EDIT: Julio Jones WILL report to Falcons camp on Thursday - contract was re-worked

[Elderfalsedemigod]

@BamaFan334 thanks for the answer. I can agree with that as an observer

 

[planomateo]

The lack of a Super Bowl ring in the ATL is all the leverage Julio needs. Where are they going to find another Julio in time for the season? Falcons blink first...realize I'm stepping out on a limb here.

If a team cuts a player under contract, it's "a business decision" or "due to competition". When the player uses his leverage and holds out, fans raise hell. Fans are dumb... It's all a business. Owners are holding cities hostage...I have ZERO concern about an owner. They have ZERO liability in any of this. They just have to keep their mouth shut and not do anything stupid and they make a shit load of money every year. Players take all the physical/mental risks, get cut quickly. Let them get paid.

 

[#80]

See what happens when you spend to much time with TO.

 

[planomateo]

LOL, I doubt TO had any influence on this.

 

[Tidestalker]

Don't play, don't pay.

He signed his name on the dotted line... Should be firing his agent instead of blaming the team.

More balls for Ridley

 

[planomateo]

Don't play, don't pay.

He signed his name on the dotted line... Should be firing his agent instead of blaming the team.

More balls for Ridley

Fire Jimmy Sexton? LOL

 

[Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com]

Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com
For once, Julio Jones is finally thinking about himself

For the first time in his career, receiver Julio Jones is thinking about himself.

Good for him.

The NFL superstar, and most famous player of Nick Saban's time at Alabama, appears to be preparing himself for a contract holdout with the Atlanta Falcons.

Jones isn't being selfish. He's not a diva.

Jones is smart, and it makes absolutely no sense for him to show up for Falcons training camp whether he gets a raise for holding out or not. Without any guarantees left on his contract extension, he has everything to lose by doing so, and nothing to gain.

Alabama fans know Jones as their Foley phenom, and the player most responsible for kickstarting Saban's wildly successful run at Alabama. Up until now, Falcons fans knew Jones only as a great teammate, pillar of their community and, above all, freak athlete willing to sacrifice his body on every play.

Now it's time to get to know Julio Jones the businessman.

Jones has three years left on his contract extension, but wants to renegotiate the deal before the season starts. He was the highest paid receiver in NFL history when he signed his extension two years ago, but now he's only the ninth highest paid receiver in the league based on average salary. On Tuesday, the Falcons informed Jones' agent that the team isn't doing anything until after this season.

Jones is now expected to holdout, and that means he could potentially miss all of training camp, the NFL preseason, and maybe, if this thing get ugly, even a few games to start the season.

I say again, good for him.

Hopefully Jones will be a fixture on Alabama's sidelines and practice fields until the Falcons do right by their best player. At 29 years old, Jones is set to make $10.5 million in base salary next season, and while that's a huge amount of money, it's a fraction of what he's actually worth to his pro team, and to the NFL.

Saban made more last season coaching Alabama.

At the very least, with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan now making $30 million per year, Jones is worth between $18-$20 million per season. Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown currently is the league's highest paid receiver with an average annual salary of $18.5 million over three years. Receiver Mike Evans of Tampa Bay gets $16.5 million per season, on average.

Let's put all the numbers aside right now, though.

More than anything, Jones is making a wise decision for his future by holding out. His contract is only guaranteed if he starts the season, which means if he gets hurt during training camp, the Falcons could potential cut Jones without paying anything.

With rookie receiver Calvin Ridley now with the Falcons, that's something Jones has to consider. After all, he watched the Falcons unceremoniously cut Roddy White in 2016 after 11 seasons with the team. White, a former first-round pick, was expendable with Jones on the roster.

"From [Jones'] perspective, there's pretty much only an upside to holding out," said David Berri, a sports economist and professor of economics at Southern Utah University. "The less he does at training camp probably the better off he is anyways.

"One of the things a lot of football fans don't often seem to get is that the contract only means something one way. When we think about players holding out, they're essentially doing the same thing the teams are going to do to them anyway. At some point, the team is going to say to Julio we don't need you anymore."

And that "some point" could be next year. Jones will be 30 years old in 2019 with two years left on his contract. With Ridley behind Jones, why would the Falcons renegotiate then? Consider this: Jones becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2021, and that season isn't guaranteed for anyone.

The league's current collective bargaining agreement with players ends after the 2020 season, and a strike by players or lockout by owners seems like a sure thing at this point. Why? Because a player of Jones' caliber only making $10.5 million this season in the most brutal yet lucrative professional sport in the United States almost seems criminal.

Ever heard of Bojan Bogdanovic? If you're not a hardcore fan of the NBA, then no you haven't.

He averaged five field goals a game last season for the Indiana Pacers, but he'll be making just as much as the best receiver in the NFL this winter.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for Alabama Media Group. He's on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

 

[BamaFan334]

The lack of a Super Bowl ring in the ATL is all the leverage Julio needs. Where are they going to find another Julio in time for the season? Falcons blink first...realize I'm stepping out on a limb here.

If a team cuts a player under contract, it's "a business decision" or "due to competition". When the player uses his leverage and holds out, fans raise hell. Fans are dumb... It's all a business. Owners are holding cities hostage...I have ZERO concern about an owner. They have ZERO liability in any of this. They just have to keep their mouth shut and not do anything stupid and they make a shit load of money every year. Players take all the physical/mental risks, get cut quickly. Let them get paid.

Why so much animosity for the owners? They are running a business just like any other person out there, just on a larger scale than most. Their job is to make a "shitload of money". How in the hell do you think they got to their current position? Giving money away? I hate that they benefit from these new stadiums and it gets put on the tax payers, but that's not their fault for taking advantage of a system that is put in place by the lawmakers voted into office by, you guessed it, the taxpayers. Their job is to put a product on the field and make money. Some owners want to win Championships and live in infamy, and others want to suck a franchise dry and claim every nickel they can.

True, the players take all of the risks, but that's the price of doing business. They know full well what they are getting into, and they are compensated at a higher amount of money than say a bank teller or any other position that holds zero chance of risk for bodily injury. High risk, high reward as they say. I don't feel sorry for anyone in this equation, and not really sure why you do either, or even side with one over the other. You get cut when your performance isn't good enough or your behavior is detrimental, just like any other job in this country, for the most part.

 

[#80]

I'm of the opinion if you sign a contract you should honor it.

 

[planomateo]

Why so much animosity for the owners? They are running a business just like any other person out there, just on a larger scale than most. Their job is to make a "shitload of money". How in the hell do you think they got to their current position? Giving money away? I hate that they benefit from these new stadiums and it gets put on the tax payers, but that's not their fault for taking advantage of a system that is put in place by the lawmakers voted into office by, you guessed it, the taxpayers. Their job is to put a product on the field and make money. Some owners want to win Championships and live in infamy, and others want to suck a franchise dry and claim every nickel they can.

True, the players take all of the risks, but that's the price of doing business. They know full well what they are getting into, and they are compensated at a higher amount of money than say a bank teller or any other position that holds zero chance of risk for bodily injury. High risk, high reward as they say. I don't feel sorry for anyone in this equation, and not really sure why you do either, or even side with one over the other. You get cut when your performance isn't good enough or your behavior is detrimental, just like any other job in this country, for the most part.

Yup, I get all of that. Hard for me to side with owners. It's Julio's right to dispute, it's either gonna work out good or bad for him.

I have no dog in the fight, I really don't care one way or the other. Generally speaking, I side with the players when it comes to players vs owners.

 

[BamaFan334]

Why so much animosity for the owners? They are running a business just like any other person out there, just on a larger scale than most. Their job is to make a "shitload of money". How in the hell do you think they got to their current position? Giving money away? I hate that they benefit from these new stadiums and it gets put on the tax payers, but that's not their fault for taking advantage of a system that is put in place by the lawmakers voted into office by, you guessed it, the taxpayers. Their job is to put a product on the field and make money. Some owners want to win Championships and live in infamy, and others want to suck a franchise dry and claim every nickel they can.

True, the players take all of the risks, but that's the price of doing business. They know full well what they are getting into, and they are compensated at a higher amount of money than say a bank teller or any other position that holds zero chance of risk for bodily injury. High risk, high reward as they say. I don't feel sorry for anyone in this equation, and not really sure why you do either, or even side with one over the other. You get cut when your performance isn't good enough or your behavior is detrimental, just like any other job in this country, for the most part.

Yup, I get all of that. Hard for me to side with owners. It's Julio's right to dispute, it's either gonna work out good or bad for him.

I have no dog in the fight, I really don't care one way or the other. Generally speaking, I side with the players when it comes to players vs owners.

Why though? Cause one has money and the other doesn't have as much as the other?

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Atlanta Falcons, Julio Jones head off training camp holdout

JJ will report and the Birds will fix his deal in 2019.............Ok so throw the dayum ball to Julio

 

[planomateo]

Looks like Julio had the leverage...

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

Looks like Julio had the leverage...

This IMO shows more than anything that it is just standard business. All the vitriol and hand wringing from the outside but it appears the Falcons handled it as business as usual.

 

[planomateo]

Yup.

By all accounts, Julio has been a great teammate and Falcons representative. In my opinion, this doesn't change that. Falcons proved as much with this move.

 

[BamaFan334]

Yup.

By all accounts, Julio has been a great teammate and Falcons representative. In my opinion, this doesn't change that. Falcons proved as much with this move.

Guess I'm not understanding how his contract was so front loaded, he wanted his money up front, they gave it to him, but then he gets upset because the back end isn't as sweet as the front end, years after he signed knowing full well the deal, when receivers sign for more years after he did.

I'm not mad at Julio at all, or the Falcons, because this does not affect my daily life one ounce, just expressing my values and opinion is all. I just think he should have held up to his end of the bargain, because the Falcons gave him over 60% in guaranteed money, which is a lot of faith on their part. Me thinks he wouldn't have given any money back had he not held up a certain standard of production.

 

[planomateo]

 

[JoshB]

People turn on players so quick.

 

[TUSKtimes]

People turn on players so quick.

It's entirely possible to like and support players but not agree with everything they do. Much in the manner that I love my kids and grandkids but don't always agree with their actions. It's not a perfect art form by any stretch but I haven't manage to throw the baby out with the bathwater, yet.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

People turn on players so quick.

It's entirely possible to like and support players but not agree with everything they do. Much in the manner that I love my kids and grandkids but don't always agree with their actions. It's not a perfect art form by any stretch but I haven't manage to throw the baby out with the bathwater, yet.

In my mind, it's similar to a coach getting a re-worked contract, the biggest difference being the much shorter windows players have to earn money.

RTR,

Tim