Report: Crabtree offer is reduced

Mercury News ^ | 9-15-09 | Daniel Brown

[Brookhaven]

Michael Crabtree celebrated his 22nd birthday Monday. As an unwanted gift, multiple reports surfaced that the 49ers are poised to drop their offer to the No. 10 overall pick out of Texas Tech.

Citing team sources, Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports wrote that Crabtree's continued absence makes him less valuable to the 49ers on a prorated basis and added, "Translation: The team just reduced its offer and will continue to do so with each passing week."

A day earlier, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the 49ers sent a letter to Crabtree "modifying" their offer.

Responding to the Fox report Monday, coach Mike Singletary acknowledged that such a letter had at least been discussed. But Singletary said he was unsure whether the 49ers had actually dropped the note in the mail.

Singletary said. "I didn't want to hear about it any more after last Friday. I said, 'Hey, do what you have to do. I'm focused over here.'

"So I don't know if the letter's actually been sent. I know we talked about it. But at this point, the whole Michael Crabtree thing "... it's over there. I'm going to focus over here. We have our hands full with the 53 (players) that we have."

The 49ers' offer has been reported at five years and $20 million, with $16 million guaranteed. According to the Yahoo! report, the 49ers are willing to give Crabtree incentives that would take them to within a dollar

less of the package given to No. 9 pick B.J. Raji. (Raji got a reported five-year deal for $28.5 million with almost $18 million guaranteed.)

"We won't go over that," the team source told Yahoo! "Otherwise, we're going to have the same problem next year, and the year after that "..."

[Brookhaven]

And where would he get drafted anyway?

If I had a top 10 pick next year, I wouldn’t touch him. Heck, I’m not sure I’d touch him in any round now. Team chemisty counts as much as talent. No matter how far he falls, he’s going to want top 5 money and act like the team revolves around him.

As talented as Vick is, only two teams (Eagles and Bengals) seriously considered signing him. 30 other teams decided he wasn’t worth it no matter how talented he is.

In 2010 Crabtree could be the first 7th rounder demanding top 5 money.

[Retired Greyhound]

I agree with you on the first point, but I don’t think he is being greedy.

BTW, I think college players should be paid. (And seriously, what IS a TX girl doing in PA?)

[Retired Greyhound]

You are right. This is where he is being stupid.

NO WAY he goes top 10 next year. A year out of football hurts. Remember Mike Williams (USC)?.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I believe some college players ARE paid to play.... but I think the free education is their payment.

[Revolting cat!]

Receivers are a dime a dozen (on styreet corners in gay San Fran), and many a former sprinter have been trained and excelled at the job. Get this boy a bagging job at a supermarket.

[Night Hides Not]

The kid is getting bad advice from his agent.

Won't be too long before Crabtree is "under water", i.e. his market value drops below what his agent is fronting him while waiting for the contract to be signed.

The NFL's still a cash cow, but there may be a lock out in two years. That would be a really stupid move, IMO.

There'll be enough college football to keep the average fan happy. As for me, football's there to keep me occupied until college hoops begins.

Back to the topic: Crabtree needs to pull his head out of his rectum and take the $15-16 million guaranteed.

[scott says]

NFL PING

FReepmail scott says to be added to, or to be taken off the NFL Ping list...

This is a fairly high volume ping list

[NavVet]

You mean have the teams actually have to compete for players is a free market place. Imagine that.

[Cyclone59]

BTW, I think college players should be paid.

Ummm, most of them are being paid - via scholarships.

Crabtree is a prick, since arena season is cancelled he should play minor league, the dose of reality will hit really soon after he PAYS to play with a minor league football club.

No football team will touch him if he demands more than he is worth - I call it the Bozworth priciple.

[Cyclone59]

Oh and I will also use the POS from Ohio State as an example: Who’s he playing for?

[Filo]

The Niners were fortuante to land him at #10. They should pay him as if he were the #7 pick, which he would have been had a sane person (i.e. not Al Davis) been making the selection.

I think the Niners are being cheap.

While I agree that Crabtree is better than Bey he was still drafted 10th. That's reality.

To suggest that players and teams should be tied to some arbitrary interpretation of reality opens the door for a bunch of really ridiculous nonsense:

"Well, we drafted you at 15 but that was a stretch. You're really a second round player so here's our offer comparable to the #45 pick. Take it or leave it."

"I know I was drafted at 16 but I'm as good as the number 1 guy (even though he's a QB and I'm a DB) so I want the same contract. . ."

Silly.

Crabtree was drafted at 10. His offer is a dollar less than the number 9 guy and substantially more than the number 11 guy.

That's all that matters. . . or all that should, tampering and bad advice aside.

[Brookhaven]

From a news story:

You know you are a laughing stock when you become a Twitter “Trending Topic”. This is the case of Crabtree whose name is now synonymous with a few Trending Topics such as: #Crabtreed. An example of this: “The Judge wanted me to pay fines and court costs, but I “crabtreed” the offer and now I have a warrant out for my arrest.”

Another popular one was: #Crabtreechick. An example of this: “I met this “crabtreechick” at the club, she came back to my house and I thought we had negotiated all the terms to “seal the deal,” but she refused to “sign the contract.”

[Michael.SF.]

The Niners were fortuante to land him at #10. They should pay him as if he were the #7 pick, which he would have been had a sane person (i.e. not Al Davis)

You can still say that after what has transpired?

Seems to me Al Davis's judgment regarding Crabtree is looking better all the time.

[SoldierDad]

Yeah, that’ll work out real well for the sport. You’ll have a handful of teams that will survive the economics of that system, and the rest will disappear.

[pistolpetestoys]

If I were Samurai Mike,I would go in front of the cameras and say:’I thought Crabtree wanted to play football;guess not.FUMC!’

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Disagree. The Niners were fortuante to land him at #10. They should pay him as if he were the #7 pick, which he would have been had a sane person (i.e. not Al Davis) been making the selection.

So the Raiders had picks 7, 8 & 9? Jeez, there's parity and then there's parity

[Michael.SF.]

All NFL teams should hold firm to the principal of: If we do not have a signature when training camp starts, you're gone for the year.

Jamarcus Russell at Oakland, Crabapple at SF. I say F'm both.

The NFL (and college and HS and Pee Wee) should all stop making these guys into prima Donna's).

[Horkster]

I put this under culture, because there isn't a category for ego-driven, entitlement inpired stupidity.

I added a keyword or two as well. :)

For those of you who think the 49ers should have paid this prima-donna-diva-wannabe-whiner what the idiot Al Davis over-paid for his earlier pick, I can only sadly shake my head.

I applaud the 49ers (for once) for sticking to their guns, and refusing to offer him more than the pick in front of him, and for reducing their offer with every passing game that this newbie misses.

If Crabtree thinks he can forego this year, and somehow get drafted HIGHER than 10th NEXT year (lots of good WRs in next year's draft class), he is dumber than any of us give him credit for.

He would be a risky first round pick for any team in next year's draft. I'd love to see him drop to the 3rd or 4th round. Who needs another me-first prima-donna wide receiver on their team?

[NavVet]

Baseball survives without real salary caps. So did the NFL for a long time. If the league was worried about NY or LA being able to outbid Pittsburg, just institute revenue sharing amongst the teams, that way each team has the same amount of money available.