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Brandt works to get Rodgers signed
Favre's future a major point
By ROB REISCHEL
Special to Packer Plus
Posted: July 20, 2005
There's little in sports that matches the rivalry between Stanford and California. So things should get interesting as Andrew Brandt - Green Bay's vice president of player finance and a Stanford graduate - gets ready to negotiate the deal for Packers' No. 1 draft choice Aaron Rodgers, a Cal product.
"I'm still bitter over the Big Game from 1983," Brandt joked this week of the infamous "Band Game."
"Of course, I've teased Aaron that it's going to be hard to do a fair contract for a guy from Cal. But of course, that's a joke."
Getting a deal done by the time rookies report Monday and practice Tuesday, though, is anything but a laughing matter.
Green Bay hasn't had a No. 1 draft choice miss time since Brandt joined the organization in 1999. But the Rodgers' negotiations figure to be tricky for several reasons.
What bodes well for getting a deal done on time, though, is that Brandt has a long history with Mike Sullivan, who represents Rodgers. Sullivan also has negotiated deals for No. 1 overall picks Michael Vick and David Carr in recent seasons and neither player missed any time. "I think contracts this year are going to be particularly challenging for first-round guys," said Sullivan, who also represents receiver Terrence Murphy, Green Bay's second-round draft pick, and defensive tackle Donnell Washington, the Packers' third-round choice in 2004. "At the same time, I think we'll work something out that's fair for both sides."
One of the major points of discussion will be the future of Brett Favre.
Both sides are in agreement that as long as Favre is around, Rodgers - the 24th overall pick in April - will be planted on the bench. So items such as base salaries, escalator clauses and voidable years become trickier because it's extremely difficult to predict when Rodgers might take over.
"We recognize that as long as Brett Favre is around, he's the starter," said Sullivan, who is based in Walnut Creek, Calif. "So you've got a No. 1 pick behind a Hall of Famer. That might be unprecedented."
St. Louis running back Steven Jackson was the No. 24 pick a year ago and signed a five-year, $7 million deal that included a $4 million signing bonus. Green Bay took cornerback Ahmad Carroll one pick later and signed him to a six-year, $8.058 million contract with a $3.95 million signing bonus. The sixth year on Carroll's deal is voidable, though.
In determining Rodgers' value, though, it might be easier for the two sides to work off contract numbers of quarterbacks chosen in similar spots in recent years.
Buffalo took J.P. Losman with the 22nd overall pick in 2004 and signed him to a five-year, $7.7 million deal that included a $5.6 million signing bonus. The contract could pay Losman as much as $24.5 million, though, if he reaches all of its incentives.
In 2003, Chicago took Rex Grossman at No. 22 and gave him a five-year, $7.6 million deal with a $5 million signing bonus. The Bears hold the option for the fifth year, but if Grossman reached all of the incentives, he could make between $17-$18 million.
Grossman became the Bears' starter late in his rookie season and Losman will be Buffalo's starter this fall. With Favre in the picture, it's harder to gauge Rodgers' fate, which will lead to far greater challenges.
Another issue will be the rookie allocation pool and how much of it will be devoted to Rodgers. Each year, the NFL issues teams a total dollar figure representing the maximum cap space they are allowed to spend on signing draft picks and undrafted free agents. A team's rookie pool is based on the number and position of draft picks, with teams holding higher picks being allocated more dollars per pick than teams with lower picks.
Green Bay has $4,483,150 allotted for its 11 draft choices. Five have already signed.
The length of the contract, and if it will include an option year, could also be a sticking point. Brandt was in the Bay-area in late June and met briefly with Sullivan. But things won't get serious until later this week.
"Mike Sullivan and I have known each other for a long time and we've had conversations and we kind of know what the issues are and where to take them," Brandt said. "We'll work diligently toward reaching some common ground."
No first-round draft choices have signed yet and only four teams across the NFL begin training camp before Green Bay does. So it's unlikely that the two sides will have many comparable deals to work from.
"Obviously any deals coming in around us in the first round would spur negotiations," Brandt said. "But short of that, we're capable of doing our own.
"We have one of the earlier reporting dates in the league . . . but we've been here before. We're not afraid to jump in before the market is set. There's always trepidation not knowing exactly where the market will come in."
From the July 21, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Brandt works to get Rodgers signed
Favre's future a major point
By ROB REISCHEL
Special to Packer Plus
Posted: July 20, 2005
There's little in sports that matches the rivalry between Stanford and California. So things should get interesting as Andrew Brandt - Green Bay's vice president of player finance and a Stanford graduate - gets ready to negotiate the deal for Packers' No. 1 draft choice Aaron Rodgers, a Cal product.
"I'm still bitter over the Big Game from 1983," Brandt joked this week of the infamous "Band Game."
"Of course, I've teased Aaron that it's going to be hard to do a fair contract for a guy from Cal. But of course, that's a joke."
Getting a deal done by the time rookies report Monday and practice Tuesday, though, is anything but a laughing matter.
Green Bay hasn't had a No. 1 draft choice miss time since Brandt joined the organization in 1999. But the Rodgers' negotiations figure to be tricky for several reasons.
What bodes well for getting a deal done on time, though, is that Brandt has a long history with Mike Sullivan, who represents Rodgers. Sullivan also has negotiated deals for No. 1 overall picks Michael Vick and David Carr in recent seasons and neither player missed any time. "I think contracts this year are going to be particularly challenging for first-round guys," said Sullivan, who also represents receiver Terrence Murphy, Green Bay's second-round draft pick, and defensive tackle Donnell Washington, the Packers' third-round choice in 2004. "At the same time, I think we'll work something out that's fair for both sides."
One of the major points of discussion will be the future of Brett Favre.
Both sides are in agreement that as long as Favre is around, Rodgers - the 24th overall pick in April - will be planted on the bench. So items such as base salaries, escalator clauses and voidable years become trickier because it's extremely difficult to predict when Rodgers might take over.
"We recognize that as long as Brett Favre is around, he's the starter," said Sullivan, who is based in Walnut Creek, Calif. "So you've got a No. 1 pick behind a Hall of Famer. That might be unprecedented."
St. Louis running back Steven Jackson was the No. 24 pick a year ago and signed a five-year, $7 million deal that included a $4 million signing bonus. Green Bay took cornerback Ahmad Carroll one pick later and signed him to a six-year, $8.058 million contract with a $3.95 million signing bonus. The sixth year on Carroll's deal is voidable, though.
In determining Rodgers' value, though, it might be easier for the two sides to work off contract numbers of quarterbacks chosen in similar spots in recent years.
Buffalo took J.P. Losman with the 22nd overall pick in 2004 and signed him to a five-year, $7.7 million deal that included a $5.6 million signing bonus. The contract could pay Losman as much as $24.5 million, though, if he reaches all of its incentives.
In 2003, Chicago took Rex Grossman at No. 22 and gave him a five-year, $7.6 million deal with a $5 million signing bonus. The Bears hold the option for the fifth year, but if Grossman reached all of the incentives, he could make between $17-$18 million.
Grossman became the Bears' starter late in his rookie season and Losman will be Buffalo's starter this fall. With Favre in the picture, it's harder to gauge Rodgers' fate, which will lead to far greater challenges.
Another issue will be the rookie allocation pool and how much of it will be devoted to Rodgers. Each year, the NFL issues teams a total dollar figure representing the maximum cap space they are allowed to spend on signing draft picks and undrafted free agents. A team's rookie pool is based on the number and position of draft picks, with teams holding higher picks being allocated more dollars per pick than teams with lower picks.
Green Bay has $4,483,150 allotted for its 11 draft choices. Five have already signed.
The length of the contract, and if it will include an option year, could also be a sticking point. Brandt was in the Bay-area in late June and met briefly with Sullivan. But things won't get serious until later this week.
"Mike Sullivan and I have known each other for a long time and we've had conversations and we kind of know what the issues are and where to take them," Brandt said. "We'll work diligently toward reaching some common ground."
No first-round draft choices have signed yet and only four teams across the NFL begin training camp before Green Bay does. So it's unlikely that the two sides will have many comparable deals to work from.
"Obviously any deals coming in around us in the first round would spur negotiations," Brandt said. "But short of that, we're capable of doing our own.
"We have one of the earlier reporting dates in the league . . . but we've been here before. We're not afraid to jump in before the market is set. There's always trepidation not knowing exactly where the market will come in."
From the July 21, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
