James Harrison vs Bart Scott

[Gochimp]

After seeing the contract that Scott got, I can only stop and think what is Harrison worth.

I think he is the next 10 Million Dollar Man.

[Lebsteel]

After seeing the contract that Scott got, I can only stop and think what is Harrison worth.

I think he is the next 10 Million Dollar Man.

I doubt he will be playing for the Steelers at that price. After all, he is 30 (31 in May) and has one more year on his contract. If the Steelers franchise him next year, he'll be nearly 33 when he hits the FA market and could get a large two or three year contract, but not much more than that. I think the Steelers may have Deebo where they want him. I would be very surprised if he gets a Bart Scott-type of contract.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

After seeing the contract that Scott got, I can only stop and think what is Harrison worth.

I think he is the next 10 Million Dollar Man.

Imagine how Ray-Ray must feel... :lol:

Hey, I think I'm up to 100 posts! Woo-hoo!

[RuthlessBurgher]

I predicted the Bart Scott numbers (5 years, $40 million) for Harrison before free agency started.

http://www.planetsteelers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5687

However, since James is way better than Bart, I think his agent will be asking for more today than he was earlier in the week. If Haynesworth is getting QB numbers, I'm sure Harrison will want to cash in. This is why it was important to try to get a deal finalized before free agency started and the numbers started getting crazy (even though James Harrison still has one year left on his contract).

[Iron Shiek]

Franchise tag. What else can we do...no way he gets a huge deal...

[NorCal-Steeler]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

[RuthlessBurgher]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.

[papillon]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.

Okay, pay the man, structure his contract for a guaranteed 41 million. He had more sacks, more forced fumbles, more passes defensed, probably more tackles than Albert haynesworth, was the DPOY and won the Superbowl with a play that will live forever. Lets fit his 100 million dollar contract under the cap and then try to retain Woodley, Timmons, Miller and Holmes when their contracts are up. Not to mention this years 8 draft picks. By all means pay the man his fair market value. I want to see Omar Khan work that contract into the Steeler pay structure.

Pappy

[RuthlessBurgher]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.

Okay, pay the man, structure his contract for a guaranteed 41 million. He had more sacks, more forced fumbles, more passes defensed, probably more tackles than Albert haynesworth, was the DPOY and won the Superbowl with a play that will live forever. Lets fit his 100 million dollar contract under the cap and then try to retain Woodley, Timmons, Miller and Holmes when their contracts are up. Not to mention this years 8 draft picks. By all means pay the man his fair market value. I want to see Omar Khan work that contract into the Steeler pay structure.

Pappy

I thought we were comparing Harrison to Bart Scott's deal with the Jets, not the Albert Haynesworth "bigger contract than Ben Roethlisberger" insanity. Much like the Nnamdi Asomugha deal, GM's around the league will just refuse to acknowledge the existence of those deals that are so absurdly out of whack as compared to every other contract in the league. This is why Al Davis and Dan Snyder are bad for the sport. Stupidity never wins.

[papillon]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.

Okay, pay the man, structure his contract for a guaranteed 41 million. He had more sacks, more forced fumbles, more passes defensed, probably more tackles than Albert haynesworth, was the DPOY and won the Superbowl with a play that will live forever. Lets fit his 100 million dollar contract under the cap and then try to retain Woodley, Timmons, Miller and Holmes when their contracts are up. Not to mention this years 8 draft picks. By all means pay the man his fair market value. I want to see Omar Khan work that contract into the Steeler pay structure.

Pappy

I thought we were comparing Harrison to Bart Scott's deal with the Jets, not the Albert Haynesworth "bigger contract than Ben Roethlisberger" insanity. Much like the Nnamdi Asomugha deal, GM's around the league will just refuse to acknowledge the existence of those deals that are so absurdly out of whack as compared to every other contract in the league. This is why Al Davis and Dan Snyder are bad for the sport. Stupidity never wins.

I was responding to the "pay the man his due" part of your post. If the Steelers pay him his due doesn't he ahve to earn at least what Haynesworth is receiving on a per year basis? Regardless, of how they structure the contract, "his due" should be the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, bar none.

The Steelers can't afford to pay him his due. They have to get a discount or let him play next year and then franchise him anbd let him walk. I don't see how this can play out any other way if he gets paid his "due"

Pappy

[fordfixer]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.
:Agree

[papillon]

He plays with an attitude now can you just imagine what he would do to Qb's if they franchise him? yeah piss him off he will be MVP again !!

Or piss him off and he decides to hold out. Remember what happened the last time the team sack record was broken by Mike Meriweather? Pay the man his due. Stop screwing around.
:Agree

Okay, let me ask you the same question. His numbers are better than Bart Scott by a mile and better than Albert Haynesworth and you've heard about their contracts. What do you believe is paying James Harrison "his due?" Knowing what one lesser player has received and one player that may be his equal, but, not from a performance standpoint.

Show me a real contract that takes these contracts into account (you know his agent is doing this) and is cap friendly to the Steelers and pays JH "his due".

pappy

[RuthlessBurgher]

The $14-$15 million per year deals that Snyder gave Haynesworth and Davis gave Asomugha would not be considered to be "his due." It is insanity to pay a DT and a CB an average yearly salary that is more than every other player in the league except for Peyton Manning. Those were desperate contracts by desperate teams. The Steelers are not a desperate team. We have a reasonable ownership that takes care of its core players, and I think that Harrison is a reasonable man. Something in the range of $8-$10 million could reasonably be considered "his due" considering that we gave Troy Polamalu a record contract for highest paid defensive player in team history last year and he is only averaging $7.5 million per year. Forcing him to play out the last year of his backup-level contract then franchising him and letting him walk when he is two years older than he is now would be taking advantage of him, and we don't want to do that. Still, the fact that he has one year left and then the possibility of a franchise tag looming does give us some leverage in negotiations. It would be in his best interest and the team's best interest to finalize a deal that would make Harrison one heck of a wealthy man without worrying about ego trips regarding who is the highest paid defensive player in the league. If Harrison were a UFA right now, perhaps he could get an offer like that from a desperate team on the open market, but the fact is that he is not a UFA right now. We don't have to give him one penny more than the peanuts he is scheduled to make next season, but we are offering to make him rich now anyway. Getting a long term deal done that is slightly better than the Bart Scott deal is in the best interest of all parties involved, in my opinion.

[papillon]

The $14-$15 million per year deals that Snyder gave Haynesworth and Davis gave Asomugha would not be considered to be "his due." It is insanity to pay a DT and a CB an average yearly salary that is more than every other player in the league except for Peyton Manning. Those were desperate contracts by desperate teams. The Steelers are not a desperate team. We have a reasonable ownership that takes care of its core players, and I think that Harrison is a reasonable man. Something in the range of $8-$10 million could reasonably be considered "his due" considering that we gave Troy Polamalu a record contract for highest paid defensive player in team history last year and he is only averaging $7.5 million per year. Forcing him to play out the last year of his backup-level contract then franchising him and letting him walk when he is two years older than he is now would be taking advantage of him, and we don't want to do that. Still, the fact that he has one year left and then the possibility of a franchise tag looming does give us some leverage in negotiations. It would be in his best interest and the team's best interest to finalize a deal that would make Harrison one heck of a wealthy man without worrying about ego trips regarding who is the highest paid defensive player in the league. If Harrison were a UFA right now, perhaps he could get an offer like that from a desperate team on the open market, but the fact is that he is not a UFA right now. We don't have to give him one penny more than the peanuts he is scheduled to make next season, but we are offering to make him rich now anyway. Getting a long term deal done that is slightly better than the Bart Scott deal is in the best interest of all parties involved, in my opinion.


I agree 100%, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him continue to wait to see how other players get slotted. Lets say he gets the 10 million per with 27 million guaranteed; where does that leave the Steelers with the rest of players and this year's rookies? The longer this goes on the less likely a deal getting done will occur, IMO. It means that Harrison is watching the other contracts being handed out and expecting the same or more. Just my 2 cents, I'd hate the Steelers to do wrong by JH, it is a possibility.

Pappy

[RuthlessBurgher]

The $14-$15 million per year deals that Snyder gave Haynesworth and Davis gave Asomugha would not be considered to be "his due." It is insanity to pay a DT and a CB an average yearly salary that is more than every other player in the league except for Peyton Manning. Those were desperate contracts by desperate teams. The Steelers are not a desperate team. We have a reasonable ownership that takes care of its core players, and I think that Harrison is a reasonable man. Something in the range of $8-$10 million could reasonably be considered "his due" considering that we gave Troy Polamalu a record contract for highest paid defensive player in team history last year and he is only averaging $7.5 million per year. Forcing him to play out the last year of his backup-level contract then franchising him and letting him walk when he is two years older than he is now would be taking advantage of him, and we don't want to do that. Still, the fact that he has one year left and then the possibility of a franchise tag looming does give us some leverage in negotiations. It would be in his best interest and the team's best interest to finalize a deal that would make Harrison one heck of a wealthy man without worrying about ego trips regarding who is the highest paid defensive player in the league. If Harrison were a UFA right now, perhaps he could get an offer like that from a desperate team on the open market, but the fact is that he is not a UFA right now. We don't have to give him one penny more than the peanuts he is scheduled to make next season, but we are offering to make him rich now anyway. Getting a long term deal done that is slightly better than the Bart Scott deal is in the best interest of all parties involved, in my opinion.


I agree 100%, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him continue to wait to see how other players get slotted. Lets say he gets the 10 million per with 27 million guaranteed; where does that leave the Steelers with the rest of players and this year's rookies? The longer this goes on the less likely a deal getting done will occur, IMO. It means that Harrison is watching the other contracts being handed out and expecting the same or more. Just my 2 cents, I'd hate the Steelers to do wrong by JH, it is a possibility.

Pappy

I believe if they do it as an extension (let's say for 5 more years beyond the one year he has left on his original deal), they could keep his 2009 base salary where it is right now from his previous deal. I think you could make it so the new base salaries agreed upon in the new contract wouldn't kick in until 2010. However, the pro-rated portion of the signing bonus would count against this coming year's cap (one-sixth of whatever the agreed upon signing bonus is). I don't think that would prohibit them from being able to sign their draft class. I may be totally wrong on this, but I think that is the case. Anyone know for sure?