Silence is golden for Owens, agent

[1niksder]

Silence is golden for Owens, agent

By Stephen A. Smith

Inquirer Columnist


Shhhh! That is the sound oozing out of Terrell Owens' camp right now.

Silence. Conspicuous by its nature and appropriate as well.

Because we all know that is the only strategy left for the Eagles' disgruntled wideout.

You don't need to hear, "The Eagle is away from the nest" on Owens' cell phone to know what's going on. Another season is fast approaching. Owens' contract squabble has not been resolved. A mandatory minicamp already has been skipped, and, by all indications, training camp is next on the list of things to miss.

But if Owens is smart - and boy, does he need to be smart over the next few weeks - he'll continue to say very little before training camp starts. He'll act like the boss instead of the client and make sure new agent Drew Rosenhaus is muted, as well. Then he'll go about the business of quietly trying to get something done with the Eagles.

Even if it means showing up to training camp at Lehigh University at the end of the month.

Even if it means replacing Rosenhaus as his agent.

Now, no one's advocating that Rosenhaus be dismissed. The man is an admitted shark who smirks while eating his prey. The last time I checked, he is the agent of choice for most athletes blessed with common sense.

Except it's not about right or wrong here anymore. It's not about whether Owens should honor his contract, or simply do what National Football League teams do at their discretion - arbitrarily void contracts because the collective-bargaining agreement allows them to do so.

But it can't be about Rosenhaus anymore, either.

The fact is, it has been all about Rosenhaus thus far.

"I called Andy [Reid] and talked to him," Rosenhaus was quoted as saying in the Daily News on June 20. "I mention this because I think people have the sense that I don't have a professional dialogue with him."

The Eagles refuted that claim the next day.

Time and time again, we have seen Rosenhaus' face on ESPN's SportsCenter, Rome Is Burning, Fox's Best Damn Sports Show, Period... and the list has gone on and on.

He's always got that sly smile. Always snatching attention. Somehow, some way, always noting that he has negotiated more than a billion dollars in contracts. Of course, he never fails to mention how successful he has been in doing so - even while adding how much respect he has for the Eagles organization.

Nobody's buying it because no one cares. The Eagles quietly say Rosenhaus leaked information about Owens' contract situation. Rosenhaus, meanwhile, has told everyone from Los Angeles to South Beach to Bristol, Conn., home of ESPN, that such an assertion is bogus.

Meanwhile, there is $48 million to $49 million in contract money over the next seven years that Owens is sneezing at, believing that $5 million due in a roster bonus next spring is nothing but a significant incentive for the Eagles to cut him before the 2006 season.

After recording 77 catches, 14 touchdowns, 1,200 yards, and averaging 15.6 yards per catch in just 14 regular-season games last season, Owens rightfully believes he deserves more of his dollars guaranteed. And all anyone can think about is calling him a fool.

Allow me to digress for a second. For those who think anyone who agrees with Owens is nothing more than a cheerleader and a stooge on his behalf - which I've been accused of being - please remember: I really couldn't care less. Neither Owens nor the Eagles sign my checks. There's no vested interest this way. And if Owens ends up gone from Philadelphia, so be it. Eagles fans will be the ones suffering. I will be just fine.

To me, it's too obvious what's going on. You don't get to four consecutive NFC championship games, your first Super Bowl appearance in nearly a quarter century, aim for another shot, and still plan on keeping a 31-year-old wide receiver. Especially one who probes salaries of colleagues and competitors the way Philadelphians scan cheesesteak shops. Not when you're the Eagles and the future is always on your mind.

On the Eagles' Web site, owner Jeffrey Lurie is quoted as saying that Owens "has probably been victimized by some very bad advice. He's built up such goodwill, especially with the fans. I think he'll realize that the value of goodwill is so much greater than the value of trying to break a contract."

Perhaps, he will. If he's able to live in peace and quiet. Except - from Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, Green Bay Packers wideout Javon Walker, to Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James and a host of the 40 veteran players Rosenhaus added to his NFL-high 89 clients - there is no such thing.

Life is hectic when you're on top. But it is harder when you fall.

Especially when the thump is so loud everyone hears it.

And it's even worse to stomach when someone else profits because of it.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/12098313.htm

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

T.O.'s camp HAS been kinda quiet recently. I disagree, however, that his "silence is golden", as Stephen A Smith asserts. It doesn't seem that the Eagles will budge on their stance, and Owens could be left out in the cold.

[SKINZ_DOMIN8]

T.O.'s camp HAS been kinda quiet recently. I disagree, however, that his "silence is golden", as Stephen A Smith asserts. It doesn't seem that the Eagles will budge on their stance, and Owens could be left out in the cold.

Owens is clearly in the right in this instance. He had the BEST........BEST..........BEST....receiving year of ALL TIME for the IGGLES. So freaking pay him what he deserves to be paid. Anyone else would do the same thing in Owens' situation.

I also find it incredibly comical that all these idiot Eagles fans think their offense is going to be as good if not even better without Owens. Yeah right. Owens made McNabb last season, not the other way around. Owens made the Philly passing game season totally on his own. Without him, Philly has no passing game whatsoever.

Bottom line idiot Eagles fans, either pay Owens what he deserves to be paid or accept a 9-7 season at best.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Bottom line idiot Eagles fans, either pay Owens what he deserves to be paid or accept a 9-7 season at best.

[HailSkins94]

Everyone knows Owens in in the WRONG in this case because he still signed the contract even though the NFLPA told him NOT TO!! He signed the contract now he needs to honor it, you can't take it back that's why you use your brain the the first place. Props to the eagles for getting him at a bargain and props to them for not budging, that is just good front office mangement. If contracts were'nt honored then we would be in better cap position because we would be getting money back from all of the free agent duds over the years. It's the way it goes...

[SKINZ_DOMIN8]

Everyone knows Owens in in the WRONG in this case because he still signed the contract even though the NFLPA told him NOT TO!! He signed the contract now he needs to honor it, you can't take it back that's why you use your brain the the first place. Props to the eagles for getting him at a bargain and props to them for not budging, that is just good front office mangement. If contracts were'nt honored then we would be in better cap position because we would be getting money back from all of the free agent duds over the years. It's the way it goes...

So you admit he overplayed his contract? Thank you.

He is doing what any smart person would do and demand to be paid the way he should be paid, not how some ignorant, unknowledgeable fans FEEL he should be paid.

The bottom line is he exceeded his contract and should reap the rewards.

[HailSkins94]

Yeah he did, but if he wanted to cry about it, he shouldn't of signed it in the first place. He should of asked for more to begin with instead of after the season is over with. He has no one to blame but himself for signing the contract. All he does is run his mouth and cry...he cried about Jeff Garcia, he's cried about Mcnabb, he's cried about the Ravens deal, now he is crying about the Eagles deal(mainly Rosenhaus), I see a pattern there. All he wants to do is whine all day until the league gives in, well it's not going to happen this time.

[air_hog]

Yeah, while I hate the Eagles, I respect their Front Office. They are sending the message that they have TO under contract which means they have all power. Plus I think the Eagles know TO will play next season, I mean the whole reason he wants more money is because "he needs to feed his family" and since he is getting up there in age, he needs some quick cash. Well TO isn't getting any younger, and 4 mil. or whatever he's making is better than 0$.

Hopefully if we get stuck in a TO type situation (say with Sean Taylor) I hope we don't give in because in the end, no one will pass up 2 million or so to play a game. Plus we have Sean under contract for 6 more years.

However, I was watching ESPN last night and they had this segment with Rosenhaus and man, that guy is tough. He knows what he's doing and honestly, if I was a player, I would want Rosenhaus as my agent too.

[General Failure]

I mean the whole reason he wants more money is because "he needs to feed his family"

BZZT! Wrongo, chap. He wants a new deal because his agent doesn't get paid from his old deal. Haven't I mentioned this a couple dozen times already?

He did say he needs to feed his family, and that does sound a lot better than "I need to feed my agent." But it's not the truth.

[HailSkins94]

I mean the whole reason he wants more money is because "he needs to feed his family"

BZZT! Wrongo, chap. He wants a new deal because his agent doesn't get paid from his old deal. Haven't I mentioned this a couple dozen times already?

He did say he needs to feed his family, and that does sound a lot better than "I need to feed my agent." But it's not the truth.

Bingo!

[skins81]

I hate to say it, but I agree with S_D_8. Owens deserves to have his contract redone. The Iggles were planning on dumping him before his roster bonus next year. He knows it. Everyone knew it. That's one of the reasons the NFLPA advised that he not sign the contract. He was the reason they coasted into the postseason. How many games were over before halftime this year for them? He gave them homefield advantage.

Then he works his A off getting ready to play in the Superbowl when his ankle wasn't fully healed. With hardware in his ankle. If the hardware had failed while he was making a cut it could have been a career ending injury. The Eagles know this but don't want to recognize his sacrifice.

The front office should have offered to pay his 2006 roster bonus now. Instead they showed just how cheap Lurie can be.

I hope it prevents them from signing Michael Lewis. Other Eagles are looking at how the Eaqgles underpay. They were lucky Adams signed a one year deal.

[wonker]

Does this mean you believe when a player underperforms his contract he should sacrifice money for forthcoming years?



wonker

[General Failure]

Behold, the power of incentive bonuses. Bask in it's completely fair aweseomness!

[skins81]

Does this mean you believe when a player underperforms his contract he should sacrifice money for forthcoming years?



wonker

You're right. There is a flip side to what I said. I just think in this case, because everyone knew he was likely to be cut before his 2006 roster bonus, it would have been the right thing to do. Now with all the drama he will certainly never see that 5 million dollar bonus in 2006. I think this is a rare instance.

[SKINZ_DOMIN8]

Does this mean you believe when a player underperforms his contract he should sacrifice money for forthcoming years?



wonker

Yes. Like Brunell, Arrington, Jansen, Barrow, Bowen, HECK, this entire team should give money back. They have all underperformed. Great idea.

[SkinsJock]

...Brunell, Arrington, Jansen, Barrow, Bowen, HECK, this entire team should give money back. They have all underperformed. Great idea.

Injuries are a part of the NFL and when they happen you do not suddenly not pay that player, or only pay him for what he "earned"!. Of these players there is only 1 that supports this "idea". To state that a whole team should give back part of their salaries is ludicrous, especially when the D was that highly rated.

Get real and try to be factual.

[skins81]

Not sure if people really care, but McNabb and company are working out in Arizona like they do every year. Owens was invited, but he's not there

[hkHog]

T.O.'s camp HAS been kinda quiet recently. I disagree, however, that his "silence is golden", as Stephen A Smith asserts. It doesn't seem that the Eagles will budge on their stance, and Owens could be left out in the cold.

Owens is clearly in the right in this instance. He had the BEST........BEST..........BEST....receiving year of ALL TIME for the IGGLES. So freaking pay him what he deserves to be paid. Anyone else would do the same thing in Owens' situation.

I also find it incredibly comical that all these idiot Eagles fans think their offense is going to be as good if not even better without Owens. Yeah right. Owens made McNabb last season, not the other way around. Owens made the Philly passing game season totally on his own. Without him, Philly has no passing game whatsoever.

Bottom line idiot Eagles fans, either pay Owens what he deserves to be paid or accept a 9-7 season at best.

I hope you mean he had the best recieving year an Eagle has ever had because he wasn't even the best reciever last year. Muhammed was, he had better stats even when you adjust for the games TO missed with his injury.

Also, I completely disagree that he is underpaid. There is something in economics called the compensating wage differential. Anyone who thinks he is underpaid certainly does not understand this concept. Basically, it means that people will get paid more to do nasty jobs than nice jobs. This is why so many of the leaders on the Patriots take contracts worth far less than market value. They are willing to give up money in return for playing in a nice environment and having a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. The bottom line is that TO forced the 49ers to send him to Philly because he wanted to play there so badly and he took an inferior contract because that is where he wanted to go. He shouldn't be able to have it both ways. He gets everything he wants.

Basically, HE FORCED THE DEAL AND NOW HE HAS TO LIVE WITH IT!!!!

The Player's Union told him not to take the contract but he did. This guy is such a whiney brat, for once he should be forced to live with the consequences of his actions. Philly has every right to say that he has to take it as it is to stay there or he can go somewhere else to get a better deal. If he really values the Super Bowl over a payday he will stay.

[Gibbs' Hog]

Owens made McNabb last season, not the other way around. Owens made the Philly passing game season totally on his own. Without him, Philly has no passing game whatsoever.

Is that why Philly made it to 3 consecutive NFC Championship games before they ever had TO?




I'm not saying TO didn't add anything to the team, because he did, but McNabb already proved his ability before the 'whino' came along. And yeah, he did choke in all of those Championship games prior to TO - thank god - but it takes something to get there in the first place.


Bottom line - TO signed a CONTRACT. Period. He and Drew can go suck a skunk.

[Primetime42]

I'm going to step in on the Eagle fans' behalf here (Yes, I'm shocked too )...The Eagles got to 3 NFC titles without that cry baby, got to a Super Bowl while he was playing cheerleader, and regardless what anyone thinks, still lost the Super Bowl to the best team in the league.

If Owens continues to be a chump and skips camp, the Eagles will not fall regardless. As far as I'm concerned they're still the class of the division (the team, not the fans ) and we all know who we have to beat if we're gonna stand any shot at competing for the division title.

Something tells me the Eagles will be fine given that:

a-they've been as close as possible and have no composure problems when it comes to competing.

b-they got rid of one cancer in Freddie Mitchell, drafted a good WR in Round 1, and have an up and coming young guy

c-until someone proves otherwise, McNabb is by far the best QB in the division

and d-If anything, this will help the "true Eagles" band together.

Me personally, I'd rather see a disgruntled Owens come into camp, become a distraction and a cancer, causing an imposion, making the division all the more easy to steal from Philthy.

...but that's just me

[Primetime42]

I'm going to step in on the Eagle fans' behalf here (Yes, I'm shocked too )...The Eagles got to 3 NFC titles without that cry baby, got to a Super Bowl while he was playing cheerleader, and regardless what anyone thinks, still lost the Super Bowl to the best team in the league.

If Owens continues to be a chump and skips camp, the Eagles will not fall regardless. As far as I'm concerned they're still the class of the division (the team, not the fans ) and we all know who we have to beat if we're gonna stand any shot at competing for the division title.

Something tells me the Eagles will be fine given that:

a-they've been as close as possible and have no composure problems when it comes to competing.

b-they got rid of one cancer in Freddie Mitchell, drafted a good WR in Round 1, and have an up and coming young guy

c-until someone proves otherwise, McNabb is by far the best QB in the division

and d-If anything, this will help the "true Eagles" band together.

Me personally, I'd rather see a disgruntled Owens come into camp, become a distraction and a cancer, causing an implosion, making the division all the more easy to steal from Philthy.

...but that's just me

[1niksder]

Me personally, I'd rather see a disgruntled Owens come into camp, become a distraction and a cancer, causing an implosion, making the division all the more easy to steal from Philthy.

...but that's just me

Long time no read....

I agree he would benefit both our teams if he is in camp.

[hkHog]

Owens: 'I don't really have to play for the Eagles'

As a war of words between Eagles president Joe Banner and Terrell Owens heats up, T.O. told CSS SportsNite in Atlanta on Thursday that he is willing to leave Philly if the team won't redo his contract, which still has six years remaining on a $49 million deal.

"It doesn't bother me," Owens said about Banner's comments. "When it all boils down to it, I'm doing what's best for my family. Not to stir anything up, but I don't really have to play for the Eagles, to be honest. I can go play with any other team and still be productive.

"If [Banner] feels that way, then get rid of me," he continued. "I have no gripes, no ill feelings toward any of the players on that team. This is business. They know how business is conducted. I've told them what I'm doing is for my family. If they can't understand that -- and if they feel like I'm a no-nonsense guy -- he wants to talk about Drew and I -- if we're problems then I feel like we can be adults about it. Trade me. Release me, and we can part ways like adults."

Owens has a specific idea of where he'd like to be traded.

"If Joe Banner can give Drew Rosenhaus permission to seek a trade," he told SportsNite, "who knows, Atlanta might be on the list of people that I could play for."

Owens' comments came after Banner criticized the receiver and agent Drew Rosenhaus in the Philadelphia Daily News.

"If we were dealing with somebody who was looking at this logically and was going to come to a common-sense conclusion, you'd say [he'll report to camp on time]," Banner told the Daily News. "But you're dealing with two people here who, frankly, don't think in common-sense terms. Anything can happen. They're not going to necessarily do what makes sense."

Rosenhaus told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the odds of Owens reporting to training camp on time are "50-50." Owens himself told CSS SportsNite on Thursday that, despite the possible fines, he likely won't attend camp. The Daily News, citing a source in the NFL players' association with knowledge of Owens' contract, reported that the Eagles could fine T.O. five-sixths of the $2.25 million signing bonus Owens received after being traded last year, meaning Owens could be out $1.87 million.

I guess T.O. really doesn't care about winning a Super Bowl. After all, he has to take care of his family (as in me, myself, and I). He could go down in history by helping the Eagles to finally win but that doesn't matter, all he cares about is the cash.

[hkHog]

If they can't understand that -- and if they feel like I'm a no-nonsense guy -- he wants to talk about Drew and I -- if we're problems then I feel like we can be adults about it. Trade me. Release me, and we can part ways like adults."

Wow! He thinks he's an adult?!?! T.o. has never done anything in his life like an adult. He is a spoiled, bratty 5 year old girl in a grown man's body.

T.O., you're going to leave Philly like an adult by throwing a hissyfit! Just like you left San Fransisco like an adult. This guy has absolutley no concept of reality.

[General Failure]

Owens Traded.