Absolutely, I recognize that - but I still wish there was a way to get someone below market for more than a year.
My example is Amari Spievey. Spievey is a serious concussion case right now and someone you could never take much of a risk on. However, if the Lions went to him and offered him a discounted 3 year deal, he'd take it in a heartbeat.
I'd love to do the same; I think Spievey is a damn talented football player and I'd like to give him a 3 year deal so I can hold him through this 2012 season (lost to a concussion) and then get him for another couple of years at a reasonable rate. If I want to do that, I'll essentially have to pay him for 3 years at a productive veteran rate when A) I know I'll only get 2 out of him and B) I have no idea how he'll recover.
It's just really difficult to take fliers on breakout candidates and hope to get them on a discount contract for a couple of years. A smart manager should be rewarded for being able to go locate those guys and should get a little more of a bump for it than a single undervalued year.
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"If there's a god, he's laughing at us.....and our football team..."
"When you look at something through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
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