This may be a moment of clarity when it comes to the long-awaited new Aaron Rodgers’ contract.
Rodgers wants an opt-out, so he can brush his hair back, be able to look in the mirror and know he’s the highest-paid player in the game.
Vanity. A girl that once dated Prince, but also did a shitload of heroine with Nikki Sixx.
This is appropriate for the first (closeted) gay superstar in the NFL. I’ll see you later tonight at The Abbey, AR. And I will pick up more broads than you do, because I’m actually interested.
At any rate, this opt-out crap may not be that simple. Although we thought such a thing to be a non-starter in the NFL, there are a couple guys who DO have opt-outs. They are backup quarterbacks, but one of them is a Super Bowl MVP.
Chase Daniel — for whatever reason a guy who has no business being in the league to begin with gets an opt-out — and Nick Foles. The latter deservedly won the Super Bowl MVP last season. But he’s going to sit behind Carson Wentz as long as he’s on the Eagles. That is also just. Carson Wentz > Nick Foles.
Sorry, Nick Foles.
But here’s the deal. Those two guys who have player options also have to pay the team back some money in order to opt-out. This comes from former agent Joel Corry.
Two backup quarterbacks, Chase Daniel and Nick Foles, have the power to void their contracts. Daniel can opt out of the second year (2019) of the two-year, $10 million contract he signed with the Bears in March by repaying $5 million during a 10-day window in February, right after Super Bowl LIII.
Foles’ renegotiated contract with the Eagles is more complicated than Daniel’s. The Eagles have an option to pick up Foles’ 2019 through 2021 contract years containing healthy salaries for a starting quarterback by the middle of next February. If the option is exercised, which isn’t the intention, the Super Bowl LII MVP can void the years with a $2 million payment to the Eagles.
It’s no secret that Rodgers’ fancy new contract is taking so long to get done because of Rodgers’ demands.
Thing is, Rodgers has no leverage, other than the fact that the Packers WANT to pay him.
Rodgers has two years left on his current deal. The Packers could franchise him twice following the expiration of that deal. The Packers don’t need to do anything.
So what does Rodgers want? What appeals to his vanity? Highest paid player in the game?
Russ Ball, in my mind, could give a fucking shit.
And in light of the landscape, if you want an opt-out and you want to use it — well, give the organization back at least half of your salary.
But talk to me about opt-out clauses with two more years on your current deal. And please, tell me more about your leverage.