No progress in Derrick Dockery Negotiations....

[Schneed10]

One problem I have is the 'Skins will say things like "Marcus Washington makes x, so we can't pay Antonio Pierce more than that."

In a league where the salary cap goes up 7-10% per season, the team has to realize that there is an inflation factor built in. Washington was signed in 2004. Pierce wanted like 3% more than Washington was making, but he wanted it in 2005, one year later than Marcus signed for. The salary cap went up by 7% that year, so since 7% is greater than 3%, on an inflation adjusted basis, Washington woulda been making more.

But the Skins used that angle as the crux of their argument, and no wonder it alienated Pierce, and pissed off a good portion of the locker room. The 'Skins are totally willing to follow the rising cap for free agents, but when it comes to their own players, they pay them based on what their teammates signed for one, two, three years ago.

It's bullsh*t. Pay up for Dockery goddammit. I don't care if it's $35 million over six years with a $10 million signing bonus. He deserves it, and if you don't pay it, you're REALLY going to piss off the 'Skins locker room.

Sometimes I admire the salary cap management and ingenuity of Snyder and Schaffer. But then, I see the team potentially alienating the players with retarded moves like this, and I lose all faith in their understanding of human nature.