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The philosophy of contracts

Agent Drew Rosenhaus -- the man who represents Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett, among other Cards -- went on the Twitter-offensive today, upset he and players are taking heat for their contract stances. Here are four "tweets:"

  • "RosenhausSports and players who ask for a raise are criticized. The system needs to work both ways. There is nothing wrong with players getting their worth"
  • "Why is there so much controversy when a player who out-performs his contract asks for a increased deal? NFL teams release players everyday ...who have several years left on their contracts. It's an unfair double standard that teams can cut players before they finish their deal."
  • "The NFL owners complain about escalating player costs and yet so many of these owners don't spend up to the salary cap."
  • "How can a team legitimately say that they are committed to winning & then still be millions of dollars under the salary cap?"

The Cardinals aren't one of the teams way under the cap; in fact, there are few teams with less space than the Cards' approximate $6.2 million of cap space. I get where Rosenhaus wants owners to spend more, but it's pretty clear the owners have one eye on the potential work stoppage in a couple of years in terms of big contracts. But I think Rosenhaus misses the mark when he talks about the controversy about players wanting new contracts and that players who ask for raises are criticized. Not every player who asks for a new deal is criticized. Usually, it's the players who cause a lot of public grief -- which is the tactic Rosenhaus likes to employ -- that garners criticism, like skipping a bunch of voluntary work or coming down with mysterious injuries so a player can't practice.

Is there a double standard? Perhaps. That's the system, and players have a right to try and change it. Again, I'd like to see Rosenhaus also address the other side, of the times he negotiated an extension (as in the case of Boldin and Dockett) and signed off on it. Was he telling the Cardinals (in this instance) he planned on coming right back to the negotiating table? And if he did and the Cards said that wouldn't work, would he tell his players to just not sign the extension?

P.S. Again, I also will use Twitter as OTAs go on. I know Fitz is back today. 

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