Michael Crabtree doesn't appear to be the smartest guy in the world right now. It would help if his people weren't such fools.
Excuse me, but that was a brain fart. Much like the now notorious brain fart of David Wells, cousin and “advisor” to the San Francisco 49ers’ first-round draft pick, Michael Crabtree, who claimed the high-profile wide receiver was willing to sit out this upcoming season and re-enter the NFL draft if he did not receive an amiable offer in comparison to the Raiders’ Darrius Heyward-Bey. You know, somewhere in the ballpark of $38 million — or more.
The emphasis is always on more with these types. Wells, while speaking candidly about the contract negotiation, revealed a truth Eugene Parker, Crabtree’s agent, was still trying to deny: That Crabtree’s camp was willing to sit out and generally play hardball with the 49ers.
This is what happens when freeloaders enter the negotiation process.
“We are prepared to do it,” Wells told ESPN.com “Michael just wants fair market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey getting $38 million? This week is crucial.”
Yes, in so many ways. How is Wells going to milk his cousin for the rest of his life if he has, say, only $20 million over 5 years or a guaranteed check less than the remaining California budget deficit?
Wall Street has its golden parachutes and the 49ers have its golden idiots.
Most rookies are not this stupid, nor do they have such ambitious family members that they would speak on behalf of them for fear of screwing up their multi-million dollar deals. In fact, the onus is on Parker to manage Crabtree’s expectations and Crabtree for managing his talkative cousin. Because right now, Wells broke rank and I’m sure it’s put a dent in whatever figure Crabtree was hoping to obtain. Can he take that back? Will Crabtree be willing to accept less?
This threat — very much fake in my opinion — is the absolute last card that should be played in the negotiation process for an NFL player. Let alone be known public before it goes through the proper channels. (Hint: That means things have been going terribly.) But what would be even worse is if Crabtree follows through, decimating his career before it even begins. He’s coming back from surgery on his foot and will miss a whole year just to prove a point. And over what? A couple of million? Whether it’s $1 million or $10 million, that’s no justification for turning down the $20 million practically on the table. And that’s what’s at stake.
So let’s talk money.
NFL first-rounders are generally paid in accordance with their draft slot. That meaning, Heyward-Bey’s $38 million at No. 7 and Brian Orakpo’s $20 million at No. 13 to the Washington Redskins will be the parameters. Crabtree, sitting at No. 10, should fall in order. So far, picks eight through 11 have not signed, including Eugene Monroe (Jacksonville), B.J. Raji (Green Bay) and Aaron Maybin (Buffalo).
Subsequently, this talk about getting more than Heyward-Bey, for the sake of Raiders idiocy or whatever other cockamamie reasoning, is just agent gamesmanship at its worst.
If Crabtree was worth No. 7 money, Wacky Al would’ve paid for it.
Parker has $20 million for starters. Where does he want to be? North of $38 million — outside the parameters. San Francisco says no. Now, Crabtree threatens to sit out?
The intricacies are lost when there’s so much monopoly money at stake.
As the errors pile up for the Crabtree camp, outsiders are left to wonder whether or not this is worth it anymore? If Crabtree is allowing his people to get all crybaby now, what happens when things get hard during the season? Will he quit? Will he demand a trade? Or, like I suspect, there will be more dung flung at the walls than the San Francisco Zoo.
I’m sorry, there goes those brain farts again.
Editor’s note: This column originally appeared in The Union.
This is why you hire a veteran agent. Family and Friends might make great publicists, but not agents. A veteran agent would not push his luck for someone who is coming off a major injury and hasn’t played a down in this league.
I’d like to paraphrase a little of what Jim Rome said about it: If they offer you a little less than the guy taken before you, and a little more than the guy taken behind you, you ARE getting fair market value. You don’t get paid based on where you THINK you should’ve gone. You don’t get paid for where Mel Kiper or some message board geeks said you should go.
There’s no way he does this. There’s no guarantee he’ll get taken any higher next year! Then what’s his bargaining position going to be? Not to mention, he’ll have to get paid a lot more to make up for the money that he didn’t get this year. He can’t play for anybody, so he better stay in shape. Terrible bluff, basically.