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The Bears signed all their draft picks and gave Brian Urlacher the contract he wanted, but they still weren’t able to open a holdout-free training camp.
Kick returner and wide receiver Devin Hester refused to show up for the opening practice and is staging a holdout because he’s unhappy with his contract, Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Hester has two years left on the four-year, $2.86 million rookie contract he signed as the Bears’ second-round pick in 2006. He is scheduled to make $445,000 in 2008 and $530,000 in 2009. The Bears could fine him close to $15,000 for every day of training camp he misses.
The Bears and Hester’s agent, Eugene Parker, have been negotiating an extension, but Parker and Hester apparently don’t think the Bears’ offer is adequate.
It would be tough to determine how much money Hester deserves because there’s never been an NFL player quite like Hester. He’s unquestionably the best return man in football, but he so far hasn’t contributed much as a wide receiver. This year the Bears hoped he could become a more significant part of the offense, but he’s now missing valuable time working with the Bears’ quarterbacks.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I just can’t understand why the ball clubs just keep caving in to what amounts to a type of extortion with these players who sign a CONTRACT to play ball for X years at X price. And after their middle linebacker just screwed them, is there any doubt the club won’t roll over again?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Hester should have to prove himself as a receiver before the Bears give him a lot of money. He’s not going to be able to return kicks and punts for touchdown at the same rate he has thus far because team will stop kicking to him, so he has to prove he has value elsewhere.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
This is the first return he was expected to make … but didn’t.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
These idiotic Prima Donnas - with all the talent in the world, can’t live by their signed agreements. It used to be a man was as good as his word. Now he isn’t even as good as his signature.
The tail continues to try to wag the dog.
A Pox on all of them!
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I wouldn’t consider working with the Bears quarterbacks “valuable time.”
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I disagree. If ever the was a “justified” holdout, it’s this one. The Bears should have been proactive and bumped him up a bit, with incentive kickers for non-special teams production. Even if he never played a down on offense, though, Hester is worth more than $445,000, seeing as he had more TDs than any other player on that team, barring one QB (Griese - 10 passing). If you want to try and slither by, paying your top scorer under a half-mill, this is what will happen.
That said, I agree that most holdouts are pathetically selfish and whiny. Just not this one.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
return guys arent usually lights out forever. here is betting he doesnt ever have the same success again.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Why is it that players are always pushing to try to get a long term deal, and then after a few years into it they decide they want a new one? I would think signing 1-2 year deals would be the most beneficial for the players because they get the most flexibility to do what they want, and will keep their compensation current with market prices.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I’m ok with players asking for more money if they outplay their contract, IF, they all agree at their teams can do the reverse to them.
If some high price FA signs a mega deal and stinks the place up (Adam Archuleta), oh, well, sorry, we’re cutting your salary to align it with our performance. Yeah, I know they can just cut the player, but it’s the principle of the thing.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Is this really a surprise?
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Why does everyone get so gung-ho about the fact that these players signed contracts and should have to honor them? Since the teams don’t have to honor their end, why should the players have to honor theirs?
Judgement should be given on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the player is being unreasonable, sometimes not.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
#88 was taken in 2002 by Ike Hilliard.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Umdayo -
Yeah, because GMs really live up to their word all the time and keep players until the end of their contracts and don’t cut them (many times right before training camp). It goes both ways. If a guy has outplayed his contract, he should get a new deal, and if a guy is slacking, he deserves to get cut.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 pm
We’ve seen several players in the last couple years unhappy with contracts they signed a mere 2 years before. Pretty soon it will be holdouts for a contract they signed before the prior season. Then it will be the one they signed a couple months ago. There’s no question Hester’s a great player at what he does, but it is so limited I am disgusted by his holdout.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Damn agents feed the players the lines they want to hear in an effort to encourage this behavior. They are the only ones that profit from a hold-out.
The player loses (valuable team-building and scheme-learning time), the team loses (continuity), and the ownership loses (ROI is down and bad PR is up). Ultimately, the fans lose because of all of the above.
Apparently:
Team = A Corporation
Honor = Yourself
Commitment = For Suckers
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Boy and I thought all the whining in the NFC North was coming from Favre…looks like the Teddy Bears are running a close second in that race. (they’ll of course come in fourth at the end of the season)
BEARS STILL SUCK!
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
teams can cut them before the contract expires too…not like they agree to the contract.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I am sure Parker will want him paid as much as a top wide out, I say let him sit for 2 years, if they cannot work out a fair deal.
The Bears were going to try to make a wide out out of him, but it appears he would rather hold out and miss the golden opportunity. Again, I hope the Bears let him sit for two years.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Just give him whatever the hell he wants….he’s the only playmaker anyway. Dock Grossman’s pay because he’s nothing but a playtaker
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:37 pm
great….heres your chance at an opportunity to get a starting wideout position that will surely boost your case my mid season or seasons end, and now you’ve just f’d yourself. congratulations on being a highpriced specialteamer
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July 23rd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
If he didn’t play football he’d make $15 per hour.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:46 pm
@lightninglucci - Maybe you should learn how NFL contracts work before you try to comment on them. When teams cut a player early, that is not a violation of the contract. That’s why players get signing bonuses. It’s a trade off. The player gets a guaranteed signing bonus that they get to keep as long as they don’t default on their end of the contract. In exchange for that, the teams get the right to terminate the contract early if they wish. When you say “teams don’t have to honor their end” you are just flat out wrong.
As for Hester, this is a completely boneheaded move on his part. Does he deserve more then he’s making? Sure he does. The Bears openly admit that and have been in talks with his agent about a new contract for months. However, holding out is a stupid way to try to get what he wants. The question that is holding everything up is how good of a WR he can be. Hester wants to be paid like a top WR. The Bears are saying he hasn’t proven he can play like one yet (and they’re right about that). The best way for him to get the contract he wants is to show up and prove that he can be a legit starting WR. Skipping training camp is only going to knock him down the depth chart and make it less likely that he’ll be able to prove that.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
If teams have the perogative to cut players for any reason at pretty much any time during the lifetime of a contract, this sort of holdout is one of the few areas of leverage that a player has.
NFL teams are in a very privileged position compared to (say) MLB, where if a team wants to get rid of a player before the end of his contract, they have to negotiate a buyout, and they can’t just cut him.
Take away Hester’s returns for TDs from last season, and the Bears do not look like a frightening offensive juggernaut. The Bears would be well advised to settle this matter soon.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Hey Spanky, I’d hardly call it extortion when the team makes far more money off the player than the player takes home, and the team can tear up any contract that they don’t feel is worth it at any time. The only leverage a player has in ‘CONTRACTS’ is when they get paid for their VALUE. The point is that another team would be more than willing to pay him more than he’s making. He’s an impact player and instantly makes 31 other teams better. VALUE is based off of potential, and giving him WR responsibilities does nothing but increase his potential value…
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
“but he’s now missing valuable time working with the Bears’ quarterbacks.”
Hey Florio, were you able to type that last line with a straight face? Maybe the Bears would be better off putting Hester at QB and running West Virginia’s spread offense.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)