Dealing with Revis requires some acumen

If Darrelle Revis played for the Steelers, there wouldn't even be a contract holdout.

Unlike the Jets, who want to re-do Revis' contract even though it still has three years remaining, the Steelers renegotiate contracts only in very limited instances.

"The Steelers have always had a policy that they're not going to negotiate anyone's contract until there's one year left on the deal, except for quarterbacks," Steelers director of player personnel Kevin Colbert said. "The consistency in the policy is something that everyone understands and respects."

Good thing for Revis the Jets don't have a similar rule.

Bad thing for the Jets they don't have a similar rule. After all, there might never have been a holdout had there been a similar policy in place.

But as the two sides continue a standoff that has lasted since the Jets reported to training camp Aug. 1, they engage in a practice that has gone on for years in the NFL.

Despite a general decrease in holdouts in recent years, especially after the introduction of the current collective-bargaining agreement in 1993, there nevertheless have been thorny contract negotiations in which the player and his representation have decided that the best plan of attack is to stay away from the team in hopes of forcing a resolution.

Each team handles contracts differently, and no team has all the answers. But the Steelers do seem to have the situation under control more than most. About their only notable holdout in recent years was by wide receiver Hines Ward, who missed the first two weeks of training camp in 2005. The Super Bowl MVP eventually signed a new deal in September, but there were no negotiations during the holdout.

The policy is that if a player is under contract and he doesn't show up, they won't talk to him about a new deal," Colbert said. "It's been very consistent."

The Jets recently issued restrictions on contracts, but not nearly as severe as the Steelers. General manager Mike Tannenbaum - who is not commenting on Revis' negotiations under an agreement with Revis' agents, Jonathan Feinsod and Neil Schwartz - will rework only deals of players currently in their rookie contracts. Revis falls into that category, as did center Nick Mangold and offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, both of whom have re-worked their deals.

There are some NFL executives who believe Tannenbaum should have waited before re-opening Revis' deal.

"Three years left on the contract and you're going to tear it up?" one team executive asked rhetorically. "You're opening up Pandora's box. Any time a player with three years left on his deal has a good year, he's going to come to you and say, 'Hey, you gave that guy a contract. What about me?' "

But Tannenbaum didn't hesitate to offer Revis a new deal; he called the agents to initiate talks just a few days after the Jets lost to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game last January.

Those negotiations have not resulted in a new deal, leading some to wonder whether Revis' holdout will last into the regular season. The Jets' opener is Monday night, Sept. 13, against the Ravens.

The Giants had a somewhat similar position with their top defensive player in 2007. Defensive end Michael Strahan, who was considering retirement in the fourth and final year of his contract, held out until the week before the regular season opened.

Jerry Reese, who was in his first year as the Giants' general manager at the time, said there was plenty of pressure to give Strahan more than the $4 million he was due to earn that year.

"Sure, there was pressure, but it wasn't the right thing to do," Reese said of the possibility of adding more money to Strahan's deal. "If I folded at the first opportunity there was to fold, then they got the wrong guy as general manager."

Reese said he never considered changing the deal.

"It was easy for me," Reese said. "Michael's money was all up front, just like Revis. There was really nothing I could do. I told him, 'Do we want you back? Absolutely. But if you're going to retire, then we'll have a great retirement party for you.' So really, there wasn't anything to do."

The Giants wound up winning their third Super Bowl championship, and Strahan retired before the following year.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has negotiated plenty of contracts during his tenure in Baltimore, and there have been times when he has had to hold the line, even on his top players. After the 2001 season, he signed linebacker Ray Lewis to a then-record $50-million deal over seven years. And despite Lewis' protestations in the latter years of the deal, Newsome remained firm. Lewis was re-signed after the 2008 season.

"You have to be very disciplined with these kinds of things," Newsome said. "Everyone wants to make more money. But every time someone wants more money, it's not like you have to just give it to them. You have to think of the entire team and what the effects are going to be."

The Jets are dealing with those effects, and how the Revis deal winds up being resolved will have an impact on future contracts with other players. The team also is interested in re-signing key players such as cornerback Antonio Cromartie and wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes, each of whom has one year remaining on his deal.

Still no deal with Revis. The waiting game continues.