expect Grant's agent to push for a deal similar if not slightly larger than this one. Probably something comparable to the 4 year/$12 million deal Julius Jones got with Seattle.
This is
exactly why the owners are in the predicament they are in right now with as they put it, the "rising costs" of fielding a team.
In 2004 Eli Manning got a $45 million dollar deal, $20 million guaranteed. So, when Alex Smith was drafted #1 in 2005, his agent said, "Eli got $20 million guaranteed, so my client should get at least that much. So what did the 49ers do? They were stupid enough to do just that. They gave Alex Smith, an over rated quarterback, $24 million guaranteed and $49.5 million over all. Where are they now? Exactly.
Then a few years later, JaMarcus Russell holds out and suckers the Raiders into doing the same thing. Alex Smith got $24 million guaranteed, and Mario Williams got $26.5 million guaranteed, so in the owners' logic, that means JaMarcus Russell should get at least that, and over paid him giving him $32 million guaranteed.
Now, the owners are complaining about rising costs, and inflated rookie salaries, when they are the ones writing the checks.
Basing one persons salary on someone else's, just because they were both drafted #1, or they both had similar seasons, or because one owner overpaid someone else, is bad management. Every situation is different.
The reason Ted Thompson has fielded a good team, is because he does his homework, and he doesn't allow other contracts, or other owners determine the value of a player. So If I were Ryan Grant's agent, I would not use the "Well Julias Jones got this much so my client should get...." strategy. Ted Thompson doesn't play that way. Ryan Grant will get offered what he is worth, determined by how well he does on the field, not by how much someone else got paid.
