Chris Johnson now loses a year towards free agency

[ThomasTomasz]

The standoff between Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans has reached the next level.

ESPN is reporting that the Pro Bowl running back failed to report to training camp on Tuesday, which means Johnson has now lost a year towards unrestricted free agency, per the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement.

In essence, Johnson will now enter the 2012 season with three years of service under his belt instead of four, even if he plays for the Titans in 2011.

The 25-year-old dual-threat back has made it clear to the Titans that he has no intention of reporting to camp until the team signs him to a long-term contract extension, presumably for something in the neighborhood of what DeAngelo Williams received at the start of free agency.

But here’s the rub: the Titans have said they won’t negotiate with Johnson until he shows up to camp.

It will be interesting to see which side makes the next move in this standoff. Johnson has clearly outperformed his rookie contract, but with two years left on the deal, do the Titans really need to give him an extension now?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=nfp-20110809_chris_johnson_fails_to_report

I didn't think Johnson would hold out this long, but considering his base salary isn't $1 million, I can see why.

 

[BigBucs]

He should hold out as long as it takes now. Dont need another Javon Walker situation. Hopefully he manages whatever money he made and is prepared for the long haul.

 

[Irish]

Bud Adams needs to stop being a goon and pay the man. Even if CJ falls apart in like 3 years, he has been the only reason to enjoy Titans games since McNair was hitting Drew Bennett.

 

[Chrispy]

The Titans need CJ, he is their team.

 

[Ravin]

I really hate this about the NFL. Signs a contract, gets all this money guarenteed, and yet because he is having good numbers, he wants a new contract. Fuck that shit. You signed the original contract, you get whatever it is. I hate hearing how these rookies sign contracts, then 3 years in and they want more money. You got $7M that isn't going anywhere. This $1M base salary is a joke when he is already sitting on $7M.

I get how football works, and they will just throw money at players to get them on the field. I just wish for once a GM would come out and say, "you signed a contract with us, and you will honour it or you can retire right now, in which case, we will be asking for our money back."

A contract is a contract. I don't know any other sport that players will hold out mid-way through their deal asking for a better one. Maybe they should all go to the Payton Manning school of business ethics.

And just to add, I think it's shit that people think the team MUST pay him. He signed a deal. If he didn't like it, he shouldn't have signed. Football is a team sport. If CJ was a team player he would be at cap putting his talent to use for the money he signed.

 

[Chrispy]

I really hate this about the NFL. Signs a contract, gets all this money guarenteed, and yet because he is having good numbers, he wants a new contract. Fuck that shit. You signed the original contract, you get whatever it is. I hate hearing how these rookies sign contracts, then 3 years in and they want more money. You got $7M that isn't going anywhere. This $1M base salary is a joke when he is already sitting on $7M.

I get how football works, and they will just throw money at players to get them on the field. I just wish for once a GM would come out and say, "you signed a contract with us, and you will honour it or you can retire right now, in which case, we will be asking for our money back."

A contract is a contract. I don't know any other sport that players will hold out mid-way through their deal asking for a better one. Maybe they should all go to the Payton Manning school of business ethics.

And just to add, I think it's shit that people think the team MUST pay him. He signed a deal. If he didn't like it, he shouldn't have signed. Football is a team sport. If CJ was a team player he would be at cap putting his talent to use for the money he signed.

Bengals did that to Carson Palmer

 

[stevsta]

easy to say that the players should honor their contracts when teams do not honor them either.

If Johnson gets hurt he risk's getting less money than he could of got if he wasn't hurt. and the fact RB statistically drop off after 30 and so you want to make as much as possible before that mountain-drop comes

Johnson has the leverage as well in Tennessee where they have a shit team without him and are probably finishing 3-13 or less

 

[Ravin]

Bengals did that to Carson Palmer

It does suck because good players are going to hold out, and leave/retire well before their time. And I don't think every single time a player gets pissed he should be traded, because it isn't fair to the team. If I were a GM, I'd say to players, you don't want to be here, fine, talk to me. Don't go blasting your mouth in the media. Because now for Palmer, who is basically the Bengals franchise QB, he'll get traded for nuts, and someone else will walk away laughing, all because it is basically a 'get something for him, or get nothing and he sits all year'.

 

[Ravin]

easy to say that the players should honor their contracts when teams do not honor them either.

If Johnson gets hurt he risk's getting less money than he could of got if he wasn't hurt.

Johnson has the leverage as well in Tennessee where they have a shit team without him and are probably finishing 3-13 or less

Then don't play football. To me this is not a reason for a player to sit out. You know when you play RB, you are going to get hurt and beat up.

Who is to say the team isn't honoring them? Who is to say when his contract is up, they don't offer him the biggest contract ever? Or at least a very good one? He sign a contract, and the team expects it to be honored. After the deal is done, if said team does not 'honor' him with a good deal, he can walk and go some place else. That's sports.

 

[Aso]

Bengals did that to Carson Palmer

Which is foolish because they can trade him and better their team. Mike Brown and his silly principles.

__

Also though, why is it so important for the players to honor contracts but not the owners?

 

[s@ppisgod]

I really hate this about the NFL. Signs a contract, gets all this money guarenteed, and yet because he is having good numbers, he wants a new contract. Fuck that shit. You signed the original contract, you get whatever it is. I hate hearing how these rookies sign contracts, then 3 years in and they want more money. You got $7M that isn't going anywhere. This $1M base salary is a joke when he is already sitting on $7M.

I get how football works, and they will just throw money at players to get them on the field. I just wish for once a GM would come out and say, "you signed a contract with us, and you will honour it or you can retire right now, in which case, we will be asking for our money back."

A contract is a contract. I don't know any other sport that players will hold out mid-way through their deal asking for a better one. Maybe they should all go to the Payton Manning school of business ethics.

And just to add, I think it's shit that people think the team MUST pay him. He signed a deal. If he didn't like it, he shouldn't have signed. Football is a team sport. If CJ was a team player he would be at cap putting his talent to use for the money he signed.

Stop being naive. It's a two-way business in the NFL. The teams and players break contracts all the time with hold-outs and cuts. NFL fans, by and large, are completely full of shit in this regard. A guy gets cut and doesn't see the end of his contract (the team takes a HIT), and all the fanbase can say is "oh well, he's not good anymore. Not a big loss." NEVER "oh thats BS, they signed a contract." But when a player holds out (almost always a good player that they need), all they say is he's selfish. It's hypocritical. You don't see it in other sports because in the MLB or NBA, the player sees every penny of that contract if he plays. Doesn't matter if Grant Hill gets injured and isn't the same, or if Vernon Wells sucks. If they can make it into a uniform, the team holds up their end of the bargain and pays them.
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

 

[Ravin]

Stop being naive. It's a two-way business in the NFL. The teams and players break contracts all the time with hold-outs and cuts. NFL fans, by and large, are completely full of shit in this regard. A guy gets cut and doesn't see the end of his contract (the team takes a HIT), and all the fanbase can say is "oh well, he's not good anymore. Not a big loss." NEVER "oh thats BS, they signed a contract." But when a player holds out (almost always a good player that they need), all they say is he's selfish. It's hypocritical. You don't see it in other sports because in the MLB or NBA, the player sees every penny of that contract if he plays. Doesn't matter if Grant Hill gets injured and isn't the same, or if Vernon Wells sucks. If they can make it into a uniform, the team holds up their end of the bargain and pays them.
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

And it should work both ways. Hey, you're preaching to the chour here. I'm an NHL fan, and ilya kovalchuk signed signed a 15year contract worth $100 million, with a cap hit of $6.66M. Kovy is 28 years old, meaning the team is "responsible" for a $6.66M cap hit for a 42 year old.

Average age for an NHL player to retire is around 37-38. He retires, they are off the hook for that money. Year 1 and 2 he made $6m. Next 6 years he makes 10-11.5M a season. So he gets the bulk of his money, and then it drops off. In the last 5 years of his deal he makes $10M total. So when he is 38 and ready to retire, he will have already banked $90million from the deal. And the team gets off the hook.

I think in every sport, that if you sign a contract, you are stuck with it. No matter what. Both sides of it to. NFL cuts a player, well to bad, you pay that contract.

 

[s@ppisgod]

Then don't play football. To me this is not a reason for a player to sit out. You know when you play RB, you are going to get hurt and beat up.

Who is to say the team isn't honoring them? Who is to say when his contract is up, they don't offer him the biggest contract ever? Or at least a very good one? He sign a contract, and the team expects it to be honored. After the deal is done, if said team does not 'honor' him with a good deal, he can walk and go some place else. That's sports.

Who is to say the team doesn't honor them? Are you new to the system? It's completely one-sided. It'd be like if you borrowed $1,000 from me, and were contractually obligated to pay back every cent. But I can borrow $1,000 from you, then decide in the middle of paying you back that I only wanted to pay you back $500. And the legal system (in this case, the NFL) was ok with that. Only one of us (you/the players) has to live up to the contract, while the other (me/the owners) can end it at any time for a significantly lesser amount. The responsibility is only on 1 side. If thats your idea of "honoring" a contract, the I'd really like to actually borrow $1,000 from you....
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

 

[s@ppisgod]

And it should work both ways. Hey, you're preaching to the chour here. I'm an NHL fan, and ilya kovalchuk signed signed a 15year contract worth $100 million, with a cap hit of $6.66M. Kovy is 28 years old, meaning the team is "responsible" for a $6.66M cap hit for a 42 year old.

Average age for an NHL player to retire is around 37-38. He retires, they are off the hook for that money. Year 1 and 2 he made $6m. Next 6 years he makes 10-11.5M a season. So he gets the bulk of his money, and then it drops off. In the last 5 years of his deal he makes $10M total. So when he is 38 and ready to retire, he will have already banked $90million from the deal. And the team gets off the hook.

I think in every sport, that if you sign a contract, you are stuck with it. No matter what. Both sides of it to. NFL cuts a player, well to bad, you pay that contract.

If that were the way it was (guaranteed contracts, even with cut players), then I think you'd see waaaaaaaay fewer holdouts.
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

 

[EmpireWF]

A contract is a contract. I don't know any other sport that players will hold out mid-way through their deal asking for a better one. Maybe they should all go to the Payton Manning school of business ethics.

Of course you don't see this in any other sport. The NFL is the only major sport where the contracts are not guaranteed.

There's nothing stopping owners from cutting guys and getting out from paying them millions. So why shouldn't one of the best players in the sport hold out when he's clearly being underpaid?

Johnson doesn't even have a big window in his prime to make a lot of money.

 

[Deviant]

Where I think Carson Palmer is being a bitch for retiring, I think Chris Johnson is justified for holding out. CJ is the Titans franchise. He's a premier running back in the NFL and arguably the best running back depending on how you wish to argue it.

A man who breaks now Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk's scrimmage yards record shouldn't be making a base salary of $800K year. Period. That's an insult. The only loser in this scenario are the Titans.

 

[StealthShot]

Losing an accrued season doesn't affect CJ2k it only really affects players who will be ERFA or RFA.

 

[EmpireWF]

Where I think Carson Palmer is being a bitch for retiring...

Why's that? The man is sick and tired sacrificing his body for a shitty organization.

If he's willing to stop playing instead of feeding into said shitty organization, more power to him.

 

[Hasselbeck]

This will have no effect whatsoever. Chris Johnson wants a long term deal with the Titans, I assume the Titans want the same.

He was never going to hit free agency basically.

But either way, the fact he's slated to make 800k this year.. yeah I'd probably want to hold out too.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Ravin, I would normally agree with you on contract holdouts. And it really only happens in the NFL, because of what you said- the contracts are not guaranteed all of the way.

But, in the case of Chris Johnson, I have to disagree with you. This is a player who has made three consecutive Pro Bowls, is the reason that the Titans offense can even do anything, AND he holds the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage. There is no way that player should be making $800,000 a year.

How about ownership for once, be willing to extend a player who is that valuable to their team? Because in theory, CJ has already made $7 million guaranteed for his career. If he's managed that well, he might not have to play another down of football or work and be set for his life. He can sit out indefinitely.

It also seems that Eddie George agrees with the holdout.

Unhappy with his contract, running back Chris Johnson still hasn't reported to Tennessee Titans training camp. Eddie George, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, said Wednesday that Johnson has a point.

"I look at the organization and most of the onus is on them, because they told him they would take care of him after last year," George told the (Nashville) Tennessean. "From Chris Johnson's perspective, I don't blame him for not being there. He has to do what he has to do because he is one of the top backs in the NFL and the window for a running back is small. He has to get his deal now where he has leverage.

"Chris shouldn't have had to hold out because there has been ample time to get a deal done, and you can't hide behind the fact the CBA was the holdup. To me, it's unfortunate Chris is even having to go through this because I know he wants to be there practicing with his teammates."

George, a four-time Pro Bowl player who is atop the Titans' rushing list with 10,009 yards, said it's "uncalled for" that the Titans have put themselves in this position as new coach Mike Munchak is trying to prepare his team for the season.

"Mike Munchak is doing all he can to put his thumbprint on the organization and Chris is his best player," George told the newspaper.

Johnson said last year that he wanted a new deal with $30 million in guaranteed money. The Titans revised his contract by boosting his 2010 salary by $1.5 million to $2.05 million to convince the running back to report.

Johnson is heading into his fourth season and due to make $800,000 in base salary. The final two years of his deal can max out at roughly $2.7 million.

Johnson can be fined $30,000 for each day he misses camp, but he wants to be rewarded for his production from his first three seasons. He became only the sixth man in NFL history to run for at least 2,000 yards, when he ran for 2,006 yards in 2009, and the first to rack up 2,500 yards with 500 yards receiving.

He followed that by running for 1,364 yards last season, despite finishing the season with a bruised thigh. He has started 46 of the 47 games he has played since being drafted 24th overall in 2008 out of East Carolina.

Johnson has 4,598 career yards, averaging five yards per carry, and also has 1,008 yards receiving.

"It definitely behooves everybody to make him happy so everybody can win," George told the newspaper. "Does he deserve a new contract? Absolutely he does. He has outperformed his other one. It's now time to stop messing around and get the deal done."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp...reat-eddie-george-backs-chris-johnson-holdout