Bill from NYC Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 How so? He didn't at all say they should just cave to Parker's demands. Byrd, IMO, "deserves" to be paid the highest contract in the league for a safety, simply based on how contracts work in the NFL. 1] He is very young, entering the very definition of prime years of his career. 2] He outplayed his last contract by a mile, every year. 3] He's extremely consistent producer, starting out fast and then getting a little better. 4] He's good at both the run and the pass. 5] He makes big plays and causes turnovers, both INTs and fumbles. 6] He tries hard and hits hard. 7] He's a great citizen off the field. At a position which is growing in importance around the league. This is exactly the kind of guy you pay top dollar to, especially when top dollar is one of the lowest amounts compared to other positions. Take away #5, then add durability and versatility and you would be describing Andy Levitre, who as I recall only got 10 million or so guaranteed. If Byrd doesn't sign a reasonable contract, we are going to really regret the decision to let him walk, especially with 1 qb who is young, and another who is fragile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Take away #5, then add durability and versatility and you would be describing Andy Levitre, who as I recall only got 10 million or so guaranteed. If Byrd doesn't sign a reasonable contract, we are going to really regret the decision to let him walk, especially with 1 qb who is young, and another who is fragile. The 10 million was just his signing bonus. He's guaranteed 27.5 million. I'd quibble about #4 above. Levitre, while an excellent technician, is not very good at run blocking and is not consistently strong at the POA. That's not to say I don't like Levitre. I do, as there is a lot to like. But for that coin, he'd have to be DOMINANT at his position for my tastes. And that's just not his game. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 The 10 million was just his signing bonus. He's guaranteed 27.5 million. I'd quibble about #4 above. Levitre, while an excellent technician, is not very good at run blocking and is not consistently strong at the POA. That's not to say I don't like Levitre. I do, as there is a lot to like. But for that coin, he'd have to be DOMINANT at his position for my tastes. And that's just not his game. GO BILLS!!! CBS Sports agrees with your figures, but other sites do not. In fact, CBS Sports says it is a 60 million dollar contract so who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cantankerous Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Agreed. Byrd did his 4-5 year forced service with the crap franchise and now wants a big contract with a real NFL team, the Bills are in full restart mode and who wants to play on a totally rebuilding team during the prime of his career. In Buffalo. Um,,, no one. See: Andy Levitre. One thing working against him is the fact that this was a huge draft for safeties and many teams who were probably interested in Byrd are no longer interested after having drafted safeties this year. F-----g great post. Byrd is a badass. He deserves better...but I still hope they can somehow get him under contract for another 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle flap Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 http://www.wgr550.com/Former-player-suggests-Bills-and-Byrd-are--2M-apar/16313127 (WGR 550) -- All has been quiet on the Jairus Byrd front since the Buffalo Bills placed the franchise tag on him before the start of free agency in early March. Byrd has yet to sign his tender, and the Bills have been mum on where negotiations have been. A few days before the start of the team's first voluntary OTA session, the gap between the two sides might have a little bit of a clearer picture. By no means is this an official report, but the comments made by one former player on The John Murphy Show (which airs on WGR 550 nightly from 7-9) suggest that Byrd and the Bills are $2 million apart at this point in time. "It's unfortunate. It is what it is though," Kelso remarked. "Honestly, I had the conversation with him. 'What's the difference between $7 million and $9 million?' Two million, I realize that. I'm smarter than a fifth grader but in the realm of professional sports, I think there are a lot of things more important than that $2 million." Again, to be clear, this is not an official report of the exact standing between Byrd and the Bills, but it might be a look in to what could be holding things up. Long-term deals for franchised players can only be negotiatied through July 15. If he signs his franchise tag, he'll be due $6.916 million this upcoming season. Click the link for more and the audio of the full interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max997 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) There is no reason to pay him 9 mil when franchise tag is 6.9 The Bills have all the leverage here so let him sweat n he will eventually sign Edited May 10, 2013 by Max997 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Byrd and Parker would not be judged kindly in league circles if they took a deal less than Dashon Goldson's 5 year 41.25M deal with 22M guaranteed. Using that as a baseline and considering Byrd is a better safety, 2M might be a bridge too far. We don't know the nature of the offer or what the player is seeking. I highly doubt Parker will ask for less than what Goldson received and if that's the case, then the agent wants at least 8.25M yearly, but probably more like ~9M per. So the Bills are probably offering ~7M and the agent is balking. Not surprising, but perhaps initial offers. In which case, one would hope this dialogue between sides continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 This makes it sound like they're not too far apart. It's very unlikely that 7M is the Bills' upward limit, both sides are playing the game. It looks like they'll meet at 8M or a little more, which seems a good deal for each side. It's taking a little longer than we would like because Parker is good at this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 http://www.wgr550.co...M-apar/16313127 (WGR 550) -- All has been quiet on the Jairus Byrd front since the Buffalo Bills placed the franchise tag on him before the start of free agency in early March. Byrd has yet to sign his tender, and the Bills have been mum on where negotiations have been. A few days before the start of the team's first voluntary OTA session, the gap between the two sides might have a little bit of a clearer picture. By no means is this an official report, but the comments made by one former player on The John Murphy Show (which airs on WGR 550 nightly from 7-9) suggest that Byrd and the Bills are $2 million apart at this point in time. "It's unfortunate. It is what it is though," Kelso remarked. "Honestly, I had the conversation with him. 'What's the difference between $7 million and $9 million?' Two million, I realize that. I'm smarter than a fifth grader but in the realm of professional sports, I think there are a lot of things more important than that $2 million." Again, to be clear, this is not an official report of the exact standing between Byrd and the Bills, but it might be a look in to what could be holding things up. Long-term deals for franchised players can only be negotiatied through July 15. If he signs his franchise tag, he'll be due $6.916 million this upcoming season. Click the link for more and the audio of the full interview. Thanks for posting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 This makes it sound like they're not too far apart. It's very unlikely that 7M is the Bills' upward limit, both sides are playing the game. It looks like they'll meet at 8M or a little more, which seems a good deal for each side. It's taking a little longer than we would like because Parker is good at this. I agree. I think that neither of them is using the media (though I wouldn't expect the bills or byrd to do so) then I would think this deal gets done in time. Still have plenty of time. The wildcard that made everyone nervous was his agent, for obvious reasons. But if the agent isn't making any noise right now, then they must be hopeful of a new deal. Because otherwise, there would be noise being made all over in order to try to get other teams to make offers for a trade. If they are off by 2mill in the guaranteed area, then I don't see it preventing a deal getting done before mid july. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Let's see... The Bills have converted both Ron Brooks and Aaron Williams to safety. The team drafted two safeties in this year's draft. Byrd's agent is Eugene Parker who also represents Jason Peters. This is the same agent who advised his client to hold out and ultimately engineered his exit to a contending team. Reports suggest that there has been little to no dialogue between the two sides. Both Byrd and his agent have been radio silent. Byrd's last tweet was March 1st, which happens to be the date he was franchised. My uneducated guess (hope I'm wrong): Byrd's preference is to play/sign elsewhere and Eugene Parker is hellbent on making that happen. The Bills are making other plans. Not even the same thing. Byrd is not under contract and has the right to ask for whatever he wants (whether he gets it or not may be another story). With Peters, he was under contract but asked for a new one every other year. Big, big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 7M should be their upwards limit. 9M a year for a safety is...high. Byrd should not be the highest paid safety in Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 There is no reason to pay him 9 mil when franchise tag is 6.9 The Bills have all the leverage here so let him sweat n he will eventually sign The reason might be that most players if you make them play under the tag, they will never sign a deal with the current team. They might have to tag him next year and the second year in a row raises the amount quite a bit. Make him play unhappy about his contract, if he shows up for the first two thirds of the seasons, probably means less quality play and a strong desire to bolt away from the franchise at the soonest opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Just to refresh, the Bills used the "non-exclusive franchise tag" on Byrd. According to the Buffalo News: The franchise tag the Buffalo Bills placed on safety Jairus Byrd is a non-exclusive, which makes a difference in what could happen next. Clubs have the choice of designating their franchise tag as "exclusive" or "non-exclusive." An exclusive franchise tag prevents other teams from negotiating with that player, essentially guaranteeing he will return to his original team. A non-exclusive franchise tag allows the player to negotiate with other teams and sign an offer sheet. If that occurs, then the original team has the option to match the offer sheet and keep the player. If the original club chooses not to match the offer sheet, then it receives two first-round draft choices as compensation from the player's new team. So it's still possible for Byrd to play elsewhere in 2013. However there has been no talk that Byrd has garnered any interest from other NFL teams. If there are no competing offers, I would think that this gives the Bills more leverage. And in a scenario where Byrd does sign elsewhere and the Bills choose not to match, the Bills receive two first rounders. I seriously doubt that another team will make an offer to Byrd so again, I think the Bills have a bit of leverage here. Am I wrong? Edited May 10, 2013 by San Jose Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 And in a scenario where Byrd does sign elsewhere and the Bills choose not to match, the Bills receive two first rounders. I seriously doubt that another team will make an offer to Byrd so again, I think the Bills have a bit of leverage here. Am I wrong? I think you are right. For right now, the bills have the leverage. The only leverage Byrd has is that he hasn't signed his tender, so he doesn't have to show up to training camp. And I am sure the bills want him there since it is a new coaching staff and he is probably an important piece. So right now, the bills have most of the leverage because byrd has no other choice but to hold out. and right now, holding out does nothing. But when it gets closer to training camp, the bills might feel more pressured and fear of a holdout, and they really want him in camp, so that is when more leverage will go to byrd. Unless the bills feel it doesn't matter when he gets to camp, because his postion is going to be similar enough or trust him enough, then maybe byrd doesn't get any more leverage than he already has, which is minimal. As good as byrd is, no team is going to offer two 1st round picks for him. If any team would have done that, it would have been the 49ers pre draft, and they got a good safety in the draft and at a cheaper cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Agree Dan. Also I don't think it affected the market for Byrd too much but it certainly didn't help him that this was one of the better safety drafts in years. I have a feeling the Bills are gonna dig in on this one and not budge too much. Just my gut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Yeah, I don't think the bills are going to budge much either. The only other thing that might cause trouble is the contract goldson got from tampa, where they might be pushing for that kind of a contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Byrd will NOT be starting week 1. this is going to be a long drawn out process. it's going to get ugly. I say he reports around week 10 just in time to get credit for a vested year. still don't see this ending before week 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 NFLN on Sirius is spoke about it a few times, briefly saying that there is no way the two sides do not close a deal if $2mm is separating both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 http://www.wgr550.co...M-apar/16313127 (WGR 550) -- All has been quiet on the Jairus Byrd front since the Buffalo Bills placed the franchise tag on him before the start of free agency in early March. Byrd has yet to sign his tender, and the Bills have been mum on where negotiations have been. A few days before the start of the team's first voluntary OTA session, the gap between the two sides might have a little bit of a clearer picture. By no means is this an official report, but the comments made by one former player on The John Murphy Show (which airs on WGR 550 nightly from 7-9) suggest that Byrd and the Bills are $2 million apart at this point in time. "It's unfortunate. It is what it is though," Kelso remarked. "Honestly, I had the conversation with him. 'What's the difference between $7 million and $9 million?' Two million, I realize that. I'm smarter than a fifth grader but in the realm of professional sports, I think there are a lot of things more important than that $2 million." Again, to be clear, this is not an official report of the exact standing between Byrd and the Bills, but it might be a look in to what could be holding things up. Long-term deals for franchised players can only be negotiatied through July 15. If he signs his franchise tag, he'll be due $6.916 million this upcoming season. Click the link for more and the audio of the full interview. Kelso, who I generally like, sounds like a complete moron in this piece. Also, has it ever crossed his mind that Byrd wants to leave and play for a winner? I'd prefer him wanting to play for the Bills, but I'd understand if he didn't want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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