08-27-2021, 03:46 PM
(08-27-2021, 03:39 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Fwiw, I recently read somewhere (can't remember where) that it was rumored the Bengals offered in the 11-12 million dollar range. I believe they referenced John Johnson's contract from the Browns as a similar deal, who currently checks in at the #9 highest paid safety. Now, you can choose to believe this or not; it's up to you. The article used the often seen "according to inside sources" so take from that what you will.
IF this is true it does seem like they're lowballing him more than he or his camp is being unreasonable. The market for him is clear as day. 13-16 million. 13 million being a nice little discount for inking early, 16 million being a tad high and not getting a ton of bargain for locking him up early, and 14-15 million seemingly dead-on his market value. (Safties 2 though 7 all make between 14 and 15.25 million)
Again, this all depends on whether or not these "sources" are accurate. And negotiations can quickly change. The may have started to low as bargaining tactic and went up from there, and these source are using old figures. Or they're right on the money and they want to pay him closer to the 8-12 range rather than the 1-7 range. Who knows????
I tend to believe it because what other motivations do the Bengals have to not start low and work their way up, other than hurting a guys feelings… as we know “it’s a business” is a common phrase in football… I don’t think Bates is a little wuss, so I don’t think he’s going to be all emotional about business transactions taking place behind the scenes while he works.
