Glauber: Revis' holdout puts Woody in tight spot
Jets owner Woody Johnson stops by the press room to talk to the reporters about Darrelle Revis and his contract dispute during the first day of training camp, Monday. (Aug. 2, 2010) Credit: Pat Orr
CORTLAND, N.Y.
With the Darrelle Revis staredown showing no signs of ending anytime soon, Jets owner Woody Johnson again has been thrust into the spotlight. And not for reasons to his liking.
Calls for Johnson to pay Revis what he's asking are increasing, and the owner is feeling increased pressure to get a deal done with his best player. But Johnson has been unwilling to agree to Revis' terms.
"We want to have a deal that's good for him and also that's good for us," Johnson said Monday on Day 2 of Revis' holdout. "It has to be a two-sided deal."
Johnson is in a tough spot, especially after last year's failed negotiations with Leon Washington and the subsequent feelings of mistrust in the Jets' locker room. Throw in the situations involving Pete Kendall in 2007 and Chris Baker in 2008, and you understand why Jets fans are leery of Johnson's mind-set as he tries to placate one of the best players in franchise history.
But as Johnson explains it, the sides are too far apart on the overall compensation to get a deal done. Not that he is unwilling to pay Revis an unprecedented sum; we reported last month that the Jets are willing to exceed $100 million as part of an extension of Revis' existing contract. Revis is looking for a huge sum of guaranteed money, something Johnson is willing to give if the total value of the contract is less than Revis is asking.
"When you get to some of the details like guaranteed money or the length of the contract, we haven't even negotiated because we're so far apart on the other ones,'' Johnson said. "I'd love to sit down and negotiate. We can be flexible."
And just to make sure Revis understands Johnson's commitment, general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who has been handling all negotiations, will reach out to agents Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod to reiterate Johnson's willingness to meet directly with them or with Revis.
So for those of you who say Johnson should roll over and pay Revis whatever he wants, keep in mind that the owner has been more than generous to almost all of his key players since buying the team in 2000.
Consider:
Mark Sanchez got a $50-million contract last season, including $28 million in guarantees.
Chad Pennington received a seven-year, $64-million deal in 2004, including $23 million in guaranteed money.
Bart Scott's $48-million free- agent deal last year included $27 million guaranteed.
The Jets outbid the Dolphins in 2008 to sign linebacker Calvin Pace to a $42-million deal that included $22 million in guarantees.
Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson's six-year, $60-million contract signed last month includes up to $34.8 million guaranteed.
The point: Johnson has been willing to do lucrative deals with players coveted by the organization. He's even been willing to pay players from other teams on their existing contracts. When the Jets traded for Brett Favre in 2008, they paid him the $12 million due on his Packers contract.
Have there been problem negotiations before? No doubt. The Kendall situation should have been resolved more amicably, but Kendall didn't make it any easier, either. And the fact that Revis is represented by the same agents as Kendall is not lost on the Jets' organization.
And let's clear up the Washington negotiations once and for all: He was looking for the same deal as the five-year, $31-million contract signed by the Jaguars' Maurice Jones-Drew, one of the league's top rushers. Washington was not an every-down back, and the Jets negotiated accordingly. He decided to play out last year's deal at $1.1 million, and he suffered a season-ending ankle injury last October.
I'm not saying Johnson can't come closer to Revis' number than the sides are at now. But I am saying that the owner at least deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to willingness to pay top dollar for top players.
Whether that results in a new deal for his best player remains to be seen. At this point, Revis' hard-line stance makes things seem bleak. So until the cornerback can agree to meet somewhere in the middle, this thing will continue to get ugly.
