Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy P
It's the slippery slope theory. I wouldn't have paid more than what I was projecting and apparently neither would the Texans. Whenever you overpay one player, then the rest of the roster comes wanting to redo their deals.
At any rate, Bodden most likely wanted to stay with the Patriots. He's on a team that annually goes deep in the playoffs instead of one that has never been and he's getting paid. Can you blame him?
Therefore, you make a sincere offer and see if he really wants to be a part of your team or if it is mere a show to gain leverage with the team he wanted to play for. I give the Texans credit for doing their due dilligence but not overpaying.
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While I agree in principle, I think the reality is that in free agency, any player who's good enough to have a couple of teams bidding on him will most likely have to be overpaid to some degree. The question is what is that degree. While I'm just pulling numbers out of the air, I don't think it would be unreasonable to decide what you think a guy is worth then tack on an additional 20% as what it may take to get him in free agency.
You also may be right about going back to the Patriots, but experience shows that the vast majority of players go to the highest bidder. While we fans always talk about how we would prefer playing for a winner even if it meant making a little less salary, history indicates that very few players think this way. They have a limited window in which to make their money and very few shortchange themselves in the hope of playing for a winner. While it makes sense to us, quite frankly, it just doesn't happen very much. Pretty much the only ones that do are those that were one of the best at their position and have already bagged at least 1 big contract and are on the downside of their careers and are looking to cap their career with a championship (think Seau, Corey Dillon, etc.). Bodden played for the league minimum last year and this is probably his last chance at a decent sized deal. Don't see him leaving money on the table.