Cedric Benson may be taking extra time to sign his first contract with the Bears because he realizes it might be his last.
The shelf life of running backs is shorter than at other positions. Running backs become productive more quickly than other positions. This leads some teams to treat running backs more interchangeably than they do other players.
Ask Edgerrin James of the Colts or Shaun Alexander of the Seahawks. Both are having trouble securing long-term deals after very productive starts over six and five years, respectively.
The Saints just signed Deuce McAllister to an eight-year, $50.1 million extension that makes him one of the three highest-paid running backs in the NFL. San Diego awarded LaDainian Tomlinson an eight-year, $60 million deal at this time a year ago. Clinton Portis signed an eight-year, $50.5 million contract with Washington in 2004.
There are also productive and well-compensated running backs who are older than 30, like the Giants’ Tiki Barber and the Jets’ Curtis Martin. The Steelers’ Jerome Bettis is playing at a reduced price after bucking the odds and making big money. He is now concentrating on breaking records at 33.
But they are exceptions.
Benson has no way of knowing whether the Bears will be inclined to reward and keep a good running back beyond his initial contract or roll the dice in five or six years and draft another less expensive prospect. Or the Bears could make Benson their franchise player, like James, which pays him a big salary (top five average) for one year but provides no long-term security.
Alexander is in the same boat after rushing for more than 1,000 yards for four straight seasons. “We’re going to assess that as we go through the season,” team President Tim Ruskell said of the prospects of rewarding Alexander long-term.
Another point about football contracts: The only guaranteed portion is the signing bonus. It’s different in baseball or basketball, where a player who signs a $50 million contract sees the $50 million whether he plays for the length of the contract or not. In football, a team can cut a player and terminate his contract.
For example, McAllister’s new contract includes $12.5 million in bonuses as well as several performance escalators that could sweeten the deal by as much as $3.1 million in the first three years. But the $12.5 million is all he is assured of getting. To get the entire amount, he has to play eight more years, hardly a sure thing.
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Tomlinson’s $60 million deal included $21 million guaranteed, and Portis’ $50.5 million deal included $17 million in bonuses. The balance depends on their longevity.
The Packers’ Ahman Green is only 28 and is looking for a new deal that might triple the five-year, $18.375 million package he signed in July 2001. That contract contained $6 million in bonuses.
But Green is coming off a year in which Achilles’, knee and rib-cartilage injuries limited him to 54.9 percent participation. After averaging 5.22 yards per carry in 2003, he slipped to 4.46 last year.
Pressure on Bears
Most of the advice from ex-players, teammates and others on the Benson situation has been one-sided. Several outsiders have urged the player to sign and get his career started.
But there are two sides to contract negotiations. Why shouldn’t the Bears feel pressure to get their player signed? They drafted him. They need him. They are the team with the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL.
Is it because the draft assures the team has no competition for his services? Is it because they know Benson can’t sell one more extra ticket at Soldier Field, where loyal fans gather whether they have the 32nd offense or not?
Are the Bears being aggressive and creative, or have they just waited for the market to dictate the offer?
And why would general manager Jerry Angelo want “to make it abundantly clear that the Chicago Bears have made their best and final offer to Cedric Benson”?
Is that a declaration of victory? Is there an upside to advertising that the kid is going to come in on their terms or not at all?
You also hear the question: “How much money do these players need?” You rarely hear: “How much money do the owners need?”
Starting lineup
Members of the best offensive line in Bears history and one of the great lines in NFL history will throw out the first pitch at the Cubs game Monday night.
Keith Van Horne, Tom Thayer, Jay Hilgenberg, Mark Bortz and Jimbo Covert started from 1985-90 when the Bears were 69-26. All but Bortz will be present plus tight end Emery Moorehead, backups Kurt Becker and Tom Andrews and their coach, Dick Stanfel.
Counting on emotion
Pittsburgh Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward, far more underpaid at $1.66 million than Philadelphia’s Terrell Owens is at twice that much, ended a two-week holdout. His agent? The same Eugene Parker who advises Benson.
Ward said Parker warned him: “You go back, you get hurt, you could lose everything. Or you could play this year out, you do well and they can put the franchise player tag on you. Or, for whatever reason, if you don’t put up a lot of stats, based on your production or someone else’s, you could lose out on making big money as a free agent.
“But I told him I wanted to retire as a Steeler. I told him to make that happen.”
That kind of sentiment is what NFL teams count on.
Chicago stars
The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame will induct five former NFL players: Rich East’s Larry McCarren of the Packers, Austin’s Abe Woodson of the 49ers, Phillips’ Chris Hinton of the Colts, Farragut’s Otis Armstrong of the Broncos and Fenger’s Chuck Ulrich of the Chicago Cardinals.
Former Bear John Johnson will receive the George Connor Award. Former Bear and broadcaster Mike Adamle will emcee the program Sept. 22 at Hawthorne Racecourse. Dinner tickets are $125, and profits are donated to Maryville Academy. To order tickets, call 847-294-1799.
Frugal, not flashy
Not all NFL players get rich quick or spend lavishly. Leroy Hill, a rookie linebacker from Clemson, used part of his third-round signing bonus on a 1995 Chevy Caprice. The car has more than 100,000 miles on its odometer.
“Paid $3,500,” Hill said. “But I’m telling you, the engine on that car is excellent.”
Making it
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Chicago novelist Sara Paretsky, in “Fire Sale”: “They talked about the Bears, who had no offense, reminded them of the team 25 years back, right before Ditka and McMahon gave us our one whiff of glory, but was Lovie Smith the man to bring back the McMahon-Payton era?”
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