lumm0x

I am very hopeful we can keep these two together for many more years. It's sad to see Smith air his discontent to the media. He should have professionally made his case with Loomis and Payton and done his job. I fully agree he will be due for a big pay day, and hopefully the path he takes to get there would have reflected their willingness to re-structure him prior to his contract running out.

Now with this I can see the team getting their feathers ruffled and it becoming an area of contention for this season and into next. I am sure the team would have approached him the following offseason to start some talks had he not jumped the gun like this. Too bad.

papz

Yep... this definately should have been kept behind closed doors.

scott406

In the days of the internet very few things are kept in house.
I have yet to see a quote from Smith himself, only a report from Adam Schefter. He probably is upset, along with a ot of other players in the league.

biloxi-indian

Exactly. Also, we all have seen where an agent gets ahead of his headlights on things of this nature. We may wake up one morning to see Smith's looking for a new agent.

ScottyRo

An opposite situation is unfolding in New Orleans, where the Saints signed their franchise defensive end Charles Grant to a seven-year contract worth up to $63 million. Grant is now happy; New Orleans other defensive end, Pro Bowl selection Will Smith, is not.

Smith has two years remaining on a contract that is scheduled to pay him less than $1 million this season. Smith now is seeking a new contract and he is hoping and expecting talks aimed at a new contract to start soon, if they haven't already.

Personnel people around the league believe that Smith is every bit the player that Grant is, if not better, it's just that Grant had the fortune of having his contract expire now. But this is a prime example of the ripple effects of any lucrative contract that any team in the league now hands out. Somebody is going to be happy, and somebody is not.

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10164717

Above is the article where PFT got their information. My feeling is that Smith should wait another year before asking for a new contract. I don't mind players wanting to get a new deal with one year left since that can get us past the hassle of the franchise tag, but two years is just too early.

Instead of greedily wanting to get his money now, the signing of Grant should indicate to him that the Saints are going to give big contracts to their important players. We can go back and forth on the which DE is better debate, but the bottomline is Grant played out his contract without pulling any of this dissension in the ranks crap. One has acted like a leader (at least until the franchise tag) and the other is acting like a greedy prima dona.

My vote will be for keeping the leader and drafting the prima dona's replacement next year.

biloxi-indian

Smith is scheduled to make $695K this year (plus some incentives)...and Grant is making around $8mm this year...with Smith having better numbers and Pro Bowl 2006 year. I believe I would be asking for a RAISE (contract or no contract). Just don't do it though the media!

ScottyRo

No difference. If the coworker got a new contract that paid more even though production was the same, then how could I complain. I would expect the same raise, when my contract was to be renewed.

Comparing what Grant said/did when he was franchised to what Smith is doing now is not fair to Grant. Grant played out his contract before complaining. Will Smith has not. That's why Smith is acting prima dona to me.

There's a big difference in that.

scott406

Will smith will be paid a lot of money very soon. The probelm this year is teams had a lot of salary cap space and a not so good free agent class. When you look at what the Cowboys, Browns, Chargers, and Bills paid for Leonard Davis, Eric Steinbach, Kris Dielman, and Derrick Dockery, respectively, you see a problem throughout the league. That problem being none of these guys have ever been named to a Pro Bowl. Yet each of them is swimming in over $15 million in guaranteed money. The floor is getting pushed up for future deals, and the number will only continue to skyrocket. If Nate Clements gets $80 million over eight years, what would a guy like Champ Bailey get? Ditto C. Grant/ Will Smith

BRSaintsFan

The difference is that me and my coworker do not play in the NFL. I agree through the media is not the correct way to do it. But honoring the original contract is crap IMO because if Im a player, why should I? I certainly know that if the team thought I was worth less than I was making, they would restructure or terminate my contract before it was up. So why should I, thinking that I am worth more than I am making, honor the original terms, especially when I know that other suitors will be lining up to offer a lucrative contract for my services. I dont like that it hurts the Saints but from a player's perspective, I would be doing the exact same thing because I know somewhere down the line, likely with a year or two left on a present contract, I will be asked to take a pay cut or my contract will be terminated. Goes both ways.

papz

All fake money... don't be fooled by the value of the contracts you see. Of that 80 million for Clement, he's probably only going to see about 25 million of that over the first 3 years.