Devin Hester's Contract Situation

by Adam T on Apr 17, 2008 10:34 AM CDT in News Comment 17 comments

Instead of me struggling to explain the salary cap and contract issues, I am just going to post the post and let you take it for what it is.

With Deion Sanders of NFL Network trying to get Bears kick returner/receiver/only decent skill-position player Devin Hester a new contract with two years remaining on his rookie deal, Hester might think that, absent an extension, he'll finish out his current contract in 2009 and become an unrestricted free agent in 2010, which is on track to be the year without a salary cap.

Even if the Bears were to use the franchise tag on Hester in 2010, he'd be in line for a significant one-year salary, which by 2010 could be more than $10 million for a wideout.

But here's the problem, and it's something that few players realize. Though the prospect of a season without a salary cap causes many a player's eyes to be replaced by dollar signs, the reality is that, in the uncapped year, the threshold for achieving unrestricted free agency moves from four years to six.

So Hester won't be an unrestricted free agent. He'll be a restricted free agent, and he'll be in line for a salary in the neighborhood of $3 million for the 2010 season, assuming that the Bears use the high tender.

Of course, the Bears might still opt to use the franchise tag, since there very well could be a team out there that's willing to give up a first-round pick and a third-round pick for one of the most dynamic players in the league. Then again, dynamic players can lose their mojo pretty quickly (see Hall, Dante); coughing up big money and two high draft picks might ultimately be viewed as a risk not worth taking.

Regardless, the point here is that Hester essentially is caught in a five-year deal with the Bears, given realities of the uncapped year about which many players are oblivious. And if the CBA is extended and the current free agency/salary cap system is still used as of 2011, the Bears will then be able to slap the franchise tag on him, meaning that they can force him to play for six years before he gets a realistic shot at the open market.

The Bears have no plans on letting Hester hit the open market. They have publicly stated they think he is good enough to be their #1 receiver in the coming years. The Bears just need to see how much improved Hester is before they can decide how to approach him with a new contract. If Hester can put up good/above average numbers, then the Bears can throw some money his way expecting he will continue to improve with time.

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Sometimes I wonder

why journalists hate bloggers, but I would imagine it begins with the simple things, like mentioning where you got the post in the actual post, and then, perhaps providing the link to the actual article you re-posted.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/04/17/hester-is-caught-in-a-five-year-deal/

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 10:45 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

the link works

if you are able to scroll.

"Kyle Orton and Jack Daniel's could be the greatest songwriting duo since Rodgers and Hammerstein." - DJ Gallo

by mike b on Apr 17, 2008 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just because WCG doesn't know...

...what a permalink is... He did post a link after all.

by tyger1147 on Apr 17, 2008 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

but, it's one of the reasons I never read the paper. The entire industry does a piss-poor job of giving credit where it is due. If you're going to include the entire blog post of someone else, you probably ought to say "this is from PFT", even if you include the link.

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah

I don't think it is a big deal. Giving the link is doing the same thing.

That is pretty standard "blog ettiquete" to just link to it without necessarily saying, "this is from PFT."

Of course... I am not so sure that we can call PFT a journalist, but that is a different issue.

visit the mindful mission.

by big_lowitzki on Apr 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wasn't saying

Florio was a journalist, just saying this is one of the reasons why blogs are inferior, even though, there are many "journalists" that rely on the "unnamed source" and "one blogger says..." or "some say xyz". That is obviously much worse.

Still, it's just kind of tacky, especially if the post which you put on your site is 5 times longer than what you actually say.

And no, the link won't work in a few days (when it's on another page), so a permalink (if supported) is much better (@mike b).

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually

how about we give somebody the benefit of the doubt before we trash them.

PFT used to not have permalinks and all you could do is link to the main page. I didn't realize they now have them.

by Adam T on Apr 17, 2008 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They

started supporting permalinks when he got the facelift.

Regardless, the fact that the post itself doesn't even say "via PFT" when you literally put his entire post in your post is kind of lame. If you think this was "trashing" you have very thin skin. It's constructive criticism.

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

BS

You said:

"Sometimes I wonder

why journalists hate bloggers"

That is not constructive criticism. You could have just mentioned that it would work better if you linked the permalink and not the main page.

It has nothing to do with thin skin, the tone wasn't necessary. I've been criticized for my spelling and grammar plenty of times and don't take offense.

I did not know they started using permalinks. My apologies for not being the all knowing blogosphere guru.

by Adam T on Apr 17, 2008 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're being

super defensive for no reason. Simple things go a long way. All I'm saying is that prefacing the post with something like "Thanks to Mike Florio of PFT..." is much more preferable to sending everyone to a place that won't send them to the article in 24 hours. The only reason that is warranted is because you didn't just excerpt a small passage, you put his entire post up. I'm not saying you took credit for it since it's obviously quoted and it's obvious it was PFT, but it was sloppy. And that's why journalists hate bloggers. Because they're sloppy. Not to mention most of them are dumb as fuck, but the same goes for journalists, so the jokes on them.

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 3:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I did

not argue with anything about giving credit. I only argued the "this is why journalists hate bloggers" statement.

And really it is no win. If I had mentioned Florio or PFT I would have gotten flamed for using PFT as a source.

by Adam T on Apr 17, 2008 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i missed the part

where you said "the link you posted won't work in a few days wcg"

as opposed "link to the actual article you re-posted."

"Kyle Orton and Jack Daniel's could be the greatest songwriting duo since Rodgers and Hammerstein." - DJ Gallo

by mike b on Apr 17, 2008 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well,

if you want to get technical, a link to the rumor mill is not a link to the article. So, whatever, dude.

by mikebdot on Apr 17, 2008 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

dude

like every word he posted dude can like be found in the link he provided dude. so if he read the article in the rumore mill and posted from there, big deal.

"Kyle Orton and Jack Daniel's could be the greatest songwriting duo since Rodgers and Hammerstein." - DJ Gallo

by mike b on Apr 17, 2008 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

... I didn't realize at first that he only linked to the rumor mill rather than the actual post. That is a slight problem.

But really, being a blogger, and spending WAY too much time reading blogs, it is very standard to link, as WCG did, without saying, "This is from Florio" or "This is from the Tribune."

Links ARE sourcing your material.

visit the mindful mission.

by big_lowitzki on Apr 18, 2008 8:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

Florio would prefer I link to the main Rumor Mill instead of the exact post. It would force you to poke around and you'd look at more of the site.

by Adam T on Apr 18, 2008 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hester's value

Speaking of Hester, if I'm the Bears' GM I'm at least listening to offers for him. Like the article said, quite correctly, guys who rely on otherworldly quickness often find that it disappears ... well, quickly. There are the occasional Barry Sanders' out there who keep their quicks for a long time, but they're few and far between.

It would piss off a lot of Bears fans, but if you could get the equivalent of a high 1st-rounder for him I'd have to think hard about it.

by garsky on Apr 17, 2008 12:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs