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What Does $5,371,570 Buy You These Days?
Days since the draft: 19; Number of rookies signed: 0; Number of stories from the local 
media covering the negotiations: 0; Total value of stories appearing in the local media: Worthless!
The local media members had their opportunity. They had John Fox cornered during the recent luncheon at the Charlotte Touchdown Club. How many questions did Fox have lobbed his way about contract negotiations with the team’s draft picks? Zero. None. Nada. Zilch. Not nary a one!
So, we are to take it that the media are on top of the story, huh? There they were - 600 people in the room with the head coach of the Carolina Panthers and not one of them thought about asking him if they are close to signing Jonathan Stewart or Jeff Otah to a contract?
Okay, we know how this game is played - players get signed in the order they were drafted in most cases. That gives the teams and the agents a starting place for negotiations. I still can’t believe that the team hasn’t at least approached the players’ agents with some semblance of a contract number, though, and the local media (I’d call names but you know and they know who they are) can’t seem to think of such an important question.
The Carolina Panthers have been allotted a rookie pay pool of $5,371,570 to pay their rookies but that’s a number they can work around with bonuses, prorated monies and really creative contract numbers. That number ranks seventh in the league. (The Chiefs got over $8 million and ranked first.)
What I’m still not understanding here is this - we have been bombarded by stories of that worthless, cheating, hunk of lard from New England and his video tapes but we can’t get any of these journalistic monoliths (ESPN, NFLN, FOX Sports, or our established local reporters) to run even one story on where the league’s first-round draft talent stand in contract negotiations?
What have we gotten instead? Let’s recount…
Steve Smith is throwing out the first pitch at a Cubs game. I got a warm fuzzy.
Jonathan Stewart might be returning kickoffs for the Panthers. It’s news but how can he return kickoffs, take a handoff or even be part of training camp if he isn’t signed to a deal?
What else did we get from that 600-person crowd facing John Fox?
Question:How many games are you going to win this year?
Or how about this?
Question:Are the Panthers going to make opposing defenses not double-team wide receiver Steve Smith this season?
Well, gee, we thought we’d make opposing defenses triple and quadruple team him! DUH!
This is what passes for serious journalists? Where are the tough questions like, “Coach, do you prefer the toilet paper flap to hang out the front or the back?” How about, “Coach, do you squeeze the toothpaste from the middle or from the end and roll it up as you go?”
If the local media, and national media for that matter, will be ignoring it, I can assure you, I won’t. Hey, I’m just a blogger but I can see the importance of these contract numbers even if these educated pansies don’t.
Why am I ripping these guys a new one, you ask. I’ll explain it like this - they are supposed to be our eyes and ears, the guys who get us the inside dope, the scoop. They’re failing as usual. They’d rather ask “Is there any additional pressure after two consecutive non-winning seasons?” Seriously, that was one of their questions! Unbelieveable! I only wish the coach had said, “You’re too stupid to ask me any questions! Get them outta here!”
We have $5,371,570 to spend (more or less). The clock started ticking the day the draft ended. Days until the start of training camp (as of May 16th): 72. We’re counting even if nobody else is.
I came across your website a few months ago and thought I would give it a look see. There are not that many Panthers websites and I am a fan so, I thought, what the heck.
Now I am wondering if that was a good idea. You really don’t know much about football and, as it looks, you now even less about the Panthers and how they conduct business.
In the NFL typically first round picks are the last ones to sign. Most of them don’t get signed until about a week or so before training camp. That is pretty normal and has been for the past 15 years or so. Beason was signed about a week after training camp opened last year. I would be not supprised if the front office has not even began talks with either of our first round pick’s agents at this point. The only first round pick to sign before that time is usually the first overall pick.
Also I listen one day to your little podcast, I was bored. It was regarding draft picks and you had some other guys come on and tell you what the Panthers needs were and what they were going to do. You said nothing and there were so offbase it wasn’t even funny.
So in conclusion, I applaude you for having a Panthers website and hope you keep it up. But you really need to get more informed in terms of football and the Panthers in all areas. I would not want a fan from another team to come to this site and think that this represents the understanding and level of involement of all the fanbase of the Panthers.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:58 amI’m going to save this comment. It’s my first hate message on the blog! It’s worth saving for historical purposes. These days, you can’t get anywhere if there isn’t somebody out there who just doesn’t care for you. Look at Stephen A. Smith! Thank you Neil.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:25 amSorry to disapoint you but this was not meant as a hate message but some constructive critizum. I have been following the Panthers since their inception and the NFL since the early 80’s.
I don’t know how old you are or how long you have been following football or the Panthers, but when reading some, not all, of you post it seemed that how the Panthers and the NFL go about busniess you seemed a little uninformed.
For instance, Hurney has stated many times that they do not discuss ongoing contract negoiations with players to the press. So the questions you posed in the above artice would have been meet by a “no comment”. I don’t have specific other instances that I can tell you but it was just a general feeling I had reading some of you articles.
The only reason I am leaving a comment for you is I would liketo think other fans from other teams would think Panther fans are pretty informed and pretty smart about football.
If this was not a Carolina Panthers blog site I would say this guy does not know what he is talking about and never come back. Really I guess I am doing this as much for me as I am for you.
I have never left a comment on any other site before.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pmNeil, I don’t mind that you left a less than flattering comment. I encourage anybody to message me here and let me know what they think. I tried to make light of it and I may have failed in that attempt. However, what I was asking in that article is this - why have the media members not at least asked if the team has broached the subject of contracts? That’s it. That’s all I meant by it. Do I know as much as someone who has coached a lifetime? No. Do I claim to be the most well-informed guy in the world on the topic of football? No. Instead, I’m simply being a fan, writing as a fan, and giving my point of view. That’s all I have ever intended to do here and all I’ll be able to do in the future. It’s either good enough or not good enough to bring people back. I can only do what I can do. I’m limited on access to players, coaches and information from the team or the league. If I was writing for the Observer, I would expect to be held to some high journalistic standards but this is a blog. It’s just a fan writing for other fans and not taking things quite as seriously as some do. I’m sorry if you don’t always see eye to eye with me or if you think I’m not that well educated or informed. I’m just like you - a fan with an opinion and you know what they say about opinions. If you don’t agree fine. I can live with that. If you do that’s great. But treat the site as you would any discussion with a buddy at the local tavern. In other words, don’t take it so seriously.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:58 pm