Franchises Betting the Farm on Unproven/Old Talent
Some recent NFL signings have made me look back at how many times a sports franchise has made a dumb move by signing a player to a high-priced, long-term contract. Whether the player was getting up there in age, hadn’t proved themself (really), or was just being paid on their historical performance, the teams that signed the players were affected in the long-term financially and took losses on the player. Sure, the right signing can carry a franchise (e.g. Shaq, Manny Ramirez, Drew Brees), but the wrong signing can set a franchise back years.
Matt Cassel Signs 6-yr, $63m Contract w/ the Kansas City Chiefs
While Matt Cassel’s 2008-09 run as the replacement quarterback for the New England Patriots was good (not super good), he is certainly benefiting from the opportunity to show his stuff, as evidenced by the huge contract he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs recently. This, after getting franchise tagged and receiving $14+ million for the 2009-10 season anyway (before being traded to KC).
Kansas City, without seeing Cassel take a single snap in a real game for their franchise, essentially buried themselves financially for the next 3-4 yrs (assuming other contracts come off the books before Cassel’s 6-yr deal does). Cassel thrived in New England, but his team and surrounding players were heads & shoulders above what he’ll have to work with in KC. Randy Moss & Co. are certainly at a higher level than Dwayne Bowe and the other Chiefs’ receivers (no disrespect). It doesn’t help either, that KC traded away their star tight end, Tony Gonzalez, in the NFL offseason as well.
The Chiefs could have (& should have) waited to see how Cassel performs in a new system, w/ a new head coach, new teammates, etc. There was absolutely no reason to bet the farm on this guy so early after trading for him. While I wish the guy the best of luck, I can’t help but think this move will come back to bite the team in the near future.
Ben Wallace Signed by the Chicago Bulls in 2006
Fresh off four straight Eastern Conference championship appearances and an NBA Championship, F/C Ben Wallace of the Pistons decided to bolt Detroit for more money in Chicago. The Bulls, desperate for a low post defender and rebounder, overpaid greatly for the then 31-yr old veteran, signing him to a 4-yr, $60 million contract.
The signing of Wallace effectively utilized the Bulls’ entire available salary cap for the year and prevented them from picking up other players who might’ve been able to contribute more than Wallace, a poor (horrible) offensive player.
It didn’t take long for Chicago fans to see what they had just purchased – an older, slower, less motivated former Defensive Player of the Year. A player who did not mesh well w/ the young nucleus of the Bulls and ended up riding pine pretty early in the contract.
Fortunately for the Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers stepped up and took Wallace off their hands in February 2008. The damage, however, had already been done in Chicago, as they were unable to re-sign Luol Deng and Ben Gordon to the amounts that they probably deserved (& were asking). Deng has since been re-signed, but Gordon, their reliable 6th man and bench scorer, left for Detroit this offseason.
Andruw Jones Signs as Free Agent w/ the Los Angeles Dodgers
Andruw Jones was heralded as arguably the best center fielder of the mid-to-late 1990′s and early 2000′s even, as a member of the Atlanta Braves. Jones took his reputation into the free market in 2007 and the Dodgers, hungry for a star and/or power bat, took the chance and overpaid for the (fading) outfielder.
Jones came to Los Angeles as a five-time All-Star who had won 10 straight Gold Gloves with the Atlanta Braves and as one of 10 players in baseball history to hit 300 homers before the age of 30. He had 342, tying him with Mel Ott and Henry Aaron for the sixth-youngest player to reach that milestone. >> From an article by the Associated Press on ESPN.com
One of the biggest busts in recent MLB history, Andruw Jones was released by the LA Dodgers in early 2009. Jones’ batting average and power numbers dropped significantly from his historical numbers and the Dodgers had no choice. The impact on the franchise, besides two shitty years of watching him play… $22.1 million to walk away and never come back. Not a bad day at the office if you ask me.
Jones is now w/ the Texas Rangers and is playing much better, although his batting average is still pretty bad – the power numbers are there, however, even in a reserve role (DH).
In summary…
Not all deals turn out bad – certainly there are exceptions – but if history is any indicator, the Chiefs will be looking back at the signing of Cassel w/ regret. The Dodgers are regular salary eaters (e.g. Kevin Brown) so their poor decisions are a bit more routine than those of the Bulls or the Chiefs. There will be new instances of teams signing unproven and/or older players to expensive contracts… my bet will, more often than not, be on the teams regretting their decisions, much like L.A., Chicago and KC (will) do.
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