Negotiations between Saints, Bush agent to heat up

[TheMalcolmConnection]

If he hasn't signed a contract, where did he get that $50,000?

[gibbsisgod]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

If he hasn't signed a contract, where did he get that $50,000?

endorsements. i think he signed a deal with adidas.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Ah, indeed. However, I'm not just going to hate on Bush, I'm going to hate on Reggie and Leinhart and Lendale White because they're all products of being around each other. Put Reggie on the Broncos or Patriots and he would go apeshit. Mario Williams can make an impact wherever he goes.

[itvnetop]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Ah, indeed. However, I'm not just going to hate on Bush, I'm going to hate on Reggie and Leinhart and Lendale White because they're all products of being around each other. Put Reggie on the Broncos or Patriots and he would go apeshit. Mario Williams can make an impact wherever he goes.

we'll see if this is true... i just hope if all three succeed everyone here will give them due respect... not "leinart is surrounded by edge and two elite receivers" and "lendale has vince young."

[gibbsisgod]

tmc, we are in total agreement about all 3 of those guys. everyone will see that none of these guys will live up to the hype coming out of college, and i think white will be the first one out of the league(i give him 3 seasons before everyone realizes he is a bust).bush may have a productive career but nothing worthy of his draft status.leinhart has a weak arm imo and he will have a worse rookie campaign than smith in sf.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I agree about Bush having a productive career and I really feel like he'll have an Eddie George-like career, which isn't all bad. He'll do well each year, but he won't be Football Jesus like people are making him out to be.

[gibbsisgod]

i thought taylor jacobs was already annointed football jesus

[12thMan]

Yes Bush may be greedy or maybe not. But there a couple of things that seemed to get overlooked in the hating that is generally directed toward athletes attempting to go to the highest bidder.

First of all, at the end of the day they are employees and business people, and not necessarily in that order. Secondly, why is that the owners always get a free pass but athletes are the ones who are constantly singled out as being selfish and greedy? I truly think one begets another.

In my mind these athletes are simply taking their cue from a culture that, yes, the owners themselves have created and athletes have perpetuated. Larger stadiums sponsored by large corporate entities, television revenue, and much, much more. We can't just isolate a player here and there and say they're greedy or selfish for wanting more money and somehow absolve the ownership from this....they are just as much to blame as all the Reggie Bushes' of the world.

Hey, if Reggie Bush is going to fill up the Super Dome or wherever it is they end up...more power to him! "Don't muzzle the Ox that treads out the corn." After all that's part of the reason they hired him in the first place.

[dmek25]

jdlea, dont take the hating personally. everyone is just getting sick of all the greedy, pampered athletes that can never play their sport strictly for the passion that they had growing up. i agree everyone needs to get paid but when a player like antonio pierce leaves for basically the same money, just more up front money and then bad mouths the skins, something is definitley wrong with that picture. reggie bush hasnt played a down in the nfl so why does he feel entitled to it? most of the time a great college career doesnt = a great nfl career. sign a short term deal and prove you are worth the money

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by dmek25

jdlea, dont take the hating personally. everyone is just getting sick of all the greedy, pampered athletes that can never play their sport strictly for the passion that they had growing up. i agree everyone needs to get paid but when a player like antonio pierce leaves for basically the same money, just more up front money and then bad mouths the skins, something is definitley wrong with that picture. reggie bush hasnt played a down in the nfl so why does he feel entitled to it? most of the time a great college career doesnt = a great nfl career. sign a short term deal and prove you are worth the money

But, D, there are no short term deals for RBs. The average career for RBs is somewhere between 3-5 yrs. And unlike other professional sports, if you get injured in the NFL, it's Hasta la Vista, baby!!

Why shouldn't Bush try to get as much as he can for his potential value....I bet the Bensons' are.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by dmek25

jdlea, dont take the hating personally. everyone is just getting sick of all the greedy, pampered athletes that can never play their sport strictly for the passion that they had growing up. i agree everyone needs to get paid but when a player like antonio pierce leaves for basically the same money, just more up front money and then bad mouths the skins, something is definitley wrong with that picture. reggie bush hasnt played a down in the nfl so why does he feel entitled to it? most of the time a great college career doesnt = a great nfl career. sign a short term deal and prove you are worth the money

I'm trying not to, but having been in New Orleans, I saw him jump right into the Katrina Relief efforts. That really endeared him to me. I thought he was an awesome athlete before that. However, now I think he's a very good person.

That said, he's just trying to get paid what he's worth. While we may disagree what he's worth, the NFL Draft and other players' contracts dictate his worth. So, that being said, he's worth about exactly as much as Mario Williams since Vince Young is apparently worth more. Now, I know DE's and QB's are generally paid more than running backs, but Reggie Bush was the best player in the draft. Next to, maybe, Vince Young.

People need to get their money when they can. I don't care what we're looking at. Any profession, if you have the opportunity to get paid, you need to get that money cause you don't know when the chance will come up again. Everyone should get what they're worth and when you compare Reggie Bush to the guys drafted around him, that's what he's asking for.

It's him that has the Superdome sold out. Period. Tom Benson is going to get even richer off of him, why not just give him what he wants? He sells tickets and he brings in money for the owner. Tom Benson won't lose money if he gives Reggie Bush Mario Williams money. It's not just the athletes that are coddled here, people. The owners get richer and richer by putting these guys on the field and the players see a small share of the profits. So, I don't feel sorry for any owner/GM who has to deal with a player wanting a lot of money.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by jdlea

People need to get their money when they can. I don't care what we're looking at. Any profession, if you have the opportunity to get paid, you need to get that money cause you don't know when the chance will come up again. Everyone should get what they're worth and when you compare Reggie Bush to the guys drafted around him, that's what he's asking for.

It's him that has the Superdome sold out. Period. Tom Benson is going to get even richer off of him, why not just give him what he wants? He sells tickets and he brings in money for the owner. Tom Benson won't lose money if he gives Reggie Bush Mario Williams money. It's not just the athletes that are coddled here, people. The owners get richer and richer by putting these guys on the field and the players see a small share of the profits. So, I don't feel sorry for any owner/GM who has to deal with a player wanting a lot of money.

You summed up my thoughts, precisely. What I don't think we're looking at here, is that the door swings both ways. You can't call the athlete greedy, yet the owner is commended as a "business man". Like you said, if Benson will profit off Bush then Bush deserves a portion of that windfall comensurate to his overall impact.

[Defensewins]

jdlea,
I realize you do not care about the rules infractions Reggie commited in college. However his infractions may effect an entire team and University. USC may have to forfeit their two national titles and every game that Bush played in. If the Heisman comittee had any real values and balls they would strip him of the award since he was not a true amatuer.

Which leads me to the reckless way he and his representaive are negotiatieing his contract. Are you still going to be in love with Reggie if he follows through with his threat to sit out the entire year and enter next years draft if he does not get the money. How are the needy New Orleans people going to feel about him if he does that? Selfish? Yes.

Why would want a player on your team that has this kind of selfish attitude?

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

jdlea,
I realize you do not care about the rules infractions Reggie commited in college. However his infractions may effect an entire team and University. USC may have to forfeit their two national titles and every game that Bush played in. If the Heisman comittee had any real values and balls they would strip him of the award since he was not a true amatuer.

Which leads me to the reckless way he and his representaive are negotiatieing his contract. Are you still going to be in love with Reggie if he follows through with his threat to sit out the entire year and enter next years draft if he does not get the money. How are the needy New Orleans people going to feel about him if he does that? Selfish? Yes.

Why would want a player on your team that has this kind of selfish attitude?

Why do you call Reggie selfish??

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

jdlea,
I realize you do not care about the rules infractions Reggie commited in college. However his infractions may effect an entire team and University. USC may have to forfeit their two national titles and every game that Bush played in. If the Heisman comittee had any real values and balls they would strip him of the award since he was not a true amatuer.

Which leads me to the reckless way he and his representaive are negotiatieing his contract. Are you still going to be in love with Reggie if he follows through with his threat to sit out the entire year and enter next years draft if he does not get the money. How are the needy New Orleans people going to feel about him if he does that? Selfish? Yes.

Why would want a player on your team that has this kind of selfish attitude?

I've heard about that, but I highly doubt that threat was made because he actually intended to re-enter the draft. That seems like a threat an agent would have made. Kind of like whenever Ramsey's agents asked for him to be traded, but Pat overruled them. If he did follow through with that threat I would think less of him. I would think of that as selfish.

As for USC. If they don't think other players are accepting gifts/money that goes against NCAA rules, they're lying to themselves. I hung out with a few of the football players at Tulane and most of the didn't disillusion people about almuni being very "generous." So, I think it's a problem that an athlete is so brazen that he gets caught, but I don't think it's a big deal because I think most of them are taking money they shouldn't be.

And finally, USC might have to forfeit wins or games or national titles, but they won't be giving back the money that alumni dumped into the program. Or that they were awarded for going to and winning bowl games. The issue here is money. And college athletes deserve more than they get because schools get rich off of them and all they get is a free education. I have academic scholarships, but people don't show up to watch me take tests. I don't make money for schools. Athletes do and they don't really see anything for it. In my opinion, that's just wrong.