by asking for a larger amount of money, prevent or contribute to the prevention of the store carrying an item or offering a service that is important to me. I may therefore get upset that the actions of the employee detracts from my enjoyment of the store.

Should the Seahawks be unable to retain a player I would like the team to keep, because they have money they didn't budget for tied up in Bennett, then the product offering is impacted by Bennett wanting more money, in a way that upsets me.

 

[ivotuk]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

Nfl teams constantly break contracts with players. Its a two way street.

No they don't.

When a player signs a contract, he understands there's only one thing he can count on, the guaranteed money. He's going to have to earn the rest.

 

[Cyrus12]

for every time he jumps offside which to me a lot of which just looks like laziness...he should have to pay back some money. Wish this guy would just shut up and play! He signed the deal, honour it! This guys act is getting tiring...

 

[hawknation2015]

Honestly, the NFL gotta get rid of this rule that players are allowed to restructure deals. You sign a contract, own up to it dammit. Especially when you just signed it a year ago. It's honestly one of the most immature things.

Nfl teams constantly break contracts with players. Its a two way street.

No they don't.

When a player signs a contract, he understands there's only one thing he can count on, the guaranteed money. He's going to have to earn the rest.

Not to mention 100% of Bennett's salary is fully guaranteed this year. He received an $8 million signing bonus just last year and still has another $8 million in guarantees.

 

[JAGHAWK]

Didn't he show up to the one day of mini camp a few weeks ago? Why show up if you're holding out?

He's blowing smoke. Gonna cry wolf to see if anyone comes running. And they won't.

 

[hawknation2015]

Didn't he show up to the one day of mini camp a few weeks ago? Why show up if you're holding out?

He's blowing smoke. Gonna cry wolf to see if anyone comes running. And they won't.

I get the feeling Bennett is only doing this to get his name out there -- Sherman called it his "persona." Maybe there is something to that: getting his name in news articles every few weeks increases the likelihood that people will remember his name and pay attention to his play, thereby increasing the chance that he makes the Pro Bowl, thereby increasing the chance that he will get a large payday in his next contract. As long as he does not actually miss any mandatory practices or games, it doesn't matter much at all.

 

[KiwiHawk]

One difference here is that when you and I ask our employer for a raise, it's not only because we think we deserve it, but because we want to improve our living conditions or even just to stay even with inflation.

With professional athletes making tens of millions, it's a bit of a different story. They either blow all the money and end up bankrupt with 10 years, or they have all the money they need for them and their family to live very comfortably for the rest of their lives. The amount of money they get doesn't really change that reality - it's all about how they manage their wealth.

Obviously they want to earn as much as possible - that's natural and the way the free market economy works. I have no issue with that whatsoever. But the time to earn that money is when they sit down to negotiate their deal. Once the deal is in place, they should live up to what they signed.

As much as I hate Wilson's agent wanting him to hit true free agency which pretty much guarantees we lose him, I respect that he's earning his client as much money as possible, and I respect that Wilson is playing out his pitiful rookie deal rather than holding out.

Bennett's deal is not pitiful, however, and he should honour it.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Non story, even Bennett started the interview with he's gonna play this year because he just signed his contract.

He's a veteran, if he wants to skip a couple weeks of training camp to pout, I'm fine with that.