The more these “talks” with Demaryius Thomas continue, the more light it shines on what a fellow teammate of his did.
There always is back and forth between an organization and a player when it come to contract negotiations. The “importance” of a deal is only magnified in the digital age, when every Denver Broncos fan with a Twitter account plays general manager and owner … or player agent and player.
Everyone seems to know what should be done for both sides.
Instead of wasted energy on stuff such as that, Broncos Country should focus on what Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. chose to do in December.
Harris was in the same position as Thomas is now with executive vice president/GM John Elway and the Broncos organization.
Harris could have stayed away from the negotiations and just focused on football until the offseason.
Harris could have dragged this out and expected more guaranteed money. He could have made this all about him.
He will still make a hell of a lot of money – more money than I can comprehend. It’s a five-year, $42.5 million contract, with $20 million guaranteed.
When word came quarterback Peyton Manning gave away $4 million this offseason, some chimed in it wasn’t enough. When Tom Brady “takes a pay cut” (though it’s not really a pay cut since he will see every dime that he defers), people say what a great guy and teammate he is.
Two examples of teammates putting the team first. Broncos Country should focus on that, and wonder why Thomas cannot do the same.
That guaranteed money is the root of the issue and why the Thomas camp and the Broncos are at a seeming impasse. NFL players compared to other leagues get the short end of the stick, and it’s sharpened to a razor’s edge.
By all accounts, Elway and the Broncos have offered Thomas north of $40 million guaranteed … that’s double the value of Harris. Is Thomas worth double what Harris is? Has Thomas really outperformed Harris to that extent? And it’s still not enough?
The huge risk is to get in the middle of these talks. You have to take what a reporter says with a pound of salt because you don’t know who fed them their information. For example, CBS4’s Vic Lombardi says the two sides are in negotiations. A few minutes later, Adam Schefter says the two sides haven’t talked in over a month. Straight speculation here, but Lombardi has a source in the Broncos organization and Scheffter has one in the Thomas camp. Either way, you have to love the digital age.
Unlike some, I won’t tell Thomas what to do. Get paid. Try to get all of the money you can. If you want to get “Calvin Johnson” guaranteed money – it will not happen. Still, $40 million guaranteed in your bank account is a lot of money.
And is Thomas really worth double what Harris gets? And that still isn’t enough?
Come next offseason, Von Miller will become an unrestricted free agent. Is Thomas more valuable to Denver than Miller? Only one man can answer that question but one can presume his answer.
“Break the bank for me, to heck with everyone else on the roster.”
How will the rest of the locker room take this? Oh, they will all say the right things publicly – “we have his back and support him.” But they will see what Harris did and now what Thomas is doing.
Like the fans, they should ask why Thomas couldn’t do the same. “Is this really about the team or himself?”
Thomas hopes to get a contract that compares to Johnson’s. Everyone keeps comparing Thomas to Johnson and if Thomas is worth that kind of money.
Perhaps that’s fair since they play the same position and went to the same college (Georgia Tech).
The better comparison for people to make when they talk about Thomas and his contract is Harris.
