About the Josh Cribbs Contract Saga
January 7, 2010Cavs 121, Wizards 98: Never Close
January 7, 2010“Three years of patience with zero indication of communication.”
These are the words spoken by Josh Cribbs’ agent Peter Schaffer on 850AM WKNR in response to the ongoing contract saga between his client and the Cleveland Browns. Cribbs, considered by many to be one of the few game-changing players in the NFL, is the most recent member of the Cleveland Browns to be the focus of perceived negative news as yeas of “unfulfilled promises” have bubbled over into the public eye.
When asked why Cribbs and his representation went public with the news, it appears that a lack of communication between Berea and Cribbs forced Schaffer (and J.R. Rickert) to head to the media.
Per Schaffer, Cribbs was offered a contract extension by the Browns approximately one month ago. When the negotiations began in terms of a counter offer, Cribbs was allegedly told that it would be best to wait for the team president (Mike Holmgren) to be officially a part of the discussions. After Holmgren arrived in Cleveland, Cribbs was offered the “take it or leave it” deal of $1.4 million, which was immediately shunned by the player and his representation without length of the deal being a factor.
Schaffer reportedly placed a phone call to Holmgren, looking to get an update on the contract situation. In speaking with team representative Dawn Aponte, a message was left to have his phone call returned. Schaffer claims that emails were sent to the team, though no reply was given. Upon several more phone calls and threats of going public, the Browns failed to return any calls.
Which lead to last night’s interviews and twitter entries.
Schaffer claims that his team has been very patient with the turnover in Berea since Josh’s Pro Bowl appearance in 2007. Dealing with Romeo Crennel, Phil Savage, Randy Lerner, Eric Mangini, George Kokinis, Dawn Aponte and now Mike Holmgren is arguably a difficult task for an agent. Getting promises from multiple individuals and having these go unfulfilled only makes matters worse.
“I have respect for Mike Holmgren, and he has earned that respect,” said Schaffer. “All I would like is for the Browns to objectively justify their position. NFL contracts are one-sided deals where a player can be cut at any time without compensation,” he continued. “To win, you have to take care of the best players.”
Schaffer also warned that this saga reflects poor light on the Browns as other players in the league are witnessing how the team is handling paying a player who is arguably deserving of a higher paycheck.
Even after going public, Team Cribbs has not received a response from the Browns.
“I belive Josh is going to Berea today to clean out his locker,” said Schaffer.
While there is rarely a dull moment in Berea, the Browns are already looking at a considerably long off-season – one that started only three days prior.
—
(Joshua Gunter/Plain Dealer)
56 Comments
Posturing. Pure and simple.
Move along, nothing to see here…
Matt, I’m pretty sure Shaffer did know Holmgren was going to be pretty busy trying to sort out coaching and GM questions. He tried to buffalo the Walrus into inking Cribbs, before he hired a contract specialist for Shaffer to deal with. Guess he’s never seen how a bull walrus reacts when crowded.
I’m wondering how many people saying “Three more years” were saying “Pay Da Man” two weeks ago.
[…] we reported that Josh Cribbs’ agent Peter Schaffer said that his client was going to Berea to clean out his locker. While this may have been considered one of the many idle threats that […]
[…] he is, as Grossi suggests and many people have stated here on the site, then why is his re-signing not of absolute importance for the team? Definitely would seem to be contradictory to continued development under the second […]
[…] marked the beginning of the Josh Cribbs media tour. While his agents have been frequenting radio row, Cribbs has taken to Bristol, CT where he is slated to appear on several different ESPN-based […]