Bubba Franks VS TT

Why is TT crapping on Bubba? Here is a proven Pro Bowl tight end and in fact the only real tight end we have yet he is being treated like a dog by TT. Bubba has been the consumate proffessional. He is everything that I would think would warrant being "taken care of" by his team. He WANTS to be a Packer, He wants to finish his career in Green Bay.
I read all this stuff about if you put up the numbers, if you act like a professional and don't whine to the media about your contract, if you fulfill your contract, work hard and don't threaten to hold out you will have earned a new contract and the Green Bay Packers will "take care" of you.
Bubba has done ALL of that and he is still being treated like a dog. He is not even looking for a ridiculous contract in either pay or number of years.
How will other players believe that if they work hard, produce and honor their contracts like Bubba has done that they will be treated any better when the time comes?
We need Bubba and he wants to play for us. It's past time for TT to give him a new contract and get him in to camp. If TT continues this madness regarding Bubba I don't believe he is the right GM for the Green Bay Packers or their fans.

It's not that the Packers do not want Bubba. It is about Bubba's salary. Is he worth 1/2 of Brett Favre- No!! Is he worth double Ahman Green-No! Is he worth KGB and and Clifton salaries? Is one Bubba Franks worth as much as both Donald Driver and Al Harris?

His agent thinks so.

His current tender approximately equals same dollars as Scott Wells, Grey Ruegamer, Antonio Chatman, and Tony Fisher.

What are you willing to give up or flush away to keep Bubba?
What are other teams willing to spend on Bubba? It is not as much as the Packers.

Let's not have talk of disrespecting Bubba. When he signs it will be the best deal he can get in this league becausse the Packers are willing to overpay.

Let's have some perspective!!

Calicheez you hit it right on the head. I pretty sure they'd like to have Bubba in camp and I'm pretty sure they value him as a player. What they have to figure out is who are they going to give the really big money to. They will also have Javon Walker's contract to content with too and if he really proves to be a top 5 receiver they're going to have to pay him too. Bubba is consistent and plays well, the problem for Bubba is that he's not a Mark Chumura big play player. He's very good, he's consistent and he's worthy of a nice contract. He probably isn't worthy of a top five player.

Bubba Franks should play out 2005 for the transition tag and look for a new contract for 2006. Holding out and missing camp is not the answer. Seems like TT won't budge anyway.

Franks is not holding out, he's negotiating a long-term contract. The Packers have put the tag on Bubba, but they've also offered him a long-term deal which would pay him about $2.5 million/year on average. Franks is looking for a contract that pays around $3.5-4 million/year. The reason for Franks' demands are a comparison of recent contracts for TEs with lesser credentials.

Neither side is budging right now, so we'll probably see a deal that averages around $3 million/year. It's just a matter of getting to that point.

In other words Bubba Franks is holding out. That's what I said. :roll:

No. A holdout is when a player is under contract and refuses to report. A holdout player is tied to a team with no other option for a contract.

Franks is a free agent with a transition tag. That means that Franks can sign with anyone, but the Packers have the right to match the contract. So he has options for a contract with another team, but he hasn't received a better offer (I don't know if he's received any offers actually.)

Actually the transisition tag expired about 2 weeks ago, Bubba is not free to explore signing with anyone at this point, his rights are exclusively held by the Green Bay Packers at this time. Technically not a holdout - no contract - however the only way he can sign elsewhere is for the Pack to trade him or release him. As of the day the contract expire the Packers are stuck with the tender amount against the cap.

Revision to last sentence, the day the tag expired the Packers are stuck with the tender amount against the cap. Bubba has not signed it yet, so the Pack are not forced to pay any salary yet, however they have no recourse (fines) to make Bubba sign the tender.

I like TT for his consistance. It's been said he treats contracts like its his own money an he doesn't have much of it.

If Franks is not a holdout, what is he?

He is not reporting,holding out, until he gets a contract that's agreeable. Therefore he is a holdout. Granted he is a different kind of holdout from those under contract, but nonetheless, a holdout. If not, what is he?

Anyhow, I believe the Packers will sign Franks as soon as he and his agent discontinue to over value themselves.

From PFT.com

At a time when plenty of players are absent from training camps around the NFL, we think it's time to reiterate an important distinction that the media and the fans need to keep firmly in mind when looking over the list of guys who are sitting at home while their teammates are sweating their asses off.

The term "hold out" applies only to guys who are ignoring a contractual obligation, not to players who have no contracts.

So no rookie who is not under contract ever should be called a "hold out." Likewise, Jets defensive end John Abraham and any other veteran player whose contract has expired and who has not signed a new deal is entirely within his legal rights to not be present, and it's not fair to slap these guys with an inherently derisive label.

The problem is that "hold out" is quick and easy, and that there's no similar shorthand reference that properly captures the status of a guy who, for whatever reason, hasn't received an acceptable contract offer.

These players are in limbo, at impasse, in football purgatory, casualties of the negotiation process -- but not hold outs.

Hold out. Those seven simple letters and two easy syllables likely will never find a widely-used replacement in situations where the player is doing nothing wrong by not being with his team.

A couple of years ago, we put out an open call for ideas. And since we still haven't come up with anything that we like, let's do it again.

Very well-explained, SlickVision. My suggestion for a term to describe these players is simply "unsigned." It's nice and short and nonjudgmental. Sometimes this term is used in the media for draftees who are not yet under contract. It should also be used for players like Bubba.

I like Franks and I want him in, and I don't want to see him get short-changed on a contract, but I don't want to overpay for him either. Hopefully they can reach a middle ground that's fair to both sides.

Yes Franks is important to the team, but so was KGB and I thought he was overpaid even though he's a very good player. I just think TT doesn't want to overspend for a good player like I thought we did with KGB. If TT overpays too many players just to get them in, it ends up hurting us in the long run with our cap situation. So I don't think TT is trying to screw Franks, I just think TT is looking at the big picture with regards to our cap.

To make sure you know I didn't write that, it was from PFT.com

What's PFT.com?

www.profootballtalk.com

not a bad site at all...really frank articles. they try to throw in some humor as well. good stuff.

Thanks for the post Slick. But from what I can see, they don't have an answer either.

I think the term "holdout" still applies loosely. Because we are the team that has primary rights to him as a transition player. However, "unsigned transition player" is probably more definitive. Man, you would think a couple of writers could have thought of something that simple. They could even have some fun and shorten it to UTP. :-?

The article is stating we should not be calling someone who is not under contract a 'hold out' they are not holding out due to not having a contract. That's like expecting a paycheck from an employer who you do not work for.

Bubba Franks will be signed by The Packers hopefully before Training camp ends. He is a very professional player and will report in shape ready to play , when he signs. But the quicker the better!! G.M. Ted Thompson indicated this a couple of days ago in a TV interview on Green Bay TV. I think you can look for him to be in the green/gold uniform sooner or later this summer.

Actually I think Bubba is a holout. He is holding out signing a contract because he wants more money. He doesn't have to be tied to one team or under contract to do that.

TO or Javon, on the other hand should have been more appropriately called AWOL(away with out legal rights), AWOH(away with out honor), DNS(dishonorable no show), or something similar to denote that they are not honoring their contract, they are not honoring their word. Of course, the agents would not like that. But it is more appropriate. JMHO