Does AB set a dangerous precedent?

[Solomon Grundy]

I'd like to see the language in the contract. If it's complex then I'd think there was some TOMfoolery involved. The Patriots are known for bucking the system. If coordinated then I'd give the Patriots the death sentence

[freddyjj]

Hope ABs blistered feet get MRSA and he tears his ACL. 

[singlezero]

 im  surprised  noone  has  brought  up  that          something seems  very  underhanded  here.      i  just  cant  believe  with  all  the  drama  and  distractions   that  AB has  caused      with the Raiders  that  the  patriots      make a decision and  say  oh   look AB is available .   with  the  majority  of      any  sane  person  thinking AB   would  never  see a  contract    again to get  one close  to the dollar amount   he  had   just  screams      there is a      case for at least looking into  tampering.   who knows   when         there were  talks   or  interest shown  by  the  pats.    history  has  shown   the pats  would have  sat  back and    offer  much less.  the  moment   AB   asked to be  released,  he  must  have known of  new  englands  interest.

[Nextmanup]

1 hour ago, sherpa said:

It is becoming more and more obvious that the league consists of 32 independent contractors employing 53 independent contractors.

The salary cap and free agency destroyed "team building" as we used to know it a long time ago.

 

 

[ALF]

The commish should suspend AB at least 4 games for his clown show.

[CSBill]

7 hours ago, TheProcess said:

Yes, yes he has. He’s set a dangerous precedent of creating new ways for different franchises and fans to progressively hate him more and more each day. I NEVER hope for anyone to get injured. Not even Brady. But you’ve got to think the universe is ready to dole out some kind of karmic retribution.

 

this

[formerlyofCtown]

What AB did was pretty disgusting.  The worst part is that young people idolize him.  The NFL is worried players using weed and getting into trouble but they don't consider at all the effect of this on young people.

 

The answer is yes it does and not just for the NFL.  Karma, God, what ever you want to call it will eventually catch up.

 

A lot of people already think its ok to sign a contract and not honor it.  Some players like Cousins are did it the right way.  Whatever they agreed to they honored.  Cousins made sure his contract was fully garaunteed.  So if he's cut he still gets paid.  If players want to argue that the team can cut you and thats unfair then dont sign a contract that says the team can cut you without paying you.  What you sign you honor.

 

AB is a great player but a horrible person and teammate you better believe he has a big bullseye on his back when he plays the teams he disrespected.

[Doc Brown]

5 hours ago, mrags said:

It’s making more money than ever because of what I said. Because of fantasy and because of gambling. 

 

The real fans fans of the game that don’t gamble and don’t do fantasy are getting sick of the shenanigans. 

 

And just because the league is making money doesn’t mean they aren’t losing fans. Doesn’t mean they aren’t losing ratings. It’s 2 completely different things. 

Ratings were up 5% last year mostly due to an increase in offense.  The fans that miss the way the game was played in the 70's, 80's, and 90's have to come to grips that the NFL popularity surge didn't happen until the rules started favoring the offense and fantasy became more mainstream in the early 2000''s.  For every one old school real fan the NFL loses they'll make up for it with two fans who are watching the SNF game to see if Mahomes can put up four TD's to win their week in fantasy.

[TAinLack.]

7 hours ago, Locomark said:

Oakland should have put him on the mentally unable to perform list until he could pass a psych evaluation. <sarcasm off>

...or successfully completes a Lobotomy!!!

[oldmanfan]

It could set a terrible precedent.  Hard to tell right now since Brown is such a narcissist.  But if you see several players do the same next year it will be really bad for the league.

[fergie's ire]

I think LeGarrette Blount set the precedent.  And this is the Patriot way.

[thenorthremembers]

If it wasnt the worst franchise in football handling the situation it would have been different.   The Raiders came out of this looking like complete idiots.  They lost a 3rd and a 5th for a player that never played a down for them and somehow found a way to strengthen a team in their own conference in doing so.  They were my Dads team when I was growing up so I have always had a soft spot for them.  But I cannot stand how stupid they are.

[aristocrat]

you know who set the precedent today?  julio jones...got a 44 million dollar check and ab got 9 mil.  no drama, no moving your family, just a quiet man handling his business like a professional adult not a child.    

 

look who has none of the money left and a sub 600 credit score...terrell owens.  ab is the next one. 

[plenzmd1]

36 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

What AB did was pretty disgusting.  The worst part is that young people idolize him.  The NFL is worried players using weed and getting into trouble but they don't consider at all the effect of this on young people.

 

 

what does this even mean?

[Teddy KGB]

3 hours ago, JoPar_v2 said:

Yeah sure i get that. If there’s some whites floating around here or wherever that want to get offended over cracker or ***** or whatever they can go ahead and BE offended. It’s a bit of a stretch but whatever. I’d just not be offended at a stupid slur that hasn’t held any cultural relevance since 1890.

 

You don’t make the rules.   

 

AB Is a racist whose feet won’t be held to the fire because of all the wokeboys churning out excuses. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Teddy KGB

[HOUSE]

The only way to fix the problem would be to have every released player pass through the waiver process, any team can make a claim starting with the worst team.

When the process is complete the player can sign anywhere.

Its to late now, the damage is done.

[Returntoglory]

8 hours ago, The Red King said:

Hey you...the superstar playing on the Raiders.  How would you like to play for the Patriots?  You know, the team that keeps winning rings?  I can make that happen.  All it will cost you is $20 million, and your dignity.  Zero to hero, a championship for your legacy.  Seems a reasonable cost, no?

It didn't cost AB one cent! 

[stevewin]

12 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

The only way to fix the problem would be to have every released player pass through the waiver process, any team can make a claim starting with the worst team.

When the process is complete the player can sign anywhere.

Its to late now, the damage is done.

They could also change the process to something where if a player is released for conduct detrimental he can't play for some period of time.  There needs to be something punitive put in place so that players who just blatantly work to get kicked off their teams are not rewarded for it. 

[Gigs]

If he went anywhere else people wouldn't be crying foul. He was nuts in Pittsburgh, nuts in Oakland and he'll still be nuts in NE. It's how the team handles it, and if you want to blame anyone blame Mayock for being a thin-skinned moron with no experience. If you think AB was pulling stunts to go to NE you're just as low level thinking as Mayock.

[Phil The Thrill]

10 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

Any player who gets traded for and does anything including being racist that he can to get out of the contract he just signed what’s to stop this from happening again? Cause we know once it was probably reported through back channels that the Pats wanted him he asked for his release right after his heartfelt team apology yesterday...potentially a CBA issue? 

 

No you are spot on.  I really do think it sets a bad precedent.  Also, I don’t understand why teams release players who demand it.  Oakland could have f’ed him over and put on the Did not report list, eliminating any chance for his guaranteed money and keeping him off the field for the year.

 

Thats why I give props to the Bills for holding onto the rights of Anquan Bolden.  He retired citing some BS service reason and then said he wanted to play for NE.  So Beane refused to let him out of his few to play with another team  

[SoCal Deek]

11 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

 

No you are spot on.  I really do think it sets a bad precedent.  Also, I don’t understand why teams release players who demand it.  Oakland could have f’ed him over and put on the Did not report list, eliminating any chance for his guaranteed money and keeping him off the field for the year.

 

Thats why I give props to the Bills for holding onto the rights of Anquan Bolden.  He retired citing some BS service reason and then said he wanted to play for NE.  So Beane refused to let him out of his few to play with another team  

Correct! End thread 

[ddaryl]

I'm taking solace in the fact that I expect AB to come unhinged again but this time he's NE headache

[MAJBobby]

11 hours ago, Doc said:

The Raiders should have kept him on the team and told him to show up or be put on the "Did not report" list and let him twist in the wind. 

 

Agreed. Raiders could have suspended him. Voided the Guarantees and let him ROT on the Did not report / suspended list. But they went with the Release move. 

[machine gun kelly]

11 hours ago, Doc said:

The Raiders should have kept him on the team and told him to show up or be put on the "Did not report" list and let him twist in the wind. 

 

Great point Doc.  He doesn’t set a precedent other than he is either a narcisist, or emotionally disturbed.  I really don’t think he is that calculating and now he is making far less $ and on a prove it deal, where Belicheat will cut his ars if he does anything even slightly wrong.  The first time he talks about the team in social media, he will be gone.  I’m sure the coach informed him of that fact, and Brady will as well.

 

I may hate the Patriots, but I respect the B&B.

[Needle]

9 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel said:

This is why you have to totally respect a player like WR Larry Fitzgerald, he has been balling out since 2004, 2nd all time in yards, 3rd all time in receptions, tied for 6th all time in TD receptions and you don't ever hear anything other than his love for the game, always smiling, dude should have a statue like Rocky leading up to the stadium. 

Larry Fitzgerald is an amazing ambassador for the game. 

[Don Otreply]

7 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Lol, the league is making more money than ever. If stuff like Brown happened more often it would only increase ratings. 

 

Exactly, American life is becoming one hot take after another, a Kardashian hell, our whole damn society is fixated on this sort of shallow crap.

 

Every time anyone clicks on this type of mindless dribble, it makes it thrive all the more. We do it to ourselves by participating in this gossipy crap.

 

if no one clicked the demand and monetary gain goes away. 

 

Go Bills!!!

[DRA3196]

I believe AB never had any interest in playing for the Raiders. He wanted his freedom to choose who he played for. The entire thing was a ruse. AB and Drew played the league perfectly. Was there tampering by NE. IMO probably. But the fiasco is over, probably to be repeated in the future and life in the NFL will go on. Well played AB. well played.

 

[DCofNC]

44 minutes ago, Returntoglory said:

It didn't cost AB one cent! 

Umm, what part of $30M guaranteed money was voided and he gets $9M guaranteed says to you it didn't cost him a cent?  If he gets hurt or the Pats decide they don't want to deal with his ***** anymore, it will hurt more, but right now he's got 20M in limbo.

[Teddy KGB]

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

How can anyone still defend the self absorbed lunatic that AB is ????

 

[Dopey]

10 hours ago, Needle said:

Gruden and the Raiders could not have played this worse. They not only gave in to AB over and over again, they embarrassed their GM by not backing him up. They wasted draft capital on two clowns that Pittsburgh clearly had given every opportunity too. They paid or at least showed a willingness to pay top $ for questionable free agents and yet decided it wasn't worth it to pay for their own talented players in house already.

 

It's between the Raiders and Knicks for worst run franchises in all of sports.

Knicks, hands down.

[Dopey]

11 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Correct any player can do that. Along with going from $50 mil down to $15 mil.  Will some team give him big $$ next year, not nearly as likely as it was a year ago.  Plus he also is/was one of the best players in the league.  There may be 5 players in the league who could even come close to pulling off what he just maneuvered through based on talent.  Granted totally different reasons behind it, but hows things working out for Kap?

 

So far the Steeler brain trust of Brown and Bell have lost quite a bit of money in the past year, so likely players will think twice before trying it

I'm confused. How does Kap fit into this discussion?

A kids songs fits here: "one of these things is not like the other". I may be dopey but, again, how does Kap fit into this discussion?

[Dopey]

1 hour ago, Gigs said:

If he went anywhere else people wouldn't be crying foul. He was nuts in Pittsburgh, nuts in Oakland and he'll still be nuts in NE. It's how the team handles it, and if you want to blame anyone blame Mayock for being a thin-skinned moron with no experience. If you think AB was pulling stunts to go to NE you're just as low level thinking as Mayock.

Other than y'all being low level thinkers, I agree. This was not AB' s plan.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

15 minutes ago, Dopey said:

I'm confused. How does Kap fit into this discussion?

A kids songs fits here: "one of these things is not like the other". I may be dopey but, again, how does Kap fit into this discussion?

 

The OP was commenting on what's to stop others from doing this.  My response was that it's cost him money and if he goes nuts again in NE he'll likely not find teams wanting to sign him next season or if he wasn't probably one of the top 5 talented players in the league he probably wouldn't have had any teams signing him right now or would have been for less money yet.  When you become a distraction and aren't a top talent to start with, teams aren't interested, like Kap.  And regardless of whether you're a distraction to your teammates or the general public it's still an overall distraction to the team that turns teams off.  AB does still have the top talent card to play, but he's probably on about his last live there too.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[Southern Bills Fan]

Like someone else pointed out in another thread, if a star white player called a black GM the n word he would have been suspended by the league for at least a year. 

[JinxedBill1]

I think he did this to get released so he could be a free agent. Then when the pats called why not go get a ring?

 

It’s not like I chalked up winning against them this year anyway.  Advantage tho is no gronk.  If gronk comes back it’s going to be another boring afc champion. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Surprise surprise 

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl-no-whether-antonio-brown-212322715.html

 

For now, however, the NFL is saying nothing about whether Brown’s alleged misconduct has triggered possible scrutiny under the Personal Conduct Policy.

 

[gjv001]

I believe the Raiders were concerned that once AB had his guarantee, they would have no leverage in controlling his actions. Thus the dropping his guarantee from the contract. For AB, that put him in a position subserviant to Mike Mayock, which I don't think AB could live with. Gruden had enough AB drama and wanted to get on with his team. Thus Gruden let Mayock do what he thought was beast for the team. Hence AB gets released.  BB saw an opportunity to solve his WR problem and convinced Kraft to gamble 9 mil, and now AB is a Patriot. No conspiracy , no collusion, just a calculated gamble by BB and Kraft. Will it work? we will see.

[Dopey]

20 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

The OP was commenting on what's to stop others from doing this.  My response was that it's cost him money and if he goes nuts again in NE he'll likely not find teams wanting to sign him next season or if he wasn't probably one of the top 5 talented players in the league he probably wouldn't have had any teams signing him right now or would have been for less money yet.  When you become a distraction and aren't a top talent to start with, teams aren't interested, like Kap.  And regardless of whether you're a distraction to your teammates or the general public it's still an overall distraction to the team that turns teams off.  AB does still have the top talent card to play, but he's probably on about his last live there too.

Thanks for the explanation. I was thinking more along the line of "AB planned to do this in order to get where he wants", which I don't agree with. Thanks again.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Dopey

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

..if I remember correctly, both Elway & Eli somewhat manipulated who they would play for............