Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets are engaged in a contract battle royale right now.
According to Jimmy Sexton’s surrogates in the media, Fitzpatrick has been offered a deal in the neighborhood of $7 million a year, but wants $16 million.
A lot of people are ripping Fitzpatrick for not signing yet.
I don’t understand the vitriol.
It’s April 6. Training camps don’t start until late July.
What is wrong with Fitzpatrick playing the waiting game and trying to get the Jets to improve their offer?
It’s not like his camp is engaging in mudslinging. We have seen that in the past with other players and agents. The Fitz camp has kept this classy.
We live in an instant gratification society. People want things to happen yesterday.
This could take some time.
The Jets probably need to offer more than $7 million-a-year, and they seem to know that.
“Hopefully at some point and time, we can find a middle ground we are both happy with,” Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said last month.
“Middle ground” doesn’t mean pay him $7 million-a-year, an offer he clearly doesn’t like. Maybe it’s means $9 million-a-year. Who knows? We shall see.
“It’s free agency, so I think you go through this process like with any player and I think both parties are basically trying to look at what they feel is fair and it’s a process you have to work through and we’ll see how it plays itself out,” Maccagnan said. “We like Ryan, we’d like to have Ryan back, but I think at the end of the day, it’s free agency. You go through this.”
That is exactly right, “you go through this.”
It’s called “negotiations.”
And the player is doing nothing wrong being patient right now.
No matter how painful that is to some.
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