Larry Fitzgerald Is Not Coming To Minnesota
by Christopher Gates on Aug 21, 2011 10:54 AM CDT
in NFL
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PrintIn recent days, there have been talks about Larry Fitzgerald, the star receiver for the Arizona Cardinals (and a Minneapolis native) entering the free agent market after the 2011 season and the Vikings signing him to a big contract to bring him "home."
Yeah. . .scratch that idea.
Yesterday, Fitzgerald inked an 8-year, $120 million extension with the Cardinals. The contract will guarantee him a whopping $50 million. . .or, in practical terms, a hell of a lot more than any wide receiver in the National Football League has ever received in terms of guaranteed money.
On the upside, it's obviously good for Fitzgerald. . .it's nice to see the former Vikings' ball boy get paid in that manner. On the flip side, between the Fitzgerald deal and the five-year, $63 million deal the Cardinals gave to Kevin Kolb as part of acquiring him from the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona now has a ton of money tied up in those two guys.
But, sadly, it means that we won't be seeing Larry Fitzgerald in purple any time soon, and probably not ever.
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The sound you hear
is the collective groan of other teams as Larry once again raises the bar for reciever paydays. I feel bad for teams with star WRs in line for an extension because they’re practically forced to shell out big bucks now.
Congratulations to Larry
He’s earned it.
Remember back in the early 2000’s when the Vikes made Moss the highest paid WR ever, and his guaranteed money was about what Sidney Rice got?
This is like O. Henry and Alanis Morrisette had a baby and named it "this exact situation"--Sterling Archer
I actually believe that his deal was not too bad
He got 1 mil more guaranteed than Andre Johnson. We have to wait for the details of how it breaks down but the 48 mil guaranteed averages out to about 12 mil per year for the next four years.
8/5/2010: Signed a seven-year, $62.7 million contract. The deal contains $48 million guaranteed, including a $2.8 million signing bonus. Another $10 million is available through incentives based on performance. Johnson is eligible for annual workout bonuses of $1 million throughout the contract’s life. 2011: $6 million, 2012: $6.5 million, 2013: $6.2 million, 2014: $6.5 million, 2015: $10.5 million, 2016: $11 million, 2017: Free Agent
-———————————————————————————————————————————————
Fitz turns 28 Aug 31st. So he will finish 4 years at age 31. Not bad at all.
If you check his stats they are better than Andre Johnson’s thru the first 7 years.
http://www.nfl.com/player/larr…2506106/profile
http://www.nfl.com/player/andr…2505551/profile
He has 65 TDs in 7 years while Johnson has 50 TDs in 8 years.
On a side note: Moss had 90 TDs thru 7 years. Wow!
Then you have to consider the QBs in Arizona too. He had Josh McCown in 2004. He had McCown and Warner in 2005. He had Leinart and Warner in 2006. He had Warner in 2007, 2008, & 2009. Then last year he had Derek Anderson and Max Hall.
Andre Johnson did not have much either. His first three years (2003-2005) were David Carr and Tony Banks. Then in 2006 he had Carr & Rosenfels. In 2007 he had Rosenfels and Schaub. Since 2008 he has had Schaub.
With the projected franchise tag number for this year being 11.3 mil …
… 12 mil per year is not too far off especially when you consider that the league expects the salary cap to go UP each year of the new CBA provided that revenue increases of course.
I am sure that the last 3 to 4 years of the deal are probably going to have to be renegotiated and are mainly fluff. But they do provide an incentive for Fitzgerald to keep pushing to be the best.
I think his contract is right about where it should be for a top WR. It provides a bit of an increase because of the projected revenue increase.
I think the next WR to get paid will be DeSean Jackson, Vincent Jackson, and Hakeem Nicks. Reggie Wayne wants a new deal too but since he is already 32 and turns 33 in November he will not get more than 5 to 8 mil per year. The first three guys have not done as much as Larry to ask for that kind of money. They are looking at a little bit more than Roddy White and Sidney Rice.
Knew he wouldn't leave
With the arrival of a legitimate QB in Kolb it put the nail in any hopes LF was going anywhere.
i don't know about that. kolb is an unproven back up who cashed in due to perception.
he started last year after being a career back-up, then he got yanked for micheal vick pretty quick.
if you compare his career stats to tarvaris jackson’s stats….t-jax are actually better!
t-jax has a higher qbr, a better td-int ratio, yds/game and yds/att. they are all similar.
tarvaris jackson career stats <<< link
kevin kolb career stats <<< link
now, maybe he turns out to be pretty good, maybe to a romo level. but he could also
just live up to his career stats so far. time will tell, but i think it is too early to call him
a legitimate qb. tho, i’d take the $50 million guaranteed no matter who the qb is.
warcraft, you are my guitar hero !!!
$50mil Guaranteed Dollars......trumps any QB!
Fitz didn’t stay with the Cards because they got Kolb.
Fitz stayed with the Cards because they gave him $50mil Guaranteed!
Feel bad for almost everyone at some level:
-Fitzy because he’s guaranteed his team will never be able to afford any sort of defense.
-Minnesota because we won’t have a shot at him.
-All NFL teams with a big time WR… the contract bar is set VERY high. Wow.
-Kevin Kolb… he’ll be run out of town when he can’t produce with Fitzy.
I have to disagree about the teams with a big time WR being in trouble
There really are not any WRs out there on the same level as Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson.
I cannot see any who have new contracts coming up who have the stats to attempt to ask for this kind of money.
Larry Fitzgerald – he has played 7 years and has 613 catches for 8,204 yards and 65 TDs.
Andre Johnson – he has played 8 years and has 673 catches for 9,164 yards and 50 TDs.
Here are some WRs who are coming up for a new deal or who want one …
Vincent Jackson – he has played 6 years and has 212 catches for 3,648 yards and 28 TDs
DeSean Jackson – he has played 3 years and has 171 catches for 3,124 yards and 17 TDs
Reggie Wayne – he has played 10 years and has 787 catches for 10,748 yards and 69 TDs
Dwayne Bowe – he has played 4 years and has 275 catches for 3,768 yards and 31 TDs
Calvin Johnson – he has played 4 years and has 270 catches for 4,191 yards and 33 TDs
Hakeem Nicks, Mike Wallace, and Percy Harvin have all only played two years.
So it is very difficult for an agent to walk into a front office and say they want Fitzgerald numbers when their client does not have the statistics to back it up.
I think that these guys could be looking more at what Miles Austin who had played 4 years and had 99 catches for 1,674 yards and 14 TDs before he go this deal …
9/9/2010: Signed a seven-year, $57.168 million contract. The cap-conscious deal contains $18 million guaranteed — no signing bonus but all of Austin’s whopping $17.078 million first-year base salary. 2011: $8.54 million, 2012: $1.15 million, 2013: $6.732 million, 2014: $5.5 million, 2015: $6.888 million, 2016: $11.38 million, 2017: Free Agent
Or at Sidney Rice who just received this deal and he had played 4 years and had 146 catches for 2,129 yards and 18 TDs …
7/29/2011: Signed a five-year, $41 million contract. The deal contains $18.5 million guaranteed. Another $3 million is available through escalators related to Pro Bowl appearances. 2011-2015: Under Contract, 2016: Free Agent
I think 8 mil per year is about on average right now for WRs who have not quite reached the level of Fitzgerald or Johnson. Maybe a bit more.
The fact is though
that the ceiling has been raised. And it only takes one team crazy enough to pay out the ass for their starlet WR for everyone to want a similar contract. Brandon Marshall didn’t put up numbers similar to Larry Fitz, and yet when he signed a contract with the Dolphins, they gave him a contract close to Larry’s.
by REVENGE4KLUWE on Aug 21, 2011 6:53 PM CDT up reply actions
This is not true about Marshall
Here is what Marshall received …
4/14/2010: Signed a five-year, $47.3 million contract. The deal contains $12.5 million guaranteed, including a $5.5 million signing bonus and $6 million of Marshall’s 2012 salary barring a league suspension in the first three years. 2011: $6.5 million (+ $3 million roster bonus due 4/2), 2012: $9.3 million, 2013-2014: $9.1 million, 2015: Free Agent
You may be right in that a team can give a WR crazy money but that GM would have to be seriously considered for a new vocation.
Prediction of this years winner -
Pats, Jets, or Ravens, NFC Falcons, Fudgers, Rams (sleeper pick) Early SB guess – Falcons vs. Pats. I did enjoy our game last night. Saw some positives. Where did Marcus Sherels come from? He looked pretty impressive and appears to have some wheels!
hes a homer
U of M , was practice squader last year.
Falcons? Interesting
Imma go with the Saints. They still have a powerhouse offense and their defensive line should get some more push now with Shaun Rogers. Plus Cameron Jordan will be a solid contributor.
by REVENGE4KLUWE on Aug 21, 2011 6:50 PM CDT up reply actions
So it worked?
The little PR campaign of “Larry really likes Minn” paid off for him!
I really never expected him to leave AZ, but it sure doesnt hurt to give them that idea when he knows they want him to $tay,,,
**Rupert for ProBowl 2012!**
Tom Brady ain't coming either.
Get over it.
Didn't get Larry in my Fantasy Football either..
I DID get AD, Harvin, Longwell, and Greenway though :) Hoping for a lot of points gentlemen!
by PURPpplEATER on Aug 22, 2011 10:43 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Now
It’s time for the Vikes to start giving contract extensions. I think they’re waiting for Chris Johnson to get to make AP’s higher and then, they’ll figure out Greenway’s. I’m pretty sure the Vikings know they absolutely have to resign AP. Greenway is a major priority too, but not as much as AP’s. They also have to figure out what to do with Shank’s as well.
by christian220896 on Aug 22, 2011 12:14 PM CDT reply actions
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