Dawgg Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 One problem: Clements doesn't want to play in Buffalo. If he doesn't truly want to be there, I'd be surprised if Marv goes out of his way to pay top dollar for him. I'd love to be able to give a link that says exactly what the agreement is, but there is no such link - which is exactly why all the nonsense being uttered that Marv promised not to use any tag on Clements, or that it's written into his contract - is just that...nonsense. No one on this board knows what the agreement is - the info I've found alludes only to "verbal assurances" not to use the franchise tag, but makes no reference as to which franchise tag - exclusive or non-exclusive... May 5 2006 - CB Nate Clements signed a one-year deal worth $7.2 million on Friday as Buffalo's franchise player. Clements, arriving from Orlando, Fla., signed the contract and was on the field for the start of a three-day mini-camp. After two months of lukewarm contract talks, Clements accepted the franchise tender after receiving what's believed to be verbal assurances that Buffalo won't slap him with the franchise tag next season. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, a player can be tagged twice. Link If you read what Marv has said about Clements - "We will make every effort to retain him"..."I hope that we can do a contract that goes beyond that but sometimes you have to put the franchise tag on and then work on the contract part of it"..."We would like to have him back and I know Dick Jauron has expressed the same"..."I think he's a talented player who can get better"...etc. - it's obvious the Bills want to retain him well beyond this season. Link Most telling, at least to me, was this 'Marv-ism' - "We consider Nate a valuable member of our defense and believe he will play an important role in re-establishing our defense as one of the toughest units in the league," general manager Marv Levy said in a press release. Levy added he remains optimistic the Bills can negotiate a long-term deal with Clements, who was considered one of the prime defensive backs on the market. Link Now if Marv said all that, and really feels that way, why would he 'box himself in'??? Why would he not, at the very least, retain the option to match an offer sheet or receive some compensation for losing one of the elite DB's in the league??? Marv's not an idiot, agreed? Clements will wear Bills' Blue next season. 872184[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Thanks for digging up those links Senator and Matt in DC. I pretty much continue to expect Nate to be gone then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOTONE Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Where did you guys go to high school? 872037[/snapback] I went to Plantation High, he went to Boyd Anderson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Yep, those links pretty much say he can't be franchised. But can he be transition tagged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donahoeisgod Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I truly believe that Clements will be re-signed by the Bills. If I am Marv and Ralph, I sit down with Nate and his agent and indicate that he is the cornerstone of our Defense and one of the league's top DBs and will be paid that way. Then I set forth a contract as follows and see if he is interested. 7 yrs/ 56.6 million dollars broken down as follows: Signing bonus 15 million dollars (split into $10 mill immediately and $5 million on the first day of the leagues 2008 year) Base salaries as follows: 2007- 5.5 million; 2008-3.5 million; 2009-4.0 million; 2010-4.5 million; 2011- 5.0 million; 2012- 7.5 million; 2013- 9.5 million. I would also provide bonuses of $250k for every year he makes the Pro Bowl and $100 k per year workout bonus as an enticement to attend the off season workouts. The above would result in a cap figure of approx. $7 million for 2007 (about the same as for 2006 franchise tag) while also providing reasonable cap figures until the last two years of the contract when it could be re-visited or a 32-year old Nate could be cut with relatively reasonable dead cap hit (approximately 4 million if cut after 5th year.) The above contract provides Nate with $28 million dollars in the first three years of the contract. With the Bills sitting over thirty million under the cap it would also provide the team with some money to pursue additional free agents. The split signing bonus also gives the Bills some leeway in providing other FAs with nice bonus to come to WNY. Just a thought.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I think the fact the Bills were considering trading Clements for Booger McFarland says that they were not confident they could re-sign Clements. 872015[/snapback] I believe the bills were offering a 3rd pick not clements, we needed a run stoffer but we wernt that desperate to trade our best corner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFLstyle Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 One problem: Clements doesn't want to play in Buffalo. If he doesn't truly want to be there, I'd be surprised if Marv goes out of his way to pay top dollar for him. 872262[/snapback] Maybe he's changed his tune since then, the team is really playing well and now that he sees we're heading in the right direction, he may really want to stay here. Who knows what will happen, everything right now is just speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills Fan888 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I think the fact the Bills were considering trading Clements for Booger McFarland says that they were not confident they could re-sign Clements. 872015[/snapback] Clements was not playing as good as he is now and now our team is doing really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I truly believe that Clements will be re-signed by the Bills. If I am Marv and Ralph, I sit down with Nate and his agent and indicate that he is the cornerstone of our Defense and one of the league's top DBs and will be paid that way. Then I set forth a contract as follows and see if he is interested. 7 yrs/ 56.6 million dollars broken down as follows: Signing bonus 15 million dollars (split into $10 mill immediately and $5 million on the first day of the leagues 2008 year) Base salaries as follows: 2007- 5.5 million; 2008-3.5 million; 2009-4.0 million; 2010-4.5 million; 2011- 5.0 million; 2012- 7.5 million; 2013- 9.5 million. I would also provide bonuses of $250k for every year he makes the Pro Bowl and $100 k per year workout bonus as an enticement to attend the off season workouts. The above would result in a cap figure of approx. $7 million for 2007 (about the same as for 2006 franchise tag) while also providing reasonable cap figures until the last two years of the contract when it could be re-visited or a 32-year old Nate could be cut with relatively reasonable dead cap hit (approximately 4 million if cut after 5th year.) The above contract provides Nate with $28 million dollars in the first three years of the contract. With the Bills sitting over thirty million under the cap it would also provide the team with some money to pursue additional free agents. The split signing bonus also gives the Bills some leeway in providing other FAs with nice bonus to come to WNY. Just a thought.... 872328[/snapback] Those thought are very good, and I think the overall number is right on. But the bonus has to be 20 mil, I think, to keep him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I understand (BOY do I understand) why he wouldn't have wanted to play in Buffalo the last few years, but I think this year has been a great one for him. Professionally he is showing all-pro play with a defense that is proving to be quite good. We will be making a playoff run next year and might even be making one this year. I suspect he likes DJ and ML (haven't heard any different) so I don't think he is any worse than neutral on the bills, and I suspect all things being equal he would stay here. The rub is that all things will not be equal. He will be looking at outrageous offers from any number of teams. It will be up to the Bills to put up the dollars to match or come close to the best. He is not going to get a better PLAYING opportunity at another team, so if we can come close, I think we can keep him. The trick is to convince the Bills to acknowledge he is going to want #1 D-Back money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkiller Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Speaking as a Titans fan, Clements and Samuel are both at the top of my FA targets list. We've got about $35M or $40M in cap space to spend and we'd love to add another stud CB opposite Pacman (who is great if he can continue to stay out of jail). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Speaking as a Titans fan, Clements and Samuel are both at the top of my FA targets list. We've got about $35M or $40M in cap space to spend and we'd love to add another stud CB opposite Pacman (who is great if he can continue to stay out of jail). 872390[/snapback] Not a reassuring post, especially considering that the Titans, like the Bills, have the allure of an up-and-coming team. Hopefully Youboty can play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitner20 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 stud CB opposite Pacman (who is great if he can continue to stay out of jail). 872390[/snapback] hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Thanks for digging up those links Senator and Matt in DC. I pretty much continue to expect Nate to be gone then. 872272[/snapback] Now see I just can't figure out where the heck this "Nate's as good as gone" sentiment originates - especially with absolutely no knowledge of any contractual agreements and especially now that the team is on the upswing with still 2 weeks - maybe more - left in this season. I'm not directing this at you, Oz, but that type of negativity just puzzles the schitt outa me! I guess it's just part of the intrinsic, doom's day, "sky-is-falling" negative sentiment that lots of folks have. I'll continue to be positive, and follow the logical conclusion that - when it comes to fooball - Marv is smarter than anyone on this board. Anyone who thinks otherwise should seek help. Marv will keep Clements here next season, and beyond. Nate has never said he doesn't want to play here - he just wants to get paid a ton of money to do so. In fact, given the right money, I think he will want to play here. This team is poised for greatness, and I think he knows it and would love to be a part of it. And, again, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - keeping the Bills from using the non-exclusive franchise tag to keep Nate here, or as part of the negotiations. They could also use the transition tag, but the former option is better because a team will have to give up 2 first round picks if they offer so much for Clements that the Bills can't match (or chose not to). Nate will be wearing Bills' Blue next season. (Or at least we'll get two first round picks for him. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCBongo Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Does anyone think a player like Clements would take slightly less money (like 60million/5years instead of 65million) to stay in Buffalo given what is being built and the solid HC and GM? Or, is he a pure money guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Does anyone think a player like Clements would take slightly less money (like 60million/5years instead of 65million) to stay in Buffalo given what is being built and the solid HC and GM? Or, is he a pure money guy? 872816[/snapback] Only Nate Clements knows that answer...Let us pray he is willing to give us a home town discount even if it is a small one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I'm not directing this at you, Oz, but that type of negativity just puzzles the schitt outa me! I guess it's just part of the intrinsic, doom's day, "sky-is-falling" negative sentiment that lots of folks have. 872510[/snapback] That Pasquarelli article that Matt linked makes it sound very gloomy. Of course ESPN is sometimes wrong, right? And, again, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - keeping the Bills from using the non-exclusive franchise tag to keep Nate here, or as part of the negotiations. 872510[/snapback] I just don't think this has been shown at all. There very well may have been a verbal promise to not use any franchise tag on Nate. That's what the Pasquarelli article was suggesting anyway. I do admire your optimism and hope you're right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibs Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 And, again, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - keeping the Bills from using the non-exclusive franchise tag to keep Nate here, or as part of the negotiations. They could also use the transition tag, but the former option is better because a team will have to give up 2 first round picks if they offer so much for Clements that the Bills can't match (or chose not to). Nate will be wearing Bills' Blue next season. (Or at least we'll get two first round picks for him. ) 872510[/snapback] Even if that is the case, this is how it will work if Nate does not want to remain in Buffalo. We non-exclusive franchise tag him. He gets a 1 year deal at 120% of this years deal...which I believe will be $8.66mil. The following season he will be in a similar possition again($10.4mil).......and again($12.48mil) the following season......and again($14.97mil) the season after that. If Nate wants to leave there is little we can do except either over-pay on a long term contract(enticing him to stay with $$$) or keep over-paying him each year on 1 year deals. He's a good player but that's the equivilent to a 4 year $46.5mil deal....or over $11.5mil a season. At best I see us screwing with him like that for 1 more season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 You know what? Screw the verbal agreement! This is business and Nate got paid well for this year. Franchise him and let him shop himself to the highest bidder, get said bidder to cough up a 1st rounder, and everyone gets what they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Even if that is the case, this is how it will work if Nate does not want to remain in Buffalo. We non-exclusive franchise tag him. He gets a 1 year deal at 120% of this years deal...which I believe will be $8.66mil. The following season he will be in a similar possition again($10.4mil).......and again($12.48mil) the following season......and again($14.97mil) the season after that. If Nate wants to leave there is little we can do except either over-pay on a long term contract(enticing him to stay with $$$) or keep over-paying him each year on 1 year deals. He's a good player but that's the equivilent to a 4 year $46.5mil deal....or over $11.5mil a season. At best I see us screwing with him like that for 1 more season. 872855[/snapback] Oakland sort of did this for 2 or 3 years with Woodson before cutting him this off season. Sometimes you got to do that to keep a premier player when you cannot come to a contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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