I think you have to look at it the other way in that example as well. It’s not like your bank can decide they don’t like how much you pay for your house anymore and just kick you out of it. I realize the CBA isn’t set up to favor the players in this aspect, but it seems to me that it’s not kosher for teams to be able to cut players because they don’t think that they are playing up to their contract, but when they play above it, they don’t have the option to change the terms of the deal. The thing is, until the owners and the union come up with something new, you’re going to have holdouts. Not much you can do about it.

I can understand holding out when there is a contract being “forced” on you. There is another player I’d like to bag on for holding out.

Similar to Lito, Kellen Winslow doesn’t want to honor a contract he signed. He hasn’t shown up to OTAs and has made it clear in the past he wanted his contract reworked. Keep in mind it was the Browns who reworked his deal after his STUPID motorcycle accident in 2005. Now, after 2 good years Winslow is (probably) going to hold out and ask for more money. That’s the sort of thing that bugs me….

players hold out because they know their contracts aren’t quaranteed and teams can cut them at a moments notice so therefore they feel they must obtain as much money as possible now for that reason and because the money won’t be there in the future after they play out their contracts.

but I missed it. He apparently discussed why he is not attending the workouts. I’m sure someone will find out what he said later.

He said he is working out in Houston like he has in the past.

He also talked about Roy, His contract, and the Draft Class.

He said Roy is focused and Ready to go. He went on to say he thinks Roy is talented enough to play in the box and Centerfield-Roy was getting better as the season went along playing the deep safety and he will show it this season.

He talked about the contract a little, but it really doesn’t seem close to getting done.

He thought we had a pretty good draft class. Happy to have another arkansas player on the team. He said the Rookie CB’s are going have to step up and contribute this season.

There is a HUGE difference between Shepherd and MB3/Hamlin. The terms holdout and unsigned are often incorrectly used interchangeably but they are very, very different.

Shepherd is under contract so he will indeed be a holdout if he doesn’t report to training camp. A holdout is someone who is not honoring their contract. I have a big problem with players not honoring their contracts.

MB3 and Hamlin are unsigned. An unsigned player is by definition not under contract and therefore has no obligations whatsoever to any team. The fact that Dallas holds exclusive rights to sign MB3 and Hamlin to a contract does not obligate those two to sign the contracts Dallas offers. I have no problem with MB3 and Hamlin not signing their contract offers. That is well within their rights.

I have said from the get-go that there is potentially a huge problem with MB3 if he isn’t signed to a long-term deal. He won’t want to play for the tender offer of $2.5M because it is way under his market value and also because of the injury risk. If he is injured, he may not get the huge signing bonus that will surely come with unrestricted free agency. I will be very surprised if he signs his tender offer before late August, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he played only the first eight games under the tender offer and then held out. I believe eight games is the minimum necessary to accrue another year of eligibility for free agency. It’s all about getting that huge signing bonus for MB3. Dallas made a great move drafting Choice because he gives them coverage to deal with this very possible scenario.

No, the CBA isn’t supposed to engender this kind of behavior, but anytime you put restrictions on freedom that do not allow a proven player to play for near his fair market value, there are going to be huge problems. People often equate money with respect and a feeling of being valued. The current CBA all to often creates gross inequities between worth and salary for proven players. The tender offer for first & third round restricted players should be about 85-95% of the franchise tag for the respective positions. The first round restriction should be about 70-85% of the franchise tag. At least the player would be paid close to market.

I’ve elaborated before on this blog that I think the MB3 situation is a no-win for either side. Dallas does not want to pay MB3 the money that premier, feature running backs make. In my opinion, they should not even consider signing MB3 to a long-term deal. MB3 on the other hand simply wants to cash in on that One Big Contract with that One Big Signing bonus so he is set for life. I can’t fault him there at all. I know most on this board will disagree with me (or not want to hear this) but if I were in MB3’s situation, I would demand a multi-year deal with a big signing bonus or a one-year deal for close to the franchise tag amount. If the Cowboys didn’t budge off the $2.5M tender offer, I would sign my one-year tender offer after the eighth game of the season, thereby guaranteeing the accrual of the final year needed to obtain unrestricted free agency status. That way he is playing by the rules and not breaking a moral obligation by not upholding his contract. The single most important thing for MB3 is to get that signing bonus. The decisions he makes about when and if he signs his tender offer will be, to a great degree, dictated by the goal of minimizing his risk (read: risk=injury) of getting that bonus.

I know that sounds greedy and cynical, but my opinions are shaped by my experiences with human behavior. When it comes to money, things like loyalty and being a ‘good soldier’ often go right out the window. I suspect the Cowboys have several contingency plans in place in case the MB3 situation gets nasty and he isn’t around for the entire season.

I think the MB3 situation is a no-win for either side. Dallas does not want to pay MB3 the money that premier, feature running backs make. In my opinion, they should not even consider signing MB3 to a long-term deal. MB3 on the other hand simply wants to cash in on that One Big Contract with that One Big Signing bonus so he is set for life. I can’t fault him there at all.

totally agree there…..on all fronts…

you never hear people asking about “binding” contracts when organizations cut an extremely loyal and once valuable veteran who gets to old or gets hurt. Ask Emmitt if his contract was “binding” when he got cut. It works both ways.