Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard isn’t the only unhappy member of the team to recently change agents. Running back Brian Westbrook, who has expressed a belief that he’s underpaid and who also has been caught in a mess relating to the accidental payment to him of $3 million in bonus money, is looking for new represenation as well.
Westbrook has fired Fletcher Smith, who represents quarterback Donovan McNabb. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Westbrook could be hiring Lamont Smith and Peter Schaffer.
Smith and Schaffer, coincidentally, represented Sheppard before he changed to Drew Rosenhaus.
Westbrook recently vented to the Inquirer about his contract.
“When I signed my contract with the Eagles 2½ years ago, they paid me for the level of play I was playing at the time,” Westbrook said. “I’m not at that level no more. I’m at a higher level of play. There’s no question about that. The numbers don’t lie. My numbers have steadily increased from that point until now. Now, I’m at the point where I’m one of the elite backs in the NFL, and I should be compensated that way.”
Talks between the team and Smith have occurred, but there’s no evidence that the two sides have come remotely close to working out a deal.
Westbrook is signed through 2010. He is due to earn a base salary of $3 million this year.
Under NFLPA rules, a player must wait five days to sign with a new agent after firing his current one.
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July 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I’ve been saying for awhile now that after all the rookie deals are done is when you’ll see Westbrook get a new deal that he’s earned. This is one case where the player has legitimately out played his old contract. I trust that the Eagles know what they have in Westbrook and since he’s handled his business the right way (unlike others) they’re be more amenable to working it out with him.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
As much as I love Westbrook, he’s leaving out the fact that the Eagles secured his services when at the time he was only a good punt returner and someone who had doubts cast upon him regarding his ability to be an every-down back.
They took care of him finacially more than he deserved at that point in his career because they believed in his ability to take it to the next level. While I do think he should get an increase in pay, he better not hold out because of it.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
“I’m not at that level no more.”
Hopefully if Westbrook gets a new deal, he’ll open up a book and read it.
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Rating: 2.8 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Betcha he hires Rosenhaus. There is no smarter agent in the biz and he has shown time and again that he is a tireless shark that will do anything to get his clients what they feel that they deserve (and put a nice chunk of change in his pocket in the process).
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Rating: 2.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
tick tock tick tock… only a matter of time before the Eagles implode with Donovan and Westbroke being discontent.
God I can’t wait till the Eagles suck with Kevin Colb under center. Cry Eagles Cry! - the one man you can’t afford to screw with is ole westbroke.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 12 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
The Eagles should rethink their way of doing business as far as far as Westbrook is concerned. He truely is an elite running back and deserves to be paid as such.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Players kill me with the “I’ve outperformed my contract.” I completely understand that a contract-is-not-a-contract, in that mgmt could boot a player and he would lose out on all non-guarenteed money, but what happens when the player underperforms after signing a big contract? Does he go to the team and offers to give money back?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
unfortunately the eagle’s like to act like tuff guys
but management must realize that this guy is the offense
on this team.
westbrook has earned a raise…period.
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Rating: 1.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
westbrook is the 2nd best running back in the league, hands down. he has been the ONLY consistent performer on offense for the eagles in the last 4 years. he deserves to be paid. if the eagles front office screw this up, i will seriously be pissed off. last year, he had the most all purpose yards in eagles history and if he wants a raise, he should get it since they aren’t going to spend it on a number 1 receiver this year.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
First off Toeny, it’s Kevin Kolb and he’s going to be a good QB. I’d be scared if I were hoping for the Eagles to lose.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Note to Eagles management: pay the man. Pay him well: he’s an elite back, and deserves to be treated as such. You don’t have to overspend on unproven rookies, so please open the pockets for someone who’s provided nothing but positives for the Eagles since day one.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Like gibsonplyr said at the top, the Eagles have implied they are going to re-work Westbrook’s contract as soon as they get those second-rounders signed.
Westbrook should’ve canned Fletcher Smith three years ago, when Smith didn’t even have a clue that Westie would lose an accrued year if he held out beyond 30 days prior to the start of the 2005 season (a story that first was broke on here).
As a result, Smith’s position cost Westbrook $42,000 that year from fines incurred.
This doesn’t even take into account the massive screw-up, 3 million dollar “bonus” Fletcher Smith failed to notice the Eagles gave Westbrook by accident.
What Westbrook should do is sue Fletcher Smith for incompetence.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Just as a side note, to the person who made the crack abotu Westbrook reading a book… Westbrook is usually an eloquent speaker. He’s gotten a little more ghetto the more he succeeds in the NFL, but one of the best things about him are his diplomatic, insightful, grammatically correct comments. I know he used the word “no” in this case, but he did not get a degree from Villanova having a bad grammar. That school is no joke. Its like Duke only way smaller.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
oh no, hopefully this will be done with quickly, and hopefully lorenzo booker wasnt a preemptive strike.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Just waiting to read that Westbrook is an Upshaw puppet taking money out of other players pockets by reneging on his contract. Or would that require equal coverage to both sides of the story?
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
so brian they paid you for your level of performance at the time. well, had they paid you on future potential and you hadn’t lived up to it, would you have given the money back?
i’m all for players demanding more money if they feel they’ve outplayed their contract; but not if they refuse to give money back when they don’t live up to it. if you wanna take, you have to give. and players don’t so i have no sympathy for them when they complain. fair is fair.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
@drew, who decided to get all grammatical with Westbrook and imply that #36 is illiterate because of his choice of colloquialism:
You misused “hopefully,” which is an adverb.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
The right way? You mean by venting to the local paper?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I don’t know about everybody else, but this is getting pretty old to me. If you sign the best contract you can get at the time, why is it not mandatory to play it out. All the time you hear about these players wanting a new contract two years after signing a 5 year deal. The team won the original negotiations, get over it, sign a shorter deal next time. You won;t get as much guaranteed up front, but you won’t be whining IF/when you get better (big if in most cases). Plax signed a big deal and is whining now, Urlacher, Westbrook. This is getting old. It would be nice to see the teams say, sit out the year watch your value go down. Just my opinion.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
This is a guy that actually does deserve more cash.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
When I was commenting on the Lito situation earlier in the day I was going to mention that The Birds need to take care of B West. But, by the same token, he did sign a contract. Weren’t there any performace bonuses in his contract? If there weren’t, which there doesn’t seem to be, then he’s right to get a better negotiator.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
“mess relating to the accidental payment to him of $3 million in bonus money”
Anyone know anything about this or have a link?
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Rating: Not yet rated
July 17th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
The Eagles are like the Jets… cheap. The front office in Philly is more committed to turning profits than winning championships. The pencil necks somehow outweigh the no-necks *shrugs*
@Toeny
Don’t write Kolb off yet, that kid can throw the deep ball as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. That was a great “reach” by Reid in the second round, made my heart sink as a Cowboys fan. Thats said, it wouldn’t shock me to see McNabb have a strong bounce-back year at all…
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
@ Vox “Betcha he hires Rosenhaus.”
The article clearly states he hired Fletcher Smith.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 17th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
all i have to say to bwest is good luck bleeding another nickle out of joey b’s tight, chapped-shrivled ass. the eagles’ fo is the best at punking their own players.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)