Soooo yea...Devin Hester Holds Out of Bears Training Camp?

[ProfessaPackMan]

I wonder what his issue is?

I'm about 83% sure it's about money.

[Chaos81]

Maybe he feels he doesn't play enough.

[SuperBowlNachos]

He doesn't make that much for an NFL player, $1,271,820 is his base salary.

But other than returning kicks he is an average NFL receiver.

[SkunkWurks6]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chaos81

Maybe he feels he doesn't play enough.

Won't matter even if he plays offense with what he's got throwing to him.

[wwharton]

And at the end of the day, Hester is a kick returner which means the crap is most definitely about to hit the fan.

I wish I had a link, but he said something like "Come on, I can't play this year making only $450,000." Funny thing is he made it easier for the rest of us to figure out just how long he can hold out before going broke. Not very long at $15,000 a day... we'll see you soon, Devin.

On a real, this is why all the hype around him is crazy. He's an amazing returner and may end up as the best ever, but that's like being the best kicker ever... maybe not even. He was terrible as a DB and slightly better as a WR. Even if he were to somehow turn into a serviceable WR, he's not going to get paid until AFTER that happens. And now that he opened his mouth, it's just gonna be worse for him.

[The C]

Give him Ted Ginn money!

[ProfessaPackMan]

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Quote:

HESTER NEEDS TO REPORT BY AUGUST 5 Posted by Mike Florio on July 23, 2008, 5:46 p.m. One of the (rare) moments during which we gained some actual credibility in league circles came in 2005, when we explained that Eagles running back Brian Westbrook risked losing his ability to become an unrestricted free agent if he didn’t report to training camp by a specific date in August of that year. By all indications, Westbrook’s agent didn’t know. And Westbrook eventually showed up. Though the Collective Bargaining Agreement has been revised since Westbrook’s holdout, the provision in question still applies, and Bears receiver Devin Hester is the first guy who could lose a year’s credit toward free agency because of it. Under Article XVIII, Section 1(b) of the CBA, “a player shall not receive an Accrued Season for any League Year in which the player is under contract to a Club and in which he failed to report to such Club at least thirty days prior to the first regular season game of that season.” Since the 2008 regular season begins on September 4, Hester (a rookie in 2006) needs to show up by the close of business on August 5. Otherwise, he’ll not accrue a third NFL season in 2008. Four seasons are necessary to become eligible for unrestricted free agency. Under the current CBA, however, it’s a distinction without a difference. Even with four accrued seasons after 2009, Hester would still be a restricted free agent, since six seasons of service are necessary to qualify for unrestricted free agency in the uncapped year of 2010. But if new CBA is finalized before 2010 and if the four-season requirement for unrestricted free agency remains, Hester would be a restricted free agent in 2010, because he would have only three accrued seasons. Bottom line? Look for Hester’s holdout to last no longer than August 5. Until then, he’ll be subject to fines of more than $15,000 per day, and he might have to repay 25 percent of his signing bonus allocation applicable to the 2008 season.

[ProfessaPackMan]

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Quote:

HESTER SITUATION IS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT SYSTEM SHOULD CHANGE Posted by Mike Florio on July 24, 2008, 8:03 a.m. The unexpected holdout of Bears receiver/kick returner Devin Hester illustrates the flipside of the mess that is the manner in which NFL rookies are paid. Under the current system, players are paid over the first three-to-six years of their careers based primarily on when they were drafted. If a top-five pick flames out, he keeps the money. If a seventh-rounder becomes a stud, he gets nothing more — until he gets a new contract. For many of the picks, they receive only a slotted signing bonus and minimum salaries for the life of the deal. ”For me to be being paid as much as players on other teams who are sixth- and seventh-round picks who haven’t played a snap,” Hester said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ”They’re getting paid the same amount as me after the two years I’ve had. . . . It isn’t fair.” Amen, Devin. It isn’t fair. And so the NFL and the NFL Players Association need to agree on a system that permits every rookie to earn more money based on performance. That said, the NFL currently makes available a league-wide pool that is distributed to players based on a formula that takes into account how much they play and how little they’re paid. In 2008, for example, Willie Colon of the Steelers picked up an extra $309,000 on top of his $450,000 base salary. But Hester surely wants more than that. He wants a base salary that reflects his abilities and that reward him for his performance over the first two years of his contract. The best approach could be to create a new players’ incentive system that, like the performance-based pay, isn’t part of each team’s salary cap. The rookies’ base pay would be determined by a narrow NBA-style formula, making contract negotiatons simple and eliminating the opportunity for ridiculous increases from one year to the next (and reducing significantly the influence of agents). Then, every rookie’s pay would be supplemented based on a system of incentives specifically negotiated for each position. It’s the easiest path to a win-win. The rookies would consume less cap space on each of their teams, and thus more of it would be available to veterans. But the rookies would then be compensated fairly and appropriately for what they actually do between the white lines.