tiggerpolice

Chargers go public with offer given QB
By Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 11, 2006


Safety McCree to visit Chargers today


Drew Brees is headed to New Orleans this morning to discuss with the Saints the possibility he could become their quarterback.

The Miami Dolphins are to host Brees tomorrow should he leave New Orleans not a Saint.


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“I expect to continue with a couple more teams after that,� agent Tom Condon said.

More than ever, it seems certain that, as expected, Brees will not be a Charger again.

“I'm excited,� Brees said last night, shortly after the free-agency period began. “I'm disappointed that things ended the way they did. There are so many guys – players and coaches I love and have been with for a long time now, really gone through the blood, sweat and tears. I feel like I've fought as hard as I could for those guys and them for me.

“I just wish somebody who could make the decisions would fight as hard for me as I've fought for them.�

Earlier in the day, the Chargers' brass broke its silence regarding negotiations with Brees and maintained the other side bore some responsibility in a deal not getting done.

“It's a business – not just for us but for them,� General Manager A.J. Smith said. “Drew is making a business decision. He says he wants to be a Charger. Let's cut to the chase – you want to do that if we're paying you enough money. I understand. To me, that sounds like a businessman.�

Said Chargers Vice President Ed McGuire: “At the end of the day they don't want to take the risk he doesn't come back this year. Neither do we.�

With the sides some $6 million apart on guaranteed money for the first year of what is essentially a one-year contract with an option for five additional years, the Chargers reiterated their concern over Brees' surgically repaired right shoulder.

Brees acknowledged yesterday the “worst-case scenario� is that he does not throw a pass this season, but he repeated his belief he will play in 2006 and said he expects to be ready in time for the opener. But he also wants more of a guarantee from the Chargers.

“It's what's fair,� Brees said. “If the Chargers want to – when this thing is all said and done – go public with what they offered me and what I got from another team, we can compare those numbers.�

While the potential total value of the Chargers' contract proposal is $50 million over the six years – in line with other top quarterbacks – the only guaranteed money is $2 million, well below what stars such as Tom Brady and Carson Palmer have received in recent deals.

Brees could earn an additional $8 million the first year of the contract should he play 75 percent of the team's snaps.

Should Brees be on the roster the 11th day of the league year in 2007, he would get a $6 million option bonus and be guaranteed $6.5 million for '07.

Additionally, any portion of the playing-time incentive not earned the first season would be available for Brees to earn in subsequent seasons. The incentives would be written as a one-time achievement clause, meaning should Brees better his 2005 performance in passer rating, completion percentage, interception percentage, total passing yards, yards per pass or touchdown passes he would earn the balance.

Normally tight-lipped regarding contract negotiations, Smith and McGuire yesterday responded to comments made earlier in the day by Brees.

Brees said on 1090-AM that the team had withdrawn all of the incentives from its contract offer.

Saying they could not stand that “misinformation� being put out, Smith and McGuire said the incentives have always been part of the offer.

McGuire said that upon hearing of the radio interview he called Brees and was told the player had gotten his information from Condon, his agent.

Asked about the discrepancy, Condon said facetiously, “Maybe my hearing is not good.�

Asked if that meant he understood the incentives had been pulled, Condon answered in the affirmative.

Brees did not return a phone message yesterday.

McGuire said he called Condon on March 1 and told him the team had some “wiggle room� to go up from its initial offer of $2 million guaranteed.

According to McGuire, Condon said their side would not come down from their request for a guarantee equal to what Brees made last year as the Chargers' franchise player ($8.1 million).

McGuire said he told Condon that once free agency starts the team might change the structure of the incentive package depending on its activity in the market.

“Specifically,� McGuire said, “since our offer contained a $10 million (salary cap) charge this year because the play-time incentive would count as Likely-to-be-Earned, I told Tom that if we had a lot of action in free agency that we may have to modify how the incentive was written. That's a lot different than to say that we removed the incentives.�

Condon said he would not address specifics of his dealings with the Chargers but said, “It doesn't make any difference. I really don't care what they say. They're at $2 million.�

Told of the disparate stories later, Smith said: “At some point, you've got to say, 'Someone is lying.' �

Said Brees: “Tom has no reason to lie. I told Tom from the beginning of negotiations I want to do everything we can to be in San Diego. We attempted to make that happen. And the numbers are so much more elsewhere than they are with the Chargers I'd be stupid not to take an offer elsewhere.�

Staff writer Jim Trotter contributed to this report

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports...1chargers.html

tiggerpolice

Quarterback Drew Brees is scheduled to travel from Birmingham, Ala., to New Orleans today, and the closer Brees gets to his destination, the farther he will be from a possible free agent contract with the Dolphins.
As free agency officially began at midnight Saturday, Brees set his sights on spending the weekend visiting with New Orleans officials, and the chances of him leaving the Big Easy without signing a lucrative contract are small, according to an NFL source.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...s/14072407.htm

LivnaLieTimay

"The Dolphins couldn't wait for San Diego quarterback Drew Brees to come to them on a free-agent visit. A source said Dolphins coach Nick Saban and General Manager Randy Mueller traveled to Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday morning to meet with Brees, who was scheduled to travel today to New Orleans. A private charter airplane registered to Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga arrived in Birmingham from Fort Lauderdale this morning."

"Although he was scheduled to meet with the Dolphins on Sunday, it's believed Saban and Mueller were concerned that he might cancel the trip and sign with New Orleans after meeting with Saints officials."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/f...dolphins-front

I guess the Doliphins thought he would leave here with a contract. The Phins seem pretty desperate on landing this guy, hopefully the overpay for him and we can go back to drafting Leinart.