• Crabtree and his agent Eugene Parker were holding out for the guaranteed money that the first wide receiver picked in the draft, Darrius Heyward-Bey at number seven, received which was $23.5 million.  Crabtree’s contract is $17 million of guaranteed money, which is only a million higher than the $16 million the 49ers first offered Crabtree.  Advantage McCloghan.

• The contract Crabtree signed was a six-year deal worth $32 million that can turn into a five-year deal if he meets incentives.  The sixth year would be voided if he goes to the Pro Bowl during his first four years, along with playing 80 percent of the offensive snaps during a separate season in which the 49ers reach the playoffs.  The deal can be worth up to $40 million if he achieves every incentive in the deal.  I want Crabtree to reach these incentives but with receivers like Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson and Roddy White in the NFC going to the Pro Bowl might be hard for him to achieve.  He has lost one year, this year, so let’s see how he does the next three years.  Advantage McCloughan.

• A positive for McCloughan and even team president Jed York was the fact that they never said anything negative about Crabtree publicly to try to pressure him into signing.  We have seen owners do this in the past and it has worked but the 49ers organization knows it has a good team with or without Crabtree and publicly pressuring the former Texas Tech star would be a bigger distraction for the team.  Advantage McCloughan.

• Who gave in? Crabtree of course.  McClouhan at no point gave into the demands of Crabtree and his inner circle.  He said the offer is what is, take it or leave it.  He did not receive the money he was looking for and the 49ers gave him more money in guarantees than originally offered but it was lower than the 9th pick B.J. Raji’s $18 million and higher than the 11th pick, Aaron Maybin, received which was $15 million.  The more money guaranteed is also because it is a six-year deal rather than a five-year deal.  Advantage McCloughan.

No one will really know why Crabtree decided to sign.  Was it the 3-1 start by the Niners?  Was it the Jets trading for WR Braylon Edwards and him thinking that he would not get the money Deion Sanders was saying two other teams would pay him?  Was it selfishness, like the holdout, that made him sign?  Meaning he knew how much money he would lose by sitting out the season and also hurting his draft stock value if he returned to the NFL draft next year.

I think the real question is, what were Crabtree and his inner circle thinking at the start of the holdout?  I think they saw weakness in the 49ers organization that they would cave to their demands and offer a contract Crabtree was holding out for.  Some examples are former number one pick Alex Smith and the guaranteed money that they over paid him and the huge contracts they gave free agents Nate Clements and Justin Smith which were also way overvalued.  Eugene Parker thought he was a good agent and told his client to holdout.  Crabtree thought he was a better player than Hayward-Bey and believed in his agent by holding out.  I think Crabtree and Parker had the fourth week of the season as their line drawn in the sand for them to sign.  Thing is, they thought the 49ers would give in before then.  Instead it was them and now both look silly as the 49ers Faithful and the rest of the NFL wonder, why the long holdout for a contract that was the same as the one initially offered?

Keep updated automatically through email on 49ers news at Niner Noise. Subscribe here:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/NinerNoise

Crabtree wants his $dough$

Former 49ers cornerback and KPIX radio announcer Eric Davis is reporting the 49ers and Michael Crabtree are stalled in negotiations and are $7 million apart in guaranteed money.  In Crabtree’s fantasy world he was picked seventh in the draft but in the real world where the 49er Faithful and the 49ers organization live he was picked tenth and deserves only the contract players picked at that number are slotted to receive.  Davis also reported that Crabtree is still willing to sit out the season.

“They feel as should they should get more than where they are slotted and that’s going to be difficult to do. There’s a certain system in place and the 49ers organization is going to stick to that system. It’s going to be difficult to get anything worked out,” Davis said.

Davis has access to people in Crabtree’s camp most notably former teammate Deion Sanders.  This explains the holdout with Neon Deion being in Crabtree’s corner.  Both are flashy and have balloted egos.  But shouldn’t Sanders be telling Crabtree to sign the contract now, show you are worth what you think you are and then demand a higher contract either in the second or third season of the deal so long as you are putting up the big numbers?  You may not know this but there is a Deion Sanders rule in the NFL: A player salary rule which correlates a contract’s signing bonus with its yearly salary. Enacted after Sanders signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 for a minimum salary and a $13 million signing bonus.  Basically Crabtree has surround himself with people who only see in dollar $ign$.  Sanders knows how to get the maximum payment, Crabtree thinks he deserves the maximum payment and his agent, Eugene Parker, thinks he deserves maximum because he wants to get as much of the 3% agents gets out of a player’s salary.  Speaking of salary how the hell is Crabtree living his life?  I don’t see any endorsements at all.  I am sure he has some sugar mama’s/daddy’s but one would think if this is all about money why would you sit out a season and miss out on millions?

Keep updated automatically through email on 49ers news at Niner Noise. Subscribe here:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/NinerNoise

Take it or leave it Crabtree

The time has come for the 49ers to end the Michael Crabtree holdout by saying they will not over pay him more than what the number 10 slot in the draft usually gets and certainly nothing more than draft picks 1 through 9.  It has been reported GM Scot McCloughan is holding the line by not overpaying him but I think publicly this needs to be said by McCloughan.  The more pressure that is put on Crabtree the better.  If he wants to be a Niner he needs to end his selfishness and get into training camp before it ends.  Each day that he has held out means lost development which will be a lot harder when the regular season starts.  We all know Crabtree’s threat of sitting out the year and reentering the draft in 2010 will not happen.  All he has to do is see what happened to former USC star wide-out Mike Williams when he sat out for a year trying to enter the NFL draft before he was eligible.  Like Williams, Crabtree’s threat will not work out to his advantage and here is why:

• The 49ers hold Crabtree’s rights up until the beginning of the 2010 draft.  Basically this means Crabtree cannot work out for other teams before the draft if the 49ers do not give permission.  If this situation is still going on come the 2010 draft, one my head might explode and two I doubt the 49ers would allow Crabtree to work out for other teams.  His draft stock will definitely fall past number 10 and probably to the later rounds because he cannot workout for teams and show he is worth a draft pick after sitting out a full year.  This is one of the reasons why Crabtree’s draft stock fell this year because he could not work out for teams due to a stress fracture in his foot.

• In order for Crabtree to make the money that he thinks he deserves he would have to be picked 7^th or higher in next year’s draft.  I am no college expert but I would think there are seven players that are worth the draft pick more than Crabtree especially at wide receiver.

• The Patriots selected Jerod Mayo with the 10^th pick last year.  Mayo signed a five-year $22 million deal with $16 million guaranteed.  Crabtree is asking for five-years, $38.25 million deal including $23.5 million guaranteed which is what number 7^th pick Darrius Heyward-Bey signed with the Raiders this year.  The 9^th pick in the draft this year, the Packers B.J. Raji, received just under $18 million guaranteed.  I would think the 49ers will not offer Crabtree no more than that amount guaranteed.  Plus with all of the rookie holdouts this year I would not be surprised if NFL owners and players install a rookie salary scale when they negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement before the 2010 draft.  If that happens Crabtree would certainly lose money no matter where he is drafted.

• Other NFL teams are apprised of the Crabtree situation.  If he did reenter the draft next year his draft stock alone would slip because teams will not want to negotiate a contract with a “prima donna” who sat out a year just to get the money he thinks he deserves.  No team will take that chance.

What all of this comes down to his money.  The 49ers will not overpay a receiver even if he threatens to sit out because they do not think he is worth that amount.  Crabtree just wants to get paid and does not care about the team or his teammates.  Crabtree and his agent Eugene Parker have to be aware of all the potential consequences if he sits out if this is really about money.  Crabtree needs a new agent regardless but if he thinks he will make more money by sitting out the year he needs a new inner circle.  Crabtree needs step up and rise above this situation he has caused to save face with the 49er Faithful.

Keep updated automatically through email on 49ers news at Niner Noise. Subscribe here:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/NinerNoise