Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > April > 27
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Draft weekend’s biggest loser? Chad Johnson
CHAD & DREW SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson was — far and away — the biggest loser on NFL Draft Weekend 2008.
The club ignored agent Drew Rosenhaus’ plea to trade Chad (hip! hip! hooray!) and the eighth-year veteran is left with the same options he had last week.
Honor thy contract and play for the Bengals or sit out and face fines of $1,700 per day for missing mandatory minicamp (June 12-14) and $14,000 per day for each day missed at training camp starting in July.
Johnson thought Rosenhaus’ YouTube filibuster would earn him a ticket to Washington, Dallas or Philadelphia. Wrong. What Rosenhaus’ rant really did was make himself and Chad look foolish. Both guys should be embarrassed.
WHO’S TO BLAME? MAN IN THE MIRROR
The six-year, $35.5 million contract extension Chad signed in 2006 sure looked good at the time because he got $10.75 million up front. As soon as the ink from his signature dried on the paper, the contract became obsolete. Chad fails to realize that somebody always, ALWAYS, gets paid more money than you. Even when they’re not as good as you or as talented as you. A guy like Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald.
Chad is unhappy, sad, angry and upset, and he’s looking for somebody to blame.
It’s time he found him.
He’s the man in the mirror.
CBS Sports’ and NFL Network’s Solomon Wilcots gave me his assessment of the situation in a lengthy conversation this weekend:
IN WILCOTS’ WORDS:
“If I’m a business owner, I’ve got a great deal. I’ve got one of the best players at his position at a bargain basement price. Why? Because I paid him up-front, and I’m not letting him walk away with my money. I’m not letting him affect my training camp. The tail will not wag the dog. So I’m the one who’s calling the shots.
“Chad’s got four years left on a six-year deal. Hey, you haven’t even done half the job. If you were building my house, I’m not going to let you pour the foundation and quit. And I’m not setting a precedent for the next guy coming down the pike that I gave the money to up-front and then two years into a six-year deal he starts making demands, bad mouthing my team, bad mouthing my city, just so my feelings get hurt then I let him out? That’s what he wants. It’s an act. It’s a Shakespearean play that we’ve seen before.
“They cannot give in to him because it sets a bad precedent. They take one helluva cap hit. Eight million! Are you kidding me? Drew Rosenhaus did this with T.O. (Terrell Owens), caused a major disturbance and got the kid ran out of town. Did he get his money? Yeah. He did the same thing with Willis McGahee. He caused a huge disturbance in Buffalo, said some bad things about the town. Some owners get their feelings hurt. They said, ‘Get rid of him.’ I know what Mike Brown is doing. Mike is saying, ‘You can talk about it all you want. I know what you’re trying to do. It’s not happening.’
“My suggestion is: Change the culture which fosters the behavior because getting rid of one guy doesn’t solve your problem. You still have the culture. Then you have to ask yourself: ‘Who’s the next one in this long line (to want out)?’ There’s a succession of this kind of behavior from its star player. Now change that before you try to go changing Chad Johnson. We’ve seen this behavior before. All it’s meant to do is get out of town and get on another team.
“If they get rid of Chad, do you think things are going to change? No! Unless you understand the culture that continues to create such a mentality, then you’re not changing anything. All you’re doing is moving around pieces. But the environment that spawns and breeds that same contempt, it’s still there.
“This guy (Chad) is one of the best players they’ve had in franchise history. You’ve got him locked in at four more years. Put some strong personalities in there with him, and deal with him in terms of managing the player. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. and everything will be all right.”
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