Not sure what a "worss" is. And he never held out for record money. Get your facts straight. The NFLPA used his declaration as a TE as opposed to a WR to present a test case to the league. It had nothing what so ever to do with any record breaking attempt at anything.

And, no, the precipitous drop had everything to do with being misused by Seattle.

Graham wanted more money than the TE franchise tag. Fact. And being tagged as a WR meant about $5M more at the time. Fact. So no, the NFLPA didn’t dream up the scenarios. JG held out or fought for more money than the Saints wanted to pay him. In the end he became the highest paid right end in history. Fact!

Worth it? I thought so. JG was historic at his position. But he faded at the end the very next season.

And no, Seattle couldn’t get the most out of Graham and it cost Darrell Bevell his job.

Sorry, but YOU have this wrong. The NFLPA used the Graham case to try to set a precedent. Graham NEVER personally demanded WR money.

I've tried to factor this into my own opinion, and as I said earlier we must all recognize this is a business, but Jimmy's arm wasn't twisted. He is the captain of his own ship. He could have shut all that down the minute he wanted to by telling his agent to shut up and sit down. I'm not buying it, particularly after his parting shots against the organization, as if he had no role in his departure. Had he (via his agent) been reasonable he'd have been a Saints for life.

I'm over it, but Jimmy wasn't "merely pawn, in game of life". Agents are like lawyers. They must be managed, otherwise they'll run up your bill and screw up your life.

It was not Graham's agent driving the truck. It was the NFLPA and their bank of lawyers. In this case Graham was exactly what you claim he wasn't ... a pawn. Yes, his agent had a vested interest, yet neither he, nor Graham, was the driving force. During the whole ordeal Graham was completely out of the picture. He never made any statement, nor even an utterance. The whole confrontation was between the players' association and the league's front office. The PA had been waiting for an opportunity to make the challenge and Graham's case happened to be their first, and best, opportunity.

Graham was just a 28 year old kid and the NFLPA was perhaps the most powerful union in the world. He had little say in the matter. It is easy for a fan to say he should have stood up to his union, but that's easier said than done.

Well I wasn't there so I can never know, but I know that I simply do not believe that Jimmy was simply an unwilling pawn in his own contract negotiation. The fact that Jimmy never made any statement was because his agent told him to sit down and shut up and that is what he did. He didn't have to. He could have stopped that madness at any time - he was holding out for as much money as he could get. To that end I don't necessarily blame the man, but the tactics that were used were unsightly and cost him his position on our team. He was not beholden to any other person or group of people other than by choice.

If anything else were true somebody would have gone to jail.

I don't think you understand the power that the NFLPA holds over its membership. Any tactics that were used were solely to the discretion of the PA's lawyers. Graham was indeed a pawn just as any other union member in the same predicament. None of it was illegal, but any player in his position would have felt highly obliged to consent to the PA's "wishes".

And that whole contract affair did not affect his position upon the team. The only reason why Graham was traded was that it was a stipulation by Seattle that was required for the Saints to get Max Unger and a 1st round pick. The Saints had originally offered up Kenny Stills instead, but the Seahawks demanded Graham as part of the package or no deal would be made. That's why it was such a surprise to both Graham and Brees when the deal was announced.

I've tried to factor this into my own opinion, and as I said earlier we must all recognize this is a business, but Jimmy's arm wasn't twisted. He is the captain of his own ship. He could have shut all that down the minute he wanted to by telling his agent to shut up and sit down. I'm not buying it, particularly after his parting shots against the organization, as if he had no role in his departure. Had he (via his agent) been reasonable he'd have been a Saints for life.

I'm over it, but Jimmy wasn't "merely pawn, in game of life". Agents are like lawyers. They must be managed, otherwise they'll run up your bill and screw up your life.

Sorry, but YOU have this wrong. The NFLPA used the Graham case to try to set a precedent. Graham NEVER personally demanded WR money. Go check it out. THIS is a FACT. Graham did, however, agree, with the consent of his agent, to allow the NFLPA to use his case as a test case. By the way, the NFLPA did the exact same thing when they used Brees' situation concerning a second franchise tag by a different team.

In both cases the NFLPA had the long-term good of their constituents in mind and it was about nothing but business. I cannot understand why some fans take these type of issues so personally. It makes no sense. The teams and the players know better.

I am far from infallible. Maybe I do need to dig deeper - and I will. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.