Quotable: Westbrook Fires Agent

Following Lito Sheppard's recent hiring of Drew Rosenhaus, underpaid star running back Brian Westbrook has now fired his agent.

"When I signed my contract with the Eagles 2½ years ago, they paid me for the level of play I was playing at the time," Westbrook said. "I'm not at that level no more. I'm at a higher level of play. There's no question about that. The numbers don't lie. My numbers have steadily increased from that point until now. Now, I'm at the point where I'm one of the elite backs in the NFL, and I should be compensated that way."

Comments

[Kulp]

Lito v. Brian in a death match, winner gets the other guy's salary.

[Joe]

The man speaks the truth.

[Chewy Wellington]

Boo freaking hoo. I could not have less sympathy for any professional athlete who signs a contract and then wants more money. The key phrase in that previous sentence "signs a contract." Would he give back a penny if he stunk the joint up? No! Was his talent and potential considered at the time of his contract? Yes. I guess he should be mad at the Eagles for having more faith in his talent than he did.

Oh yeah, and hes still making millions of dollars to play a game.

[Andrew C]

cut them both

[jd]

i have no problems with westbrook getting more money. he deserves it.

pay that man.

[Loqiel]

Why does it matter if he's one of the elite backs in the NFL if they don't fully use him?

[Bryan]

Kind of shocked to read that. I thought Brian had more class and respect than that. While, I don't disagree with what he's saying, there is certainly a better way to go about it. Airing your dirty laundry in the public makes him no better than T.O. You're better than that 36.

[Poster Nutbag]

i just hope BWest's new agent has better grammar and sentence construction skills than whomever drafted that statement.

[Ben]

@Bryan: In my opinion after what the team did to him, accidentally paid him 3 million more than he was owed, he has every right to say this. The team looked at him and asked for that money back. He is way underpaid and the team should find a way to up his salary before he gets so upset he becomes TO's attitude and ruins the locker room. If you were to ask anyone of the eagles player they would probably say he should earn way more.

[Bryan]

@Ben: Don't disagree one bit with anything you said. I by no means take the side of the FO, but I just think he should keep it "in house" because I sure as hell don't want it to play out through the public (can only lead to bad bad things).

[Kulp]

In Westbrook's defense, he did attempt to resolve the dispute with the FO quietly.

I rarely take the side of the player in contract disputes, but his situation is unique. Everybody knows the average lifespan of an NFL runner is shorter than any other position, and anybody can agree when compared to his peers, Westbrook is underpaid. However, I don't believe he is significantly underpaid either simply because running back is also the most replaceable spot. Yes, even considering B-West is extraordinary.

While the Eagles typically will not renegotiate a deal this soon before it ends, I am amazed that the two sides could not reach some sort of agreement during the off-season. The contract shouldn't need revamping in its entirety, but some extra bonuses or incentives most likely could have made this go away.

[johndewar]

Agree with Kulp.

Cut the check Banner, you little ferret.

[Zack]

I love how they complain when they sign a contract and overperform and don't get "compensated" for it...but if they underperform they act like they should still be getting paid. Come on...how many mansions can these guys build for playing football?

[Tartan69]

"I'm not at that level no more"

Do you think BWest actually can read and understand his contract, or is he just repeating what his agent is telling him?

Speak some proper english and you may get some endorsement deals there buddy. Gotta love that Nova edumacation.

[jeremy]

I don't follow the behind-the-scenes stuff like contract negotiations and salaries very closely in any sport aside from baseball.

In baseball, it would be unheard of for a player to hold out or ask for more money. Occasionally, you'll see a contract restructured. However, in football, it seems like this stuff happens all the time. It doesn't seem like it happens in other sports, but that may be my myopia.

Can anyone explain why it happens so much in football? Is it related to the non-guaranteed contracts of football contracts? Why do teams ever cave in this situation? It seems to me like BWest holds no leverage here, except for the threat of holding out. But wouldn't this essentially ruin his football career?

I feel no sympathy for Westbrook. He may be underpaid relative to performance, but so are a plethora of athletes in all sports. That's the nature of a contract, some players get overpaid, some get underpaid. He's the one who choose to sign such a long deal.

[jivfly]

I agree that BWest is great, but I don't have any sympathy for him or Lito or any of these guys. THEY agreed to and signed their contracts. If they think they're going to be worth more in the future, sign a short-team deal. You can't try to get the security of a long-term deal with the ability to get your new market value after a strong year, or just because some comprable player got a monster contract.

I understand that NFL careers end all the time, but the contracts should be guaranteed agreements, just like in every other sport. There should be none of this "I'm gonna hold out until my deal gets re-worked" nonsense (not that 36 is doing that), and the teams shouldn't be able to renegotiate contracts to lower amounts for underperforming players.

If the team signs a player to a long-term deal, they should carry the risk that the athlete may not play all those years. That's why the contracts are insured. The player also has the risk that he might outperform his contract, but in the end, it's a contract. Either agree to what you signed, or sign one- or two-year deals.

[gootman]

Jeremy, the players want more money more often because the salary caps is higher due to the new revenue calculations and players who signed contracts within the last few years want a piece of that money(well, their agents tell them to want it).

Most of time I disagree with the player because its their agents fault that they signed the contract without looking ahead, but in Westbrook's case he has just outplayed his contract.

[Dave]

I think this is the real B-West we are seeing right now. He's always been like this. I remember when he was about to be a rookie, before the Eagles drafted him, Comcast SportsNet was covering some rookie workout session and he was like (mind you this is not verbatim):
"The faster and better we do, the more money we get paid."

While on the field it may seem like he wants to win, he cares about money first. Seriously #36, just shut up and play.I would do just about anything for half of what you get.

[Nick]

"Outplayed" the contract? What the fuck does that even mean? You deserve nothing more than you signed for, that is why it's called a contract. You agreed to it, big guy. Next time you sign, read it, understand it, think it through, and you will make more money than you're worth; it all washes out in the long run.

[Joe Manning]

Wait wait ... Lito Sheppard hired Drew Rosenhaus ?

Should be a great camp ...