Latest on the Maybin holdout in Buffalo
by Brian Galliford on Aug 4, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
in Buffalo Bills News
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PrintThe holdout of Buffalo Bills rookie defensive end Aaron Maybin has reached its eleventh day. Due to the fact that the Bills reported to training camp as a full squad earlier than any other team, Maybin's holdout has been, and remains, the longest rookie holdout to date.
We wrote last week that there was no end in sight for this holdout to end; a week later, that remains the brutal truth. However, there has been some change in the past four or five days that is worth noting - even if it's mostly bad news for the Bills and Maybin.
First-round signings speeding up
When last we wrote about this impasse, only a handful of first-round picks had signed deals. Now, 23 of 32 round one selections are signed, sealed and delivered, with Broncos DE Robert Ayers and Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin the latest to end their holdouts.
The nine players currently without deals are as follows: Chiefs DE Tyson Jackson (No. 3 overall), Seahawks LB Aaron Curry (No. 4), Bengals OT Andre Smith (No. 6), Jaguars OT Eugene Monroe (No. 8), Packers DT B.J. Raji (No. 9), 49ers WR Michael Crabtree (No. 10), Maybin, Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno (No. 12), and Saints DB Malcolm Jenkins (No. 14).
You see the immediate problem. No player selected between Nos. 8 and 12 are currently signed. That's a rather large gap, and Maybin is right near the middle of it. The only player who might be close to a deal out of that group is Moreno; ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter has a hunch that Moreno's deal will be hammered out by Thursday morning. Moreno was picked right after Maybin. A Moreno deal would only help Buffalo move a bit closer to a Maybin signing.
Sitting directly at the center of the group of five holdouts is Crabtree, with his infamous (in Buffalo, at least) agent, Eugene Parker. Despite a short-lived rumor that surfaced Monday that Crabtree had a deal, there is very little progress being made between Parker/Crabtree and the 49ers. In fact, 49ers beat reporter Matt Maiocco estimates that the two sides are between $8 million and $10 million apart in terms of guaranteed money. Right now, Crabtree is the holdup, folks.
No. 7 overall pick WR Darrius Heyward-Bey received $23.5 million guaranteed from Oakland. No. 13 overall pick DE Brian Orakpo got $12.1 million guaranteed from Washington. That $12 million wiggle room is the issue right now, and Crabtree is likely searching for guarantees in excess (or at least in the ballpark) of what DHB got from the Raiders. A Moreno signing might help, but the gap between the Bills and Maybin is likely over guaranteed money as well, and Maybin and his agent, Joel Segal, aren't likely to ramp up negotiations until there's movement on the Crabtree front.
A quick dash of perspective
Eleven days seems like a long time. When you're a rookie, it likely feels like an eternity. But it is important to note that the Bills as a team are still five days' worth of practices away from the first of five pre-season games. Their second pre-season game, a home tilt with the Chicago Bears, does not take place until August 15. These negotiations are of the type that when they heat up, breakthroughs come quickly and deals are finished rapidly. Even if Maybin doesn't sign for another two weeks, he'll still have three pre-season games with which to get into football shape for the season. He's not a starter, and there's still plenty of time to prepare. This is valuable time, but for now, this holdout isn't the end of the world.
If worst comes to worst
There's no question why Buffalo drafted Maybin in the first place - he's here to bolster a lackluster pass rush. Let's say for a moment, however, that Maybin's holdout extends so deeply into the pre-season that he's either unavailable or ill-prepared to contribute in Week 1. There are three (pretty obvious) current Bills players that will need to pick up the slack.
DE Aaron Schobel. No-brainer. He's Buffalo's highest-paid defender, and has been essentially the entirety of the team's pass rush for much of this decade. He'll be counted on whether the Bills have Maybin in the fold or not; without help from the rookie, however, there's even more pressure on Schobel and his recently-healed foot to perform.
LB Kawika Mitchell. Again, not much surprise here. Without help from Maybin, the Bills will need to blitz, blitz and blitz some more if they want to get any sort of consistent pass rush on Tom Brady in Week 1. Last season, Mitchell was defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's favorite blitzer, as evidenced by his team-leading four sacks.
DE Chris Ellis. Here's the critical element: with Copeland Bryan nursing an injury (and unlikely to make the team), and with only three ends ahead of Ellis on the depth chart, Ellis would see playing time in the even the team is without Maybin for games that count. The second-year pro had a highly invisible rookie season, but has had a strong camp to date, exhibiting much more upper body strength and some quickness around the edge. A strong early-season surge from Ellis would go a long way toward helping the Bills wait on Maybin, but how reliable can Ellis be right away?
The clock ticks, folks...
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GREED
is the ONLY word I can come up w/ immediatley, other than AGENT. The agent works FOR the player – right? Well, Maybin has been saying for a good time now that he wants to be in camp (on time no less), but yet we’re all still waiting.
What I fail to understand is, they are rookies that haven’t played a down int he NFL yet. They are getting enormous salaries for doing absolutley NOTHING at this level yet. In the case of Maybin, if he’s being true to his word, and wants to be in camp, then why can’t he simply tell the agent, “look man, you work for ME! Not the other way around. I’ll be MORE than happy to take a 3% increase from last years number 11 pick so I can get my a$$ in camp NOW!” Take it – or as Donald Trump would say; “your fired!”.
I think it’s prbably about 95% the agent’s fault and the other 5 the rooks. I dunno, but this really disgusts me. Especially the amount of money these rookies are getting.
I’m looking VERY forward to the rookie salary cap that has to happen sooner rather than later. It’s the right thing for the NFL to do!
Season Ticket Holder Sec: 312, Row: 15
"There's NO place like home when it's the Big Tree Inn"
Agents can be very persuasive
Remember, the agent is getting paid alongside the player. It’s likely he’s convinced Maybin that a few days or weeks missing camp is worth the dollars.
by Dyl on Aug 4, 2009 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought the DHB pick by the Raiders was dumb at the time, but guaranteeing him $23.5 million is borderline insanity. As Pocono Bob said, this guy has proved nothing. The odds of him being a bust are through the roof, especially being a receiver. We are also looking at a boom-or-bust pick with Maybin. I don’t understand how you can guarantee such a huge sum of money to an unproven commodity.
They really need to address the rookie contract situation. With it, they need to allow for restructuring after the first or second year to see if you’ve got a player before you guarantee them more money than the best proven players in the league are making. Seriously, some of the best receivers in the league aren’t making what DHB is GUARANTEED.
Dominos
I don’t consider this a holdout, this is the business of the NFL and #1 picks. Guys don’t sign until the guy ahead of them sign. This is the domino effect. One stubborn domino prevents the contracts down the line from falling. Don’t hate the player hate the system.
Never said I hated the player
and I DO hate the system as is currently stands. I’m still of the thinking that if the player wants to get signed as soon a posssible he is the “client” and he should be the one dictating to the agent, and NOT the other way around. The player misses WAY too much valuable time w/ his new organization, and why squabble over a couple grand or so, when they are already making more than all of us BR’s make combined, for a lifetime. It’s just ridiculous to me, business end of it or not.
For the record, I realize that Maybin has only one year @ PSU, but I absolutley fell in love w/ this guy throughout the NCAA season last year. I didn’t miss one game he played. He’s gonna be a force provided he can continue on his play from last year as a great pass russhing DE.
Just get ’er done!!! and get in camp Aaron.
Season Ticket Holder Sec: 312, Row: 15
"There's NO place like home when it's the Big Tree Inn"
YAWN
I respect your statements- But it is the same old arguement we always hear from someone who ignores the business side of it.
The truth is simple-If I thought I could make an extra 3 million by waiting an extra 2 weeks, I would do it. So would you. There is no guarentee these guys will get another contract…ever. So their agents are doing the correct thing, and protecting their client.
Maybin says he wants to get to camp bc that is the P.C. thing to say. He wants the money, along with his agent. More power to him.
disagree about the “domino” theory. there are plenty of players who have signed prior to the next higher pick being signed. It is simply the greed of the agent(and player), trying to make himself a bigger paycheck.
Here’s another update: Just got a tweet from Adam Schefter himself who described Maybin’s negotiations as “very slow.”
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Aug 4, 2009 11:50 AM EDT reply actions
GREAT
Is this truely a Crabtree thing for Maybin? Really?
Season Ticket Holder Sec: 312, Row: 15
"There's NO place like home when it's the Big Tree Inn"
This really shouldn’t be that complicated.
2009: http://walterfootball.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10264
2008: http://walterfootball.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4517&highlight=rookie+signings
The big dropoff happens at 9 or 10. You can see that the 2008 contracts are similar to the 2009 contracts.
So basically look at Orakpo and McKelvin for the starting point.
The contract’s going to end up right around 5 years, $21.5 million, with $13 million guaranteed. Looking for significantly over that (or under) is only a waste of time.
And anyone that’s blaming the agent here is misguided. If Maybin wanted to be in camp he would get it done. I don’t care what he publicly says; actions speak louder than words.
I said this in April
DE at 11: 5 years, $22-25M, $4.4M to $5M Avg. (15-29% increase over 2008)
Based on past draft picks.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 4, 2009 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I underestimated the annual increases from the previous draft, but I think the general point stands: Maybin holding out isn’t going to get him any more money (unless the Bills are offering him something at or below the McKelvin contract). The parameters are already in place.
The Heyward-Bey contract looks crazy. He got more than Lee Evans did with his 2nd contract. I’m not sure why teams would want to pick in the top 10 at those salaries.
They don't.
A lot of teams were looking to trade down in the draft but nobody wanted in.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 4, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Here is another Twist.
His agent is all about gettting as much money for Aaron as possible. This also lines his pocket as well. The player is going crazy waiting and waiting for his dream to meet reality. He wants to get into camp of course. What do you tell the kid? and What does a kid do when your advise is not what they want to hear? Agent: Aaron in thirty days this will be all water under the bridge. You will be in camp with your teamates and possible 5M richer. That isn’t chump change. Yes, Agent but I really want to get into camp and be with my teamates. Agent: Be Patient with me, it will Happen. Aaron: LaMar, Shawn and Ray what do I do, I am sitting here waiting to join my teamates and my agent is haggling over 5M dollars. The team is willing to pay me X amount isn’t that enough? Friends. If you have a chance to make 5M in 2 – 3 weeks time, man you got to do it. This may never happen again. Your teammates will understand it’s the business part of it. Pretty sad but happens every day.
True...
…for 5M nearly anyone would wait, especially if we’re talking about guaranteed money. For 1-2M, it doesn’t make sense. I suspect that waiting for Maybin won’t have a significant financial impact…but you never know. As you point out, this will all be forgotten soon enough. In the absence of real football action, these little things become more important to fans than they should be; except providing more fodder to support a rookie salary cap..
"They're Killin' Me Whitey. They're Killin' Me" -- Lou Saban
right on
That’s exactly how it plays out. Throughout the whole process, agents are constantly telling the players that missing a week or two now is much better for the long term (financially).
This is probably right, to an extent, but I do think they all underestimate the power of being at the first training camp. Missing camp can affect your entire first season as well as carrying into the next year. Camp only lasts for 3-4 weeks per year. If you miss it, you have to wait until the following year to get that experience.
John I.
Not a huge deal (yet)
The Bills started training camp earlier then most teams, so they have a little extra time. if he still isn’t signed a week form now, I would be more concerned.
No night spent pantsless is a wasted night.
It's unfortunate
Most kids will follow the advice of their friends before any adult. Lets get the kid into camp and hope he stays on the straight and narrow. I hope he has a poster in his room of Tom Brady with a “Come and get me If you can”, look on his face. That’s the main reason why we drafted him. He gets to Brady the rest will follow.
It’s unfortunate but I think the Bills wanted to play him only situationally until he develops just like they are doing with Nelson. They are not asking Nelson to be the #1 TE but they do want him to do a lot in terms of passing and maybe do a little blocking. I was hopeful in the beginning it would have gotten done by yesterday – usually the Bills are pretty good at getting things done by about this time. So cross fingers
Hold outs with rookies have been going on since as long as I can remember. The NFLPA at one time was for some type of cap for the rookies so the money could be theoretically disbursed amongst the vets. Needless to say that fell by the wayside as the outlandish rookie contracts ended up helping a small handful of vets in negotiating new contracts. The ironic part is that the 4-5 year vets that were average players or special team players became expendable because their salaries or league required minimum salaries were too high.
The NBA has a slotting system in place for draft picks, the rookies already have an idea what they will be making—-so the NBA is virtually rookie hold-out free. The key for the rookies is to play good thru their first contract then they can make the big $$$’s on their next one.
If Ellis comes into his own this year
and at the start of the season, I think Maybin won’t need to make as much of an impact. I’ve been pulling for Ellis this offseason and actually look at Maybin’s holdout as unfortunate for him – he may lose playing time to Ellis because of this. I’m fine with that now.
Twitter: helping to make anti-social people anti-socially social.
by TheAfghanTwilight on Aug 4, 2009 1:30 PM EDT reply actions
If every agent held out for the next deal to be made,
no rookie would ever sign.
So who are these revolutionary agents that sign without needing to base it on everyone else? Who are these brave pioneers of the sports world?
And why are these other agents such worthless crap?
Sweet home Orchard Park.
by Undee on Aug 4, 2009 1:32 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Maybin isn't losing any sleep
I know that some of you expressed that Maybin just wants to be at camp and be with his teammates— and although he seems like a genuine and sincere kid— I doubt he is busting down his agent’s door to get the deal done if it means less money. If you could be to camp now or in 3 weeks and make $1-2 milion more… what would you do?
Let’s all be honest with ourselves in that we would hold out. I can’t blame him or his agent for trying to squeeze more. Haven’t you ever had a job offer and pushed to see if you could get 1-2k more? Same thing. Eventually, you reach an agreement that benefits both sides, but it may take a little longer.
I’m sure it is Maybin’s boyhood dream of playing professional football… and I’m sure it’s also been his dream to get paid millions of dollars and live in luxury.
I think that a lot of the drive of NFL athletes come from the game itself (moreso for us as fans, I’m sure), but I’m sure a lot of it is about getting paid.
I do agree that rookies get paid a lot for their college experience only— I can understand that opinion. Let’s hope the two can come together relatively soon.
“If you could be to camp now or in 3 weeks and make $1-2 milion more… what would you do?”
You’d make a good agent. :) Honestly, though, and less personally, statements like these are prime examples of an agent’s likely argument encouraging greed.
When the money is in the millions — squeezing a little more out loses a bit of legitimacy. You or I might hold out for a 1,000 or 2,000 dollar raise at work, because we could honestly use that money. I could tell you what that money would likely be for. When waffling comes to an extra 2 million a year or not, the greed criticism is justified. Saying it’s okay because it’s what everybody in the NFL does might make that accepted; but greed remains greed (read: Wall Street speculators).
by Dyl on Aug 4, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Healthy Ego
Everything I’ve read and heard about Maybin also makes me think he has a healthy ego – the tweets, the interviews, the photos. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is GREAT from a football perspective, especially for a young player. He believes he can contribute at the NFL-level right away and help lead this team and I am excited to see him give it a try. But I am sure there is also a “I am going to come in there and rock it and I deserve to be paid fairly for it.” thing going on. I would love to say its all just the agent (and I know a big chunk of it is), but I also get the sense that isnt the type of guy that is going to settle for getting paid something other than top dollar. That attitude is going to be awesome for the next five years… but makes the next 2 weeks a bit tough.
by Squirmin' Thurman on Aug 4, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope you're right
A holdout is a gamble. You’re gambling that your talent and smarts are going to be good enough to make up for the time, competition at your position, and NFL experience you’re missing out. JaMarcus Russell gambled and lost. Cedric Benson gambled and stumbled for a while, too. The longer the holdout, the bigger the gamble, and the fainter that chance of “five awesome years” could be becoming.
by Dyl on Aug 4, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions
get him
in here and able to play by the 2nd pre-season game I hope….we do need this kid to participate and pressure the QB…..IF he can do that
MARVelous - "I went from America's team to North America's Team" Terrell Owens
The sad part is depending on how long the hold out continues the less likely a significant contribution from that player.
The only Bills player I can remember coming in after a long hold-out in his rookie year and making a contribution was Biscuit. An he was holding out on the Colts before the 3 team trade with the Bills, Colts and Rams.
How much longer will this go on...
Geeesh…well i mean what more can do but sit and wait..this is more than horrible..Maybin could have walked in and been the dream DE for our new lines were tryn to build..i guess for now we have to rest on Ellis..Maybin didnt even get reps in for TC(yet anyway)..bummed
On a darker note…Maybin tweeted earlier today telling followers about the death of his Uncle. Keep him in your prayers for more than one reason now folks.
Malcom De King Numba 70 DE yaaadddaamean!
Here's an idea...........
quit losing so many games during the season…….thus we’ll get a lower draft pick that is easy to sign!
Godspeed Nick - RIP - 1986-2009
by norcaliangelsfan on Aug 4, 2009 4:15 PM EDT reply actions
Positive spin
Less training camp for Maybin means less chances to get injured.
I want to see movies of my dreams. - Built to Spill.
Always look on the bright side of life...
:-)
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 4, 2009 9:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't even know if he is the answer.
I definately believe he will be in time. We need to get after Tom Brady, rattle his cage and let him know what a three and out is all about. Twice a year we face those arrogant, coach cheating, run up the score clams from Boston. I also believe his addition will provide additional opportunity for the others that have been waiting a carrer to rattle some cages. I know its not automatic but with New England to open up the season, no excuses this year, get him in here and lets get it done. This week or next but soon.
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