Hello, $100-million club; there is a new member. That occurred Thursday (July 25) when Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan signed a five-year contract extension worth $103.75 million.
Ryan follows Joe Flacco, Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers, who also signed contract extensions this offseason. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford also signed an extension, but his was for fewer years and thus fell short of $100 million.
Said Falcons owner Arthur Blank, “Matt is a franchise quarterback. We’re not going to rest really well until we have rings. That’s what this is about.”
Of course, rings are hard to come by, but having a quarterback of Ryan’s caliber gives a team a fighting chance.
Asked if the new deal raises expectations, Ryan said, “I don’t think so. I think the expectations that we set for ourselves as a football team, and myself personally, are higher than what everyone else is going to try and put on you. My goal and my mindset has been the same since 2008. It’s about winning a championship, and it’s about getting rings.
“I’m just happy that I’m going to have the opportunity to do that here. No, I don’t worry about that side of it. I’m just going to do the best I can and work as hard as I possibly can and try and be the best football player I can be.”
Meanwhile, the new contract for Ryan overshadowed the revelation that Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez will be permitted to miss a portion of training camp because of previous family commitments.
That commitment apparently involves his son, Nikko, who will be playing football for the first time this year. Gonzalez had decided to retire, so he planned to be present when Nikko started practicing.
Gonzalez said, “There are some prior obligations I made to my family, more specifically my son Nikko, last year. I made these obligations to them last year because I was planning to retire. I wasn’t joking about that all year last year. Those responsibilities are coming up and will be here pretty soon so I’ll probably head back and hang out with him and do what I told him I was going to do. Then I’ll be back and join the team early. I’m not going to be showing up a week before the game, I’ll be here a lot earlier than that, but I’ll be ready to go, too. You can bet the house on that.
“This isn’t something that is going to go into the regular season. This is just for camp. It worked out perfectly, too. If I was home I could’ve been with him, but he’s not even in practice yet. It’s his first year of football and I’m looking forward to being out there and watching him learn how to hit someone in the mouth.”
The arrangement has the blessing of the Falcons, and coach Mike Smith said, “Before Tony decided to come back, he made some commitments to his family, and after talking with Tony we’ve come to a mutual agreement that we’re going to allow him to honor those commitments with his family. So there’ll be some time that he’ll be here in training camp, and some time where he won’t. I think those decisions were made prior to him deciding whether he was going to play again.
“That’s really between Tony and I, but we’re glad he’s here. He’s going to be here for a while, and then he’s going to be gone. Then he’ll be back. But, that’s a decision Tony and I had conversations about through this offseason.”
Kiss $2 Million Goodbye
While San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown was working out on his own in Texas during the offseason, he didn’t realize $2 million was flying out the window.
Brown’s contract included an escalator for 2013 that would pay him $2.925 million if he participated in the team’s offseason program. If he didn’t attend, his salary would be $925,000.
The problem is that Brown claims he didn’t know about the requirement, and because agent Brian Overstreet didn’t tell him about it, Brown fired Overstreet when he learned what had happened.
Brown said, “I no longer have an agent as of now. No one wants to leave money on the table. If I would have known the clauses in my contract and that’s what agents get paid to do — to orchestrate the contract and let you know what you can and can’t do as far as workouts and OTAs and things of that sort; that’s what he got paid to do, he didn’t do that, so in my opinion he had to be let go. We all are held accountable for our actions and it’s just part of the business.”
Brown hopes to work something out with the team, but in the interim, he has to find a way to compete without thinking about the lost cash. He admitted that wasn’t the case at an early practice last week.
“It definitely was hard to concentrate just because my mind was somewhere else,” Brown said. “But this is a business. And I understand that. And I have a job to do. The 49ers are paying me to do a job. I have to come out here, regardless of what’s going on off the field, personal or financial.”
Holding Your Breath
Wide receiver Percy Harvin was on his way to a superlative season in Minnesota last year before injuries sidelined him for the final seven games.
His injury history didn’t stop Seattle from paying a king’s ransom in draft choices and a new contract for him when he was acquired in the offseason.
Now, the Seahawks are holding their breath after it was revealed that Harvin has a “slight tear” in the labrum of his hip and might need surgery. The club apparently has said surgery isn’t necessary, but it is expected that Harvin will get a second opinion.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said, “Harvin has a hip issue that we are dealing with that came up during his workout over the summer and we are trying to figure it out. We are doing everything we can to make the right decision and help him and take care of him in every way. He was working out a week ago you know, going full speed. But it was bothering him enough and we took some looks at it and we’re going to try to figure out the right procedures and take care of him and get him back on the field.”
Carroll added, “We need to get more information right now. We don’t know enough right now. We will just have to wait and see. The good part is it’s really early. We have a long time to get him ready. We have to be really diligent about the process right now.”
Stay tuned Seattle fans, but you may need to hold your collective breaths on Harvin’s health.