DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Crabtree...let's be thankful we didn't pick him

What a head case. he wants to be paid based on mock drafts
49ers’ Crabtree conducts convoluted holdout
ormally, the unpredictable football decisions of Al Davis adversely affect only the team he owns, the bumbling Oakland Raiders.

Rookie Michael Crabtree is threatening to sit out the 2009 season if the Niners don’t give him a deal guaranteeing more than $23.5 million. Shutdown Corner’s take
(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
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The NFL’s other 31 teams often benefit from his strange personnel moves, which allow talented draft picks and free agents to slide to them.

In April, the cross-bay San Francisco 49ers rejoiced when the Raiders selected wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes) seventh overall. It allowed the Niners to select Michael Crabtree(notes), a pass-catching machine out of Texas Tech, at No. 10. Predraft hype rated Crabtree higher than Heyward-Bey.

Now the Niners’ dream pick has turned nightmare. In a convoluted strategy, Crabtree is threatening to sit out the 2009 season by negotiating off mock drafts which didn’t occur rather than the real one that did.

Crabtree has decided that he shouldn’t have to be paid less because – based on all the made-up, predicted drafts – Al Davis made a mistake. He wants to be paid more than Heyward-Bey, demanding his contract reflect that it was actually he who was the higher selected receiver.

It’s a ground-breaking, if intellectually bankrupt, concept.

Crabtree’s camp said Thursday that he is even willing to sit out the year and re-enter the draft next spring unless he gets more than the $23.5 million the Raiders guaranteed Heyward-Bey. The news was first reported by profootballtalk.com. Anything less than that stratospheric number is “unacceptable.”

“We are prepared to do it,” David Wells, a cousin of Crabtree, told ESPN. “Michael just wants fair market value. Michael is one of the best players in the draft, and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players.”

The ridiculousness of a guy who’s never caught a professional pass deeming $20-something million “unacceptable” is a testament to the troublesome way the NFL pays its rookies. A sense of youthful entitlement combines with a flawed structure so that the unproven rookie often makes more than the veteran All-Pro.

While NFL players tend to earn their money – a disturbing percentage leave the game as near-cripples dealing with neurological problems – Crabtree would be best served getting to camp and focusing on the tens of millions he will earn rather than the few more he may not.

More intriguing, however, is what Crabtree is trying to pull. Contract negotiations and holdout threats aren’t new. This is. It isn’t just an unorthodox attempt to bypass the traditional (if unofficial) slotting of rookie salaries. It’s putting real value on the unreal speculation that surrounds the buildup to the draft.

Crabtree is trying to get paid off perception, not reality.

Pre-draft hype has grown exponentially over the years. What was once the domain of only hard-core fans has taken on a life of its own. All forms of media dedicate enormous resources to it. The Internet is awash in mock drafts. The draft itself has become a major event in its own right. Next April, the first round will move to Thursday prime time – where it will, no doubt, pull monster television ratings.

Still, as fun and harmless as it is to follow the various prognostications, all of it remains conjecture.

Perhaps Crabtree isn’t aware that even though ESPN will deem sportswriter speculation on “Who will the Raiders pick?” a “Cold Hard Fact,” it is, in fact, not.

Not only is none of the pre-draft coverage “real” – there is no reason to believe it is accurate.

Since there is virtually no benefit for a team to publicly disclose their honest opinions of players, teams blatantly lie about their plans. Why wouldn’t they? Everything you hear should first be assumed inaccurate, not something you can later use in contract negotiations.

The rest of the coverage and discussion that lead up to the draft is opinion – opinion based mostly on pathetically thin research.

Crabtree may indeed be a better player than Heyward-Bey, however much of the public and media sentiment to that regard is because Crabtree played on a high-profile Texas Tech team and scored a dramatic touchdown to upset Texas. Heyward-Bey, meanwhile, played on a fairly anonymous Maryland club.

Just because fans and media – very few of whom watch even a smidgen of tape, have access to team scouting reports or even comprehend the game of football all that well – were more excited about Crabtree means absolutely nothing.

Even if you could prove (and you can’t) that 31 NFL teams felt the same way, it wouldn’t matter. The draft isn’t about consensus opinions; it’s about the decision of each individual franchise.

In this case, the Raiders believed Heyward-Bay was better than Michael Crabtree and they put an oversized contract behind it. That was the only actual, factual thing that occurred. Whether everyone disagreed with Al Davis or whether his recent track record is sketchy doesn’t matter.

The pick is the pick.

Crabtree apparently operates in a world ruled by Mel Kiper Jr. He wants to be paid based on what was wrongly predicted to occur rather than what actually did. In his mind, he was the first receiver drafted, even if he wasn’t.

Talk about your mock drafts.

I remember leaks reporting that Mangini and company thought Crabtree was too big of a diva, ie too big of a risk to draft. After those reports, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach blamed Mangini and Cleveland for causing Crabtree to fall as low as he did because of the diva comments.

Looks like those reports were right afterall

Maybe this will actually force the NFL to work a Rookie salary structure similar to the NBA's into the next CBA. Here's hoping.

How in the heck can a guy ask to be paid according to a draft that didn't actually take place... What a freakin lunitic

And I get flak for my inappropriate and unrealistic stances on professional salary,....

Bring me a Super Bowl,...then make your demands.

Quote:

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Crabtree’s camp said Thursday that he is even willing to sit out the year and re-enter the draft next spring

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Yeah ...... because a WR with signability problems having sat out of football for a year would get so much more money ........

He'd be lucky to get taken in the 2nd next year if he pulled that. He'd also never recoup the money he would have lost this season.

Nonetheless ..... he sounds rather "diva-ish" at this point .... not to mention stupid.

I trying to figure out what exactly he plans to gain by sitting out a year and re-entering the draft. Correct me if i'm wrong, but he will still be the property of the 49ers until the draft kicks off, right? Meaning he can't hold a work out for other teams, no running, no catching, no interviews, no nothing.

So come next years draft, he will:

1. have done nothing in the past year to show teams that he is in shape and still able to play ball
2. still not have run the 40, which was part of the reason he fell
3. proven to everyone in the league that he thinks he's bigger then the game and a major pain in the rear

At that point, 10 would be a dream.

4. There will be some very good WR's in next years draft.

I can't believe I wanted this guy

His whole world is still hanging off that Texas catch,...now I wish he hadn't made it. At least that 3-way tie would have disappeared.

I suppose he COULD go back to finish, but that's not why he went to college in the first place,...

So, he drops out of college--now I'm not talking education here, but rather football eligibility--then pulls this.

I think Mike Leach owes Coach Mangini an apology.

That's the first thing I thought of when I heard he was wanting to holdout for possibly the whole year. What a complete dumbarse for thinking that will help him get more money. He will lose millions if he decides to not sign. He will be drafted in the 2nd round if not below. The further he drops the more teams will probably continue to pass with fear of him holding out because he thinks he is better than a 2-3 rounder. What a moron.

link

By Don Delco
NoLogoNeeded.com staff writer

After the NFL Draft last April, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach had some harsh words for the new Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini.

It was reported Mangini and the Browns thought Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree was an "diva" when he visited Berea before the draft. As we all know, the Browns did draft two wide receivers, but neither were named Crabtree.

After the draft, Leach ripped Mangini to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

"Michael Crabtree has been more successful as a receiver than that guy has a coach at this point," Leach said. " ... Part of the reason is he's (Crabtree) too shy to be like that."

Said Leach: "My definition of a diva is someone who's loud and self-absorbed. Michael Crabtree is the furthest thing from loud that I've seen."

[...]Leach described Crabtree as the "ultimate team player who would serve the 49ers well." As for Mangini? "Let's see how all those non-divas do up in Cleveland this year," Leach said.

Mangini took the high road.

"I can tell you I had a good visit with Michael,'' Mangini said during the rookie camp last May. "I'm really happy he got drafted where he got drafted and he'll have a great career. And I said that after his visit. Nothing's changed. Nothing changed from that point. Nothing will change two or three months from now.''

No, nothing changed between Leach and Mangini except, well, Crabtree is acting like a diva.

Crabtree was drafted No. 10 by the San Francisco 49ers and has yet to agree to a contract. According to ProFootballTalk.com who cites an anonymous source:

"Agent Eugene Parker is telling the 49ers that Crabtree will sit out the season re-enter the draft in 2010, unless the team gives Crabtree what he wants.

Of course, what Crabtree specifically wants isn't known, since Parker (as multiple sources tell us) still hasn't made a proposal."

How credible that is remains to be seen. Usually you have to take what ProFootballTalk.com with a grain of salt. Still, Crabtree's holdout for whatever reasons speaks to his "diva" character Mangini so accurately

There is a 0% chance he sits out the whole season.

1. You don't get paid to sit out.

2. If he were to go into next year's draft he can't work out for other teams.

3. You don't get paid to sit out.

Sounds to me like Crabbtree is getting bad advice from his cousin. Whats the old saying? Dont mix business with family?

I believe his agent is his cousin.

Some times it ain't easy to be a free Market Advocate

Except the initial comments about being "prepared to sit out" were put out there by his cousin (who is also his 'advisor') while his agent denied it.

Quote:

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San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree is prepared to sit out this season and re-enter the NFL draft in 2010, David Wells, Crabtree's cousin and adviser, said Thursday.

"We are prepared to do it," Wells said. "Michael just wants fair market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial."

However, Crabtree's agent told ESPN.com that no such threat has been made on his part.

Addressing the report, agent Eugene Parker told ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon: "You've known me a long time and I'm not a guy who makes threats. Nor am I a guy who negotiates in the public. I don't know where this came from but no such threat has been made."

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link

Seek treatment, young man. Don't skip the meds!

Well, and that's to assume teams would feel he's worth it. There are going to be other WRs coming out that teams will have more updated scouting reports on, etc. Now, is it possible he'd be taken high? Sure.

Frankly, I'll believe it (him waiting until 2010) until I see it. He'll sign with the 49ers before the regular season.

FYI I think his cousin is a former Bodyguard for Pacman Jones nuff said

Quote:

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In this instance, waiting to work out a deal with Smith has hurt the Bengals. If they'd moved before Heyward-Bey had signed, the Bengals likely could have gotten Smith for a reasonable increase over the base value of the contract given to last year's sixth overall pick, which a league source tells us was $32.5 million, not $40 million.

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HAHA Bungals once again. Just goes to show you how stupid the rookie signing scale is and needs to be addressed in the next colective bargaining agreement. Why would the bengals even offer him a less deal than the guy picked after him? Waiting forever to sign a rookie helps no one.

"Also, be glad we didn't take Andre Smith as well:"

ONly cause I was a Smith pimp

The Bengals notoriously know for their Cheaps...or standing by their guns to offer Smith LESS THAN what the #7 over all pick signed for...a lot less.

Smith's camp is right in line with the slot as in a couple % better than #7...and nowhere close really to the #5 QB contract Sanchez signed.

JMHO

There are still a number of guys many of us wanted unsigned...

Smith, Crabtree, Curry, Jenkins, Monroe, Ayers... this whole heyward-bey thing has messed up a lot of negotiations.

*edit* Oh and I forgot Raji.

No signature from Curry yet,...?? Hmnn, I thought this kid was " The Whole Man Package. "

Adam_Schefter Aaron Curry's deal with Seattle: 6 years, $60 million, including $34 million in guaranteed money. Lots of sheckels.

Link?

Thanks! That's a heck of a deal