Jags finally sign their 1st round pick

by shake n bake on Aug 27, 2008 10:50 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

Just over a week before the season opener, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed their 1st round pick. Derrick Harvey held out for over a month, before the he was finally able to come to an agreement with the Jags.

What took so long? At first glance Harvey's deal is exactly what would be expected based on the deals signed before and after him in the draft. The sticking point according to ESPN's reports was the triggers for escalator clauses. ESPN reports that the deal's escalators activate with less playing time than in the deals signed ahead of Harvey.

So not only did the Jags trade a pile of draft picks to move up for Harvey then not sign him for the 1st month of camp. When they finally did sign him it was on terms favorable to Harvey. They gave up a month of their top 10 pick just to give in to him and give him a better deal than his slot dictated. Nice work.

0 recs | Comment 10 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

That's not entierely fair

While I think they should have just eaten the money two weeks ago, the Jaguars signed Harvey for a far more appropriate deal than Kremer/Condon/CAA was trying to force on us.

The real hangup was that the Jaguars were going to base the escalators on 75% of defensive snaps, which nobody in the Jaguars rotation has done in three seasons. The “give in” was in moving some of those escalators from 75% to 50%.

Ironically, his missing so much time means he certainly won’t be meeting those goals this season.

Seriously though, has a top ten pick ever signed a deal that was favorable to the team? Is any multi-million dollar deal that could be one play away from wasted money ever a good thing? Call out the Jaguars if you must, but they were the only team to even TRY and stop the spread of top five money into the top ten. The Saints and Jets are the teams that screwed this up, not the Jaguars.

-Chris

Big Cat Country!:: The Official Home of the Unofficial Blog of the Jacksonville Jaguars!

by River City Rage on Aug 27, 2008 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If you're keeping your 1st round pick out

for 33 days while working on a contract, the player should be the one bending over and taking it on the contract.

It should be the opposite of the Matt Ryan deal. The Falcons needed Ryan in camp both as the face of the franchise and because they wanted him to start the first game, so they shelled out a ton of bonus money. The deal was above his slot, but the Falcons got their “franchise” QB (quoted because I’m not a Ryan fan, see my intangibles rant). The Jags should have either gotten him in on time, or gotten a good deal on the contract. They did neither.

"I ain't racin'
I'm just sprintin'
cuz I don't wanna finish
they diminish
I replenish"
-Lil Wayne "Let the beat build"

by shake n bake on Aug 27, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're still not accurate

Paul Kuharsky’s opinion:
"As for the contract, if you’re looking for a winner, it’s the Jaguars.

Compared to the team’s last offer as reported by John Clayton on Aug. 19, the one Harvey signed was about the same in guaranteed money, went up about $800,000 in the base package and went up about $400,000 in the maximum package. He did get easier triggers for $6.2 million in incentives and escalators."

So the triggers dropped but the Jags barely went up in money. Kremer wanted a deal closer to Ellis and he didn’t get it. To can claim it is a ‘screw up’ or ‘pretty big screw-up’ is nothing more than trying to stir the pot. Kremer gave more ground than the Jags FO. Your picture is not accurate.

If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.

Formerly known as The Village Idiot.

by bwfull on Aug 27, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They gave ground in the last week

The initial offer you are citing is from over 20 days into the holdout. They gave way more ground than 800K and easier escalators.

"I ain't racin'
I'm just sprintin'
cuz I don't wanna finish
they diminish
I replenish"
-Lil Wayne "Let the beat build"

by shake n bake on Aug 27, 2008 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They did give ground

However what they gave up isn’t any where near what Kremer wanted. The Jags initial offer, as reported by Vito was the following:

“Harvey gained over $3 million in the holdout, though, because the Jaguars’ offer on July 28 was $16.885 million in guaranteed money and $21.140 million in base package.”

Kremer was looking for Gholston\Ellis money. Ellis received $19.5 mil guaranteed and $32 mil base. He maxes out at $49 mil. Now how often do players reach that max value?

Do you want to argue that the Jags had to negotiate above their initial asking price? Well, that is what teams do. However, the language being used is “screw up” and “pretty big screw up”. The numbers simply don’t lend one to define the situation as such.

If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.

Formerly known as The Village Idiot.

by bwfull on Aug 28, 2008 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Screw up

That’s a pretty big screw-up on the part of the Jaguars.

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by BigBlueShoe on Aug 27, 2008 11:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

First round ridiculous money

This is just more of the ridiculous situation that is develop with the top few picks. How can any rookie justify the huge contracts and GUARANTEED money these kids who have never played at the pro level are receiving.. It isn’t just the JAGS. This is just the latest increment of stupidity with rookie money.

Can you say ROOKIE CAP in the next collective bargaining agreement….

An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing...

by bluegirl on Aug 27, 2008 12:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs