Smoot is Gone

jrocx: It'll pay anyone's bills sure. However, what's the average career length of a CB. He's trying to get enough cash to put his kids into school and to have plenty to retire on and leave his children. I love Smoot, but I don't think he's a top 10 CB in the league. I want us to keep him, but if we have to deal him we better get SOMETHING for him. I wish Smoot the best, but he knows his home is Washington.

I Don't want to lose him at all but we can't go overboard to keep him.

A couple people have mentioned that this is about money and that that is sad. I would say that the money isn't the real issue or problem. These guys(all football players really) see money as a sign of respect. They want to feel that their team is going to do right by them when they have played well. This is probably a good way to judge respect...the problem is the agents are the ones who determine what "respect" is. The contracts for football players are so convuluted by salary cap work arounds and such that most players(and normal people too) could never understand who is making what and when. They basically only understand their own contract. The agents decide what they think their client is worth and that is the number they tell the player they should get. When the team doesn't offer that money then the players feel disrespected since they have been told and they now believe they are worth more. But often the numbers agents shoot for are unrealistic. It is very common for guys in Smoots position to end up signing an only marginally better offer from another team simply because the agent has created such uneeded acrimony between the player and team. If we offer say(this is only hypothetical) $40 million over 6 years with $11 million SB and they get pissed then he'll probably end up with maybe $43 million over 6 years with 12 million SB. Now I'd bet a lot of guys, and especially guys like Smoot who seem genuine and loyal, would take the first contract in a normal situation out loyalty and comfort but with all the acrimony stirred in by agents they walk for basically $1 million more. Sad really.

My wife worked with a sports representation firm while in law school and it was common for agents to attempt to "PURPOSEFULLY" create the acrimony so that the player would not take a smaller contract out of loyalty. These guys are ruining professional sports. The agent remuneration model in professional sports needs to be altered.

It's not about paying his bills this is probably the last big contract he is gonna get. he wants to be set for life.
This COULD be his last big contract but if he stays only averagely healthy then he'll restructure in about 3 or 4 years and get more guranteed money.

That is a a question I have...why don't we restructure everyone every year so we can get their base salaries spread out. If we did this every year from now until eternity it would never catch up with us. Cannuck needs to do some math on this...although I imagine if it were feasible then everyone would do it. Maybe there is a rule about restructuring only every so often? I seem to remember that you must play under a contract for at least year before restructuring.

I say he will be back, right now he know's he's a fan favorite and he's using that in the public to try and force the skin's hand into a bigger contract than he merit's, I want to see the team that is going to give him a 14 million dollar signing bonus, it aint happening, once he realizes that other team's are not going to throw that kind of money at him he will come to his senses and sign where he want's to be, I would be shocked if he left I think our offer is more than fair, I believe he's just playing the role trying to make management and the fan's believe he will leave if he doesn't get his mega buck signing bonus. Management should stay pat with that offer it's a great offer no one else will better it.

I will not be OVERSOLD or OVERPAY for a player..............this money thing sounds like Sprewell's ridiculous statement that he didn't know how he would feed his kids on 9 million a year......what does he feed them caviar.......what's interesting about these big contracts.....they backload them and the player is cut or traded before he can realize the big bucks.....wouldn't it be better to take a little less money and play for an organization you like, teammates you like, and of course it would have to be a winning organization or a team that looks promising to have a shot at a Super Bowl in the near future......and that's the part that could lure Smoot away.......he could leave to play for a potential winner and shot at the Super Bowl......'course Redskins could franchise tag him, but then what effort would he give the orgainization..........

Just as I loved Champ even after he left, I will still cheer for Smoot if he's gone (except when/if he ever plays the Skins)... I hope our fellow fans won't start bashing him if he gets a bunch more money elsewhere- it was not too long ago that Smoot was the poster boy for the Washington Redskins. If he can find someone to overpay for him, more power to him.
I dont think that Redskin fans were bashing Champ just because he got more money from Denver. I do think that Skin fans were bashing him for his lack of respect to the team and how everyone, except those who watched, him called him a "true shutdown corner"!!

Champ like Smoot was a fan favorite, but when they talk about how much they want to be here and then let money controll them into leaving then that says alot on there charicter. I am still not sure as to what will happen if the arbitrator sides with the Front Office in the Arrington case. Will LaVar just accept the ruling or will he want to be traded??? Remember he is one who also said that he wants to be a Redskin 4 LIFE!!!

I dont think that Redskin fans were bashing Champ just because he got more money from Denver. I do think that Skin fans were bashing him for his lack of respect to the team and how everyone, except those who watched, him called him a "true shutdown corner"!!

Champ like Smoot was a fan favorite, but when they talk about how much they want to be here and then let money controll them into leaving then that says alot on there charicter. I am still not sure as to what will happen if the arbitrator sides with the Front Office in the Arrington case. Will LaVar just accept the ruling or will he want to be traded??? Remember he is one who also said that he wants to be a Redskin 4 LIFE!!!


Hopefully the arbitrater rules that the contract is null and void then we can use that money for real player's and fill Lavar's position with a minimum salary LB like we did this year, that would free up a whole lot of money for the betterment of the team.