faba Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 By Ron Borges, Globe Staff | July 26, 2006 FOXBOROUGH -- Barring a last-minute change, the Patriots will open training camp Friday without one of their most significant players for the second year in a row. Article Tools After mulling his options for several days, No. 1 wide receiver Deion Branch decided last night he will not report to camp despite facing a $14,000-per-day fine. A year ago, Richard Seymour sat out of camp until the Patriots agreed to bump up his contract by more than $1 million before making him one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive linemen this past offseason. ``Deion will not be in camp until he feels he's being treated fairly," said Branch's agent, Jason Chayut. Branch, who has a year remaining on his rookie contract, which was signed in 2002, has yet to comment publicly on his situation. He did not attend the team's mandatory minicamp and now says he won't be at the opening of training camp. The Patriots made an offer to Branch in May they claim would have paid him an average of $6.25 million over three years or $5 million over four (2006-2009), but the deal was heavily backloaded, with more than $9 million of it coming in the final two seasons of the contract, at which time clubs often try to renegotiate. The signing bonus also was split over two years, unlike the $8 million bonus Branch's former teammate, David Givens, received this offseason from the Tennessee Titans, and the $13.5 million bonus paid to the Colts' No. 2 receiver, Reggie Wayne, as part of a six-year, $40 million deal. Branch believes the Wayne deal best reflects his value, but the Patriots, who argue Wayne has usurped Marvin Harrison as Indianapolis's No. 1 receiver, disagree. If Branch plays out the final year of his contract, he would earn barely 20 percent of what Givens, who was drafted the same year on the seventh round, will earn this season in Tennessee. Branch is due $545,000 in salary and $500,000 for reaching an incentive bonus for yardage last season. If Branch duplicates his career-best numbers of a year ago, when he led the club with 78 receptions and 998 receiving yards, his five-year totals would closely approximate Wayne's. Playing in a more prolific passing offense (although one that has produced no Super Bowl appearances), Wayne has caught 304 passes for 4,164 yards and 28 touchdowns in five seasons. If Branch duplicates his 2005 numbers, his five-year totals would fall 13 receptions short of Wayne's (291), 422 yards behind him (3,742), and nine scores in arrears (19). Branch's totals were severely limited by his injury-shortened 2004 season, in which he played only nine games, catching 35 passes for 454 yards, and 4 scores. That was the season in which he roared back after being inactive for seven weeks to win the Super Bowl MVP award with 11 catches for 133 yards against the Eagles. He ranks third all-time in Super Bowl career receptions with 21, trailing only Jerry Rice (33) and Andre Reed (27). The Patriots believe their offer is reflective of the market but Branch believes he is being shortchanged, in part because the signing bonus is not lucrative enough and in part because the deal would effectively preclude him from being a beneficiary of free agency. If he were playing well after the 2009 season and a new deal could not be reached, the team simply could franchise him. A year later he would be entering his 10th season, which is not when wide receivers often receive big paydays. The Patriots waived defensive back Gemara Williams. Williams, 23, was signed by the May 8 as a non-drafted rookie free agent from the University of Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 "Deion will not be in camp until he feels he's being treated fairly," said Branch's agent, Jason Chayut". Treated fairly? The friggn' guy has 3 Super Bowl rings and a Super Bowl MVP trophy. He has absolutely no leverage whatsoever in this situation. What a friggn' dumbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetfan13 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Treated fairly? The friggn' guy has 3 Super Bowl rings and a Super Bowl MVP trophy. He has absolutely no leverage whatsoever in this situation. What a friggn' dumbass. Glad to hear you say that Tx, I was wondering how you felt about the situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonEJet Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Glad to hear you say that Tx, I was wondering how you felt about the situation Who gives a crap what he thinks about the situation He's the dumbass if he thinks the WRless Pats have all the leverage. How does a team with ONE viable option at WR hold all the cards?? Me thinks Deion will get his payday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Who gives a crap what he thinks about the situation He's the dumbass if he thinks the WRless Pats have all the leverage. How does a team with ONE viable option at WR hold all the cards?? Me thinks Deion will get his payday Do you really think the Pats will cave in on this situation? No way in hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Glad to hear you say that Tx, I was wondering how you felt about the situation This stuff really pisses me off. He is still under his original contract and that should be honored. If he goes out and has another good season, then his big payday will come. Get your a$$ into camp Deion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFSIKH Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Who gives a crap what he thinks about the situation He's the dumbass if he thinks the WRless Pats have all the leverage. How does a team with ONE viable option at WR hold all the cards?? Me thinks Deion will get his payday He will get paid. The Patriots do have the leverage. Branch is real good, but he is not as talented as Harrison or the physical prescence of TO. This is the only thing he can do to get paid early. Just like Seymour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garb Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 1) They will work the deal out. Quite frankly, I think the deal they offered him was pretty darn good. 2) The Pats are real thin at WR - but they still have the leverage here. Deion makes squat - compartaively speaking - a daily fine of $14,000 is 'gonna hurt. Money talks. 3) Ron Borges is the biggest Pats basher on Earth. He will spin EVERYTHING to try to make the Pats look cheap and bad. The man is a epic schmuck. 4) Still trying to figure out what the Pats are doing with all their money. They are in terrific cap condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 This photo will be the cover of the Patriots 2006/07 yearbook: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Where is that team unity on the Pats that helped them win championships? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 4)Still trying to figure out what the Pats are doing with all their money. They are in terrific cap condition. They are saving it and will eventually make a donation to the Human Fund in Leon Hess' name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn212 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The precident had been set with Richard Seymour last year and guess what , they paid up!! Granted a D- Linemen of Seymour's ability is more important then a WR..I believe the main thing that will get him to camp on time is if he has a signed contract( which he does) the penalty is now 14,000 a day for staying home as opposed to 5,000 last year..that will motivate most to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFSIKH Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 4) Still trying to figure out what the Pats are doing with all their money. They are in terrific cap condition. One key to the Patriots' success has been finding diamonds in the rough in the draft. Remember how much Jets' fans hated Deoin's drafting? Problem is, they eventually want to get paid. Deoin could be in camp when it opens, but who will eventually miss it in the future because they have left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 This stuff really pisses me off. He is still under his original contract and that should be honored. If he goes out and has another good season, then his big payday will come. Get your a$$ into camp Deion. Another shill for the front office. The original contract is basically NFL mandated. It's not like he got to sign it on the free market. Let him go out and tear his ACL and then where will he be? NFL has been railroading players forever. Most of them are out of league before their initial contract is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 The precident had been set with Richard Seymour last year and guess what , they paid up!! Granted a D- Linemen of Seymour's ability is more important then a WR..I believe the main thing that will get him to camp on time is if he has a signed contract( which he does) the penalty is now 14,000 a day for staying home as opposed to 5,000 last year..that will motivate most to report. I forget exactly what the cutoff date is - he can report to the team like halfway through, or by week 10 or something & get credit for the season? But at $15,000/day - assuming it's week 10 (Nov.12) - that's about 100 days or $1.4M. Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I forget exactly what the cutoff date is - he can report to the team like halfway through, or by week 10 or something & get credit for the season? But at $15,000/day - assuming it's week 10 (Nov.12) - that's about 100 days or $1.4M. Ouch. Yea, Dieon has a ton of leverage. What a dumbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Yea, Dieon has a ton of leverage. What a dumbass. He really is a dumbass. He'd be the only experienced WR on the roster this year. He's still yet to reach 1000 yards. If he puts up a 1000-yd/8-td season he'll make another $2M/year on his next contract. Plus there'd be a bidding war for him instead of only negotiating with NE (if Givens got that ridiculous contract in free-agency, Branch should get much more). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFSIKH Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 He really is a dumbass. He'd be the only experienced WR on the roster this year. He's still yet to reach 1000 yards. If he puts up a 1000-yd/8-td season he'll make another $2M/year on his next contract. Plus there'd be a bidding war for him instead of only negotiating with NE (if Givens got that ridiculous contract in free-agency, Branch should get much more). Will a 1000 yard season make him taller? Bigger? I like Branch. He is over estimating his value though. If he was a wideout on the Jets would he be as good? No way. If you were a GM of the Jets, would you give him 7-8 million per? Unlikely. He obviously has talent, but how much of his success is having Brady throwing the ball? Do you want to pay 7-8 million per for a 5-9 193 lb guy? Steve Smith maybe, Deoin? TBD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Will a 1000 yard season make him taller? Bigger? I like Branch. He is over estimating his value though. If he was a wideout on the Jets would he be as good? No way. If you were a GM of the Jets, would you give him 7-8 million per? Unlikely. He obviously has talent, but how much of his success is having Brady throwing the ball? Do you want to pay 7-8 million per for a 5-9 193 lb guy? Steve Smith maybe, Deoin? TBD. Well that was kind of my point. He's a money player in the post-season. But a single 1000-yd/5-td season (and also a single 16-game season) ain't gonna get him the dollars he's seeking. He must think Bradway is the Pats GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFSIKH Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Well that was kind of my point. He's a money player in the post-season. But a single 1000-yd/5-td season (and also a single 16-game season) ain't gonna get him the dollars he's seeking. He must think Bradway is the Pats GM. If you are going to make sense as a Jets' fan, I think you need to put a quailfier out there first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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