Darrelle Revis is one of the top two or three players ever to wear a Jets uniform. Only Joe Namath and Curtis Martin (also a graduate of Pitt coincidentally) would be ahead of him on the list. When it's all said and done he might take over the #2 spot... be nervous C-Mart, be very nervous. He's a once in a lifetime draft choice for Mike Tannenbaum. Mr. T will never draft a player that could ever live up to their potential any better than #24. OK, that being said... this week has been a strange one for Revis and Tannenbaum.
Revis and a bunch of his teammates have made it clear that they are looking for new contracts. It's important to understand that most NFL players don't want to play out their contracts like Lebron James did this past season because of how dangerous football is. Mr. T has to address Revis, Mangold and D'Brick during the next few months because he will have some huge decisions to make regarding Cromartie and Edwards next year. A funny side-note last week was Sean Ellis's 30 something year old ass throwing his hat in the 'I want a new deal' arena. Dude, are you serious? The Jets released a short, sweet statement that basically said 'NO CHANCE IN HELL!". Sorry big boy.
Back to a relevant player. Revis's camp has flooded the media with a story regarding his new salary demands. He is looking for 20 million a season. I would assume he wants at least 6 years and a nice fat signing bonus. Looks like he is aiming for about 125 million all together. Thats just crazy. If you look at deals like the one Hanesworth signed last year with Washington, 125 million doesn't seem so nutz.
The Jets need to be clear with this negotiation that #1) They are a premier team #2) They plan on competing for a championship every year, and #3) If you want to stay a part of this team, you will have to sign a 'fair' contract so that the team can stay competitive and maintain a high level of talent. Tom Brady could have played real hard ball a few years back when he signed his 60 million dollar deal. He was already a Superbowl champion when he negotiated a 'fair' market value contract. The Jets had already thrown a larger deal at Pennington because he had won one playoff game.
Brady could have played his deal out and signed for 80 million plus somewhere else. Instead he accepted a reasonable deal and sent a message to his teammates that, even though this is a business and players only get a very brief window to earn, winning is just as important as getting paid. He signed a contract that was structured in a way that allowed the team to sign players like Welker, and Moss which certainly worked out well for him and the Patriots as a whole.
If Mr. T botches this contract and lets Revis write his own pay check, our other pro-bowl caliber young players like D'Brick, Harris and Mangold are going to rape our front office and make it impossible to stay competitive when the salary cap is reinstated. We need those guys, but we can't win with 4 or 5 good players. This isn't the NBA.
Tannenbaum started the negotiations by releasing a statement to the press making it crystal clear that 'Revis will retire as a NY Jet'. Thats an absurd statement on so many levels. First of all, if Joe Montana, Emmit Smith, and Bret Favre didn't retire with their respective teams, nothing is guaranteed. It also sent Revis's agent into a tizzy. Thats like a guy telling a girl that she can pick out any ring she wants as long as she agrees to marry him. I am pretty sure she will come up with a number as equally absurd as the one that Revis's agent conjured up this week.
#24 needs to understand that he is playing for the #1 defense in the NFL, he is their unquestioned leader and star player, we have the newest state of the art facilities and stadium and Oh...BTW... it's New York City. He is in the media capital of the world, and if he leads the NY Jets to their first Superbowl in over 4 decades, he will be royalty here forever. Look how that has worked out for guys like Joe Namath and Phil Simms. They have both made millions and millions after football because of their reputations and what they accomplished in NYC.
If he plays hardball I would let him cry for the next year or so, and when things get out of hand, trade him to Oakland for their top 3 players and their entire 2012 draft ( Al Davis would think that was a bargain). Go rot in football purgatory and become an afterthought Darrelle. Ask Nnamdi Asomugha how rewarding elite talent is when it's wasted on a team that is below .500 every year. Nnamdi is just as talented as Revis and he gets little to no attention. Revis is a media darling, and if he plays his cards right, he could have a few rings when his career is done.
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