......media grapevine is reporting RR's agent as saying that if he exhausts RR's NFL options and does come back to the CFL it would be for no less than half a mil. Given the complaining earlier this year about Burris's signing, the eskimos bottomless purse, the potential for freespending in Hogtown and a commish on the hot seat for not enforcing the salary cap do you see trouble a'brewin?
Granted RR has a GC under his belt and is undoubtably a pretty decent pivot, but $500,000? I think it's a little excessive. Thoughts?
Ricky Ray has proven nothing. Sure he is good. Sure he won the Grey Cup. But Khari Jones and Marcus Crandell did it as well. To earn such a salary (if it can be afforded by anyone), one would need to prove himself over and over, year in and year out. You don't pay 500K$ to a 26 years old CFLer no matter how good he has been.
Anyways. What would he do shall the NFL not want want him and the CFL not being able to pay him want he wants?
Accept less
Go back to delivering potato chips (which I doubt gets you half a million $ per year)
My thought kind of echo Third and Ten's. Ricki is a good QB. Real good QB. But he's not great. He own the GC, but correct me if I'm wrong (and I accept if I am) but I'm pretty sure I remember Ray getting yanked from 4 or 5 games that year and it was Mass who came in a saved their behinds. How much was Ray and how much was Higgins?
I don't remember Ray ever being pulled for bein ineffective. Maas had serious surgery on his back two years ago and only entered the field for converts.
Ray was a third-stringer given a chance because of injuries and ended up proving himself as arguably the best and most consistent quarterback in the league. ANd yes, Kahari and Crandell both have Grey Cups, but neither of them have ever consistently put up the kind of stats that Ricky Ray has in two years (completion %, TDs to INTs, yards/game, etc).
It's no secret I'm a big Ricky Ray fan and I want to see him back, but $500,000 salary is excessive for a modest league like the CFL.
[quote="Third_And_Ten"][color=darkred]Ricky Ray has proven nothing. Sure he is good. Sure he won the Grey Cup. But Khari Jones and Marcus Crandell did it as well. To earn such a salary (if it can be afforded by anyone), one would need to prove himself over and over, year in and year out. You don't pay 500K$ to a 26 years old CFLer no matter how good he has been.
Yes and if Henry Burris gets 300k, then Ricky Ray should get a hell of a lot more than that. Burris prooved absolutely nothing. Ricky Ray is a consistent QB. He was unstoppable in 2003. He may not get 500k a year, but I think he is good enough to get that much money. He is the most poised QB I have ever seen, for his age. Whoever gets Ray will instantly be a contender for the Grey Cup.
Should RR return to the cfl, his stock will go down and he won’t command anything close to 500k. He’ll accept less because he will be seriously unemployed. There are too many good qarterbacks in this league making far less for RR’s agent to be throwing around “worth” fuigures like that. It would also paint a bullseye on his sweater for every dl and db to demonstrate their underpaid frustration.
Yup. My mistake. I typed faster than I thought. My mental point (the point I made in my head but not on this board) was "Khari Jones has been the league MVP, and Crandell won the Grey Cup, and that doesn't keep any of them from being back-ups now". The exact same fate could be Printers' or Ray's. So I definately think none of them should get the money they want right now.
And ChrisW, your argument proves EXACTLY why general managers should never give in crazy demands from players.
You say "If Burris gets 300K$, Ray should get more." WRONG! I do admit Ray is better than Burris, but you don't correct a mistake by making a new one. If everybody thinks like that, the salaries will rise like crazy everytime someone will get a good season.
Would I be a GM, I'd tell my players "Yup. That Burris guy got himself way more than he's worth. Good for him. But that doesn't change my perspective on what can and can't be given to players in the CFL with the means at hand. You are better than Burris, but I still can't give you what he got. He's the one with the wrong salary. Not you."
I guess my guys would all go shopping around then, but I'd keep most of them unless other GMs got crazy.
I know Ricky very well and he is very excited about returning to the CFL. He was waiting (as of 12pm PAC time) to be sure no NFL team claimed him.. HE WANTS TO PLAY. Riding the pine, for even more than CFL is not what he is about. He went to The jets because he was told he would have the opportunity to be the #2. They didn't give him a chance - Their loss - CFL's gain.. Trust me, he is a very determined young man and any team that gets him ( he informed me that it was approx 4 CFL teams interested) will be very fortunate. He will want a 3-4 year deal- so He will be in the CFL for several years if he gets the right deal. Yes he wants to be compensated for what he is worth, but it ($$) will never interfere with his play or preparation.
Good Luck Rick !
I wouldn't be suprised to see him get close to $500k. A lot of starting QBs are getting around $300k or more now, and Ricky Ray could demand more interest due to his age and success.
R&W
Printers is staying out of the picture and letting his agent to all the talking with the media. They want to get the deal done before training camp. AT least thats the deadline the agent has given. I think if Dickenbson suffers one more injury, (I think he has already earned the "Injury prone" title) They will lock up Printers with a multi year deal.