The Broncos traded a conditional pick between the 3rd round and the 6th round for Brady Quinn. Prior to the Tebow trade, we didn't have a 6th round pick and were giving Cleveland a 5th rounder. Now that we have a 6th rounder, are we giving them that instead? If the conditions were based on playing time at all, that could be the case. If so, it effectively makes the Tebow trade: Tebow and a 7th for a 4th and a 5th. Someone go find out if this is what is happening.
Like the Afflalo and Nene deals, it appears that the widely reported number for the Chandler contract includes a number of performance bonuses, many of which are usually unlikely to ever be achieved. The base salary in the contract is 5 years, 31 million dollars.
The reported contracts for both of these guys included all the bonuses they could potentially get, no matter how unlikely. Hoopshype appears to have the base numbers, which are generally used for cap purposes, etc. and are usually the numbers announced. Nene's reported deal: 5 years, 67 million. Actual: 5 years, 65 million. Not much different, but I considered 13 million a year to be the max I'd have paid him, so this is right in line. AAA's reported deal: 5 years, 43 million. Actual: 5 years, 38 million. A good chunk of change less, but still more than I would have paid. The last year also appears to be a player option.
Going into this offseason, the defensive line was broken. Now, that we have the 53 man roster mostly set, what has changed? Let's look at some of the moves.
If the NFL decides to let teams keep their 90-man rosters until after the final preseason weekend, nearly 1,200 players will flood the market on Sept. 3 when final cuts are made. Those with less than four years of experience will be subject to the waiver wire process. Others will be free to sign anywhere.
This site is usually the best at tracking the signings.
A rebuttal. Sure, there are lots of players who aren’t millionaires. However, they are not involved in this labor dispute. At all. The as-yet-unreconciled differences between the owners and player’s union (note player’s union, not players) boils down to a few percentage points on the cap numbers. The guys highlighted by Reilly are in line to receive none of that revenue. Where the top end of the cap gets set has no impact on the salaries of those players making at or near the minimum. Those percentage points matter to the players who are, in fact, millionaires. The owners haven’t unconditionally locked their doors. It is indisputably true that the guys in Reilly’s article would be better off if the union accepted the owner’s current offer than to protract this process by continuing to hold out for more. It is the millionaire player’s interests that the player’s union is representing at this stage in the negotiations. The battle is indeed between millionaires and billionaires. So go ahead and feel sympathetic for the players that Reilly mentions, just as you should feel sympathetic towards the team employees who are or will be missing paychecks, and for us fans who are even now missing out on the pageantry that is the year-round NFL football experience, having thus far been deprived of free agency. But it is not the owners alone causing that pain; it is equally the fault of the millionaire players whose interests the union is representing in this dispute. Why should I feel sympathetic towards the millionaire players who are putting their less affluent teammates in this situation by declining a deal that would instantly relieve their situation? Both sides actually involved in this dispute are powerful business entities involved in a business negotiation. Sympathy towards either side is ridiculous. Just get a deal done.
So now we know what all the wrangling about transparency is about. The owners are willing to turn over league wide numbers, while the players want the numbers broken down by team. Link.
5 first rounders for the Nuggets to choose from now.
I've seen a lot of talk that the Nuggets should move Melo now if he won't sign an extension "so we don't end up like Cleveland." But in reality, the Nuggets are in a very different situation then...
Now that the Wizards have won the lottery and the right to pick Wall, they are going to want to dump Arenas. The Nuggets should trade Kenyon and maybe JR or a draft pick for Arenas and either...
First three rounds only. It wouldn't bother me if no one reads this. It's purely for posterity purposes, so I can point to it and say I told you so if everything turns out to be true, or,...
Possibility for the Broncos? He's got tons of attitude and injury issues, but he's a 27-year-old guard with pro-bowl ability. I say if you can get him fairly cheap, definitely worth checking out.
For posterity purposes, here are my predictions about who the Broncos might actually pick in this year's draft. As I see it, I don't think free agency will likely have much of an impact on the...
As the trade deadline approaches and with the possibility of the Nuggets making a move to acquire another big man, I thought I would take the time to look back at how Wark has done in his time in...
Prior to and immediately following the draft, I was excited about Ayers as a Broncos pick for one reason: at least some scouts believed that he had the frame to bulk up a little and be a good...
The Hornets have traded for Aaron Gray, someone the Nuggets have been trying to get their hands on. http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=4857249 But the Hornets are still over the...
So I posted the beginning of this idea in a comment on the "Are NBA games fixed" article by Andrew Feinstein, and after 5 whole hours, no one has responded to it! :) Thankfully, the internet...
http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/07/16/players-media-have-trust-issues-with-mcdaniels/ is one of the most irresponsible pieces of journalism I have ever seen. Here is the context for the quote...