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Will using the insider to float this stuff help the agent and player?
There were a string of tweets, from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, supportive of Marcus Maye’s side in his contract dispute with the team.
NFL Insiders are often fed information from agents.
“Despite the Jets publicly stating their efforts to ‘relentlessly’ re-sign team MVP Marcus Maye, the team has not responded to his last proposal and that offer has been pulled off the table, sources say,” Rapoport tweeted. “With 48 hours until the tag extension deadline, no deal is expected.”
That first sentence is very pro-agent, and perhaps semantics.
Just because you say you “relentlessly” want to re-sign a player, does that mean you cave to his demands? You could “relentlessly” want to re-sign Maye, but not pay him as much as the Justin Simmons and Budda Baker, both at around $15 million per year.
And Maye’s camp, and their surrogates in the media, keep throwing around the “Team MVP” stuff, but what does it truly mean being a “Team MVP” on a club that went 2-14, including starting out 0-13? Was there really an MVP on one of the worst team’s in Jets history? And their pass defense was substandard (most of that wasn’t Maye’s fault, but the fact is, he was part of a secondary that struggled).
Also, why is it newsworthy that the agent pulled an offer off the table? You rarely see that brought up. It’s usually newsworthy when the team pulls an offer off the table, not the agent.
Rapoport added: “Source adds: Negotiations went south weeks before the tag deadline when the #Jets offered Maye a deal that had an APY about 20% below even the tag amount for 2021. Maye turned down NYJ’s offer & had significantly more in average-per-year and guarantees from multiple teams heading into FA.”
First of all, I have no idea what other teams were prepared to offer, and isn’t that kind of irrelevent, since it was the worst kept secret that the Jets were going to place the franchise tag on Maye. So not sure what was going on with these “multiple teams.” Sounds like agent-speak.
Rapoport announced the situation between the parties “really isn’t in a good place.”
If the agent for Maye, thinks that using Rapoport, is going to somehow get the Jets to cave, he’s got the wrong regime. This stuff might have worked in the past, but not with Joe Douglas.
Douglas, along with Robert Saleh, and others, went over the film extensively, and determined a value for the player.
Remember, last year, the 49ers, with Saleh as the defensive coordinator, gave a very good safety, Jimmie Ward, a three-year deal for $28.5 million with $16.5 million guaranteed. So that is basically a two-year deal for $16.5 million, so $8 million per, which sounds like what the Jets offered, since Rapoport said they offered Maye a deal that averaged 20 percent less than the franchise tag number, which is $10.6.
The deal that clearly makes sense for Maye is the contract John Johnson got from Cleveland, a three-year deal, for $33.75 million, with $24 million guaranteed.
It’s possible that the agent is overvaluing his client to a degree. The player is solid, but perhaps not elite.
July 14, 2021
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