We’ve got 5 days left till the deadline of the Drew Brees contract extension negotiations. Once Monday at 4pm EST hits, Brees can no longer sign a long term deal and he has a choice between sitting out or signing the 1 year franchise tag tender, worth around $16 million. Brees took the game to a new level yesterday, presumably playing his next card in the standoff, stating that he would not report to camp if a deal isn’t completed by Monday. In fact, it’s being suggested he would consider sitting out the entirety of camp, with no promises on if/when he would sign the tender and when he would report to the team.
The fact that Brees has gotten to the point in the process where it’s time to make that threat…
through the intermediary of Chris Mortensen at ESPN, is scary. Of course we have no idea what to believe because both sides will presumably keep their poker faces till the end. Will Brees really pass on the biggest contract in NFL history, already on the table, because he wants more? Will Brees really sit out training camp and maybe more, and refuse to sign the franchise tender? Could he sit out the entire 2012 season? Could the Saints really not cave at the last second? We don’t really know, because what is said as a negotiation tactic in the heat of the moment can’t be trusted as necessarily true. That’s not to suggest that either side is making empty threats either, I just mean it’s difficult to trust anything you hear. Brees claiming he’d “never sit out a season” because he “loves the game” and his “teammates too much” could easily be an insincere spin for public support.
One thing I want to make clear about all this: it’s a business, and you shouldn’t blame Drew or the Saints for it. Yes Brees is making lofty demands, and for the most part he’s earned that right. I have no problem labelling him as greedy, because his unwillingness to compromise so far is discouraging. I do have a problem with people saying he has betrayed New Orleans. He owes us nothing. Let’s be clear here: he’s a football player. He’s delivered on what the Saints have paid him so far and then some. He’s a paid mercenary, or a hired gun, and if this were an unrestricted free agent situation he probably would have already left to the highest bidder. Let’s not act like Brees loves the Saints so much he would cut them a deal because he cares that much. Brees does care about New Orleans, but not at the expense of his family or his bottom line. Period. And I don’t think many of you reading this are so loyal to your jobs that you would take less at the expense of your personal funds and family well being to stay.
The Saints have a cap status to massage and they’re already dealing with major number crunches to make all of this fit. In the not too distant future, the cap commitments will blow up in their face and force a mass exodus. If you want Mickey Loomis to be wreckless with funds to keep Drew Brees happy, you’re not getting the bigger picture and you’re ultimately rooting for a quicker demise for your team. So I want to be clear that both sides have valid reasoning and shouldn’t be blamed for their posiitions.
But it’s important we realize Drew Brees is not a Saint. He’s a good guy, he works hard, he’s done a lot for the community, and he probably does care deeply about New Orleans. But he’s a football player that gets paid for his services. The Saints have yet to offer him what he believes he’s worth. Why? Because, quite simply, they may not be able to afford what he thinks he’s worth given their cap status. The sooner we get over the idea that Drew is supposed to take it easy on the Saints, the better understanding we can have of this process. Again: he’s a mercenary, he’s a hired gun. He’s not from New Orleans, and while he’d hate to leave the Saints he would do it in a second if given the opportunity for more money. Why? Because he’s a business man and a family man first, and a quarterback of the New Orleans Saints a very distant third. Period.
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