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Published on 08/17/2009 at Mon Aug 17 21:53.
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Why the Broncos Can’t (or Won’t) Pay Brandon Marshall

Posted Mon Aug 17th by

Denver Broncos football player Brandon Marshall appears in Fulton County state court , Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Denver Broncos football player Brandon Marshall appears in Fulton County state court , Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

It was more of the same in Broncos camp Monday. Brandon Marshall‘s agent met with the front office again to request a new contract for his client. They were denied. In response, Marshall’s agent requested a trade. Again, they were denied.

Why the continued stubbornness from the Broncos in light of Marshall’s recent exoneration? Mike Klis of the Denver Post breaks it down in this excellent piece. Per the CBA, moral clauses attached to new contracts are complicated beasts (pun intended). While your run of the mill Monday Morning GM will overstate the simplicity of signing Marshall to a risk-free deal, it’s simply not that easy.

Because if Marshall were to be suspended again, it’d likely be for a good chunk of time, up to a season. And the Broncos would only be able to recoup 25% of his pro-rated bonus funds for that season.

Klis uses the example that if the Broncos signed Marshall to Roddy White money (who just signed a new deal with the Falcons that includes an $18.6 million bonus), and Marshall were to be suspended for a season, the team could only get $775,000 back. That’s chump change compared to the millions he’d keep without seeing the field.

So for the time being, the Broncos are staying put, and Marshall is left to either continue to play along or begin holding out. There’s more to the story than just Marshall’s past, however – there are rumors circulating that Marshall may be considering suing the Broncos over the mishandling of his injuries last year, and the Broncos recently apologized to Marshall for a PR snafu that’s mostly a non-story (no matter what Jamie Dukes‘ BOMBSHELL will have you believe).

The bottom line? This is one huge, messy, confusing situation. I don’t blame Marshall for wanting a new contract – on the field, he’s earned it. I don’t blame the Broncos for staying put. Adam Schefter tweeted that an “ugly standoff” could be coming – at this point, we’ll just have to wait and see.

  • Pete

    Holy shit, JUST SIGN HIM!!!!
    Fans pay your salary Pat Bowlen. Fans pay the ticket prices. Fans pay for Sunday Ticket, Fans DEMAND that you sign him and put forth the best team we can have.
    Remember, without the customers, you are broke (minus your savings account).

  • Anthony

    the problem is that we need him really badly if we want to succeed this year and beyond and I beg anybody to defy that.

  • kerry

    well its been reported on ESPN that Marshall held out of practice today because he wants a trade or a deal. if the Broncos cant pay the guy then dump him. no sense bullshitting about all this. get rid of him or pay him but one way or another quit fucking around.

    Anthony:

    if Orton keeps throwing like he has been in games and practice then having Marshall wont matter. and as soon as Orton throws an INT that was meant for marshall then the fireworks will begin. we arent gonna succeed this year WITH Marshall.

  • broncoNM

    Nothing has changed… The Broncos are still running the show. I dont blame the broncos for not paying him. He wont hold out… If Marshall wants top WR money he is gonna have to play and perform. Marshall has been great on the field but he’s gotta cut his shit… no more Slipping on McDonalds bags, Punching chicks and flying to Orlando… His antics have cost him alot of money and wether he plays here or somewhere else he needs to do some damage control… His value is too low to dump him now… his hip injury, his off the field issues and dropped passes will scare GM’s away. He’s got no choice but to play and prove he is worth the money. Broncos should be in no rush to listen to demands.

  • gobronx

    Brandon – PULL YOUR HEAD OUT!!!

  • http://www.sell-sport.com www.sell-sport.com

    Trade him to the Bears…….They need a reciever.

  • anthony33

    A potential solution to this would be to offer BM a one year serious incentive. Based on number of criteria such as catches, game grades, pro-bowl selection and staying out of trouble on and off the field he could earn Roddy White money for this year. In return the Bronx agree to serious negotiations for a long term deal at the end of the year.

    Obviously I am not expert on NFL contracts or if this would even fly, but doesn’t it seem reasonable to see his performance (mainly off the field), recovery from injury and attitude before you go all in?

  • anthony33

    Upon further review. If the Bronx don’t think he can ever get his head on straight and he going to be a constant circus then wait until a team becomes desparate and trade him.

  • http://www.dbaumgartner.com daveb

    If they sign him they’re stupid…he has ZERO leverage. If he sits out then he’s right back where he started this year…just next year (with no CBA). Marshall must be getting the same advice as Crabtree. The Broncos have shown over and over that if you play they pay.

  • http://broncotalk.net (dee)

    Bmarsh is not getting traded because the Broncos will get nothing for him. Bmarsh is not getting paid either because he hasn’t proven he can stay out of trouble off the field.

    Bottom Line? This is not an issue when the season starts…as long as BMarsh has a good seasons. keeps his mouth shut, and doesnt get arrested he gets paid either twards the end of the season or in the offseason by the BRONCOS.

    This is not messy just overblown because the Broncos are the team to beat on this offseason.

  • http://www.obsessedwithsports.com Kircus Made My Sub

    Marshall- “Pay me or Trade Me”

    McDaniels-“Your off the field problems make you a liability. Prove it to me this year and I will reward you.”

    Marshall, “But I was just found not guilty yesterday! See in a whole day I’ve completely changed!”

    Some players just don’t get it.

  • roshon2411

    Just pay him. He’s a top 10 receiver. He produces on the field. Keep messing with your players and this team is going to be very unattractive for future FA’s.

  • DHB

    Brandon has done this to himself. If his agent were really looking to help his client he’d sit him down and say “Brandon, everybody loves your talent. You have effed up too many times off the field. You are a huge liability to every team except the Broncos. So here is what you do. Calm-down, shut-up, refocus, work hard, stay clean. By the end of the season everybody will be excited about you. Then fences will be mended with the Broncos and Bowlen will pay you well, or you can stick it to them by walking away and hurting their ability to win games.”

    Instead the guy saunters into Dove Valley with no appointment and expects to get something out of it. Spoiled athletes are a headache, but down-right stupid agents are not helping anything.

  • DHB

    Or, BM could sit and pout, we could all fall in more love with Royal and Marshal could end up another over-paid Raider. He should call his old buddy Javon up and see how that plan worked out.

  • gobronx

    Great points from Anthony and DHB. I love the idea of an incentive laden one year deal. You play well and stay out of trouble, you’re paid top money. Then revisit at the end of the year.

    Who is his agent anyway? I don’t think Rosenhaus or Cook would be this stupid. There is absolutely no leverage here.

    Brandon has been here for three seasons now. He was in camp when Ashley Lelie imploded and ruined his career. He was here when Javon went psycho and lost out to ridiculous demands. Was he not paying attention or is he really this stupid?

  • http://broncotalk.net (dee)

    I’ve seen this all before in a dream… it ends with the Broncos making the playoffs.

  • MiamiMike

    (Klis uses the example that if the Broncos signed Marshall to Roddy White money (who just signed a new deal with the Falcons that includes an $18.6 million bonus), and Marshall were to be suspended for a season, the team could only get $775,000 back. That’s chump change compared to the millions he’d keep without seeing the field.)

    I think that one statement and example given in this story say’s it all! Marshall has talent and we all know that’s not the problem. This is a business decision that has to be examined in areas other than talent.
    If you had a business and paid a employee 18 million dollars knowing that this employee has had 14 run in’s with the law. Domestic violence to driving while under the influence to many other issues. This employee has shown (BY HIS OWN ACTIONS NOT DENVERS) he has not been able to stay trouble free the last 4 years. You pay him because he is a talent again( 18 million) and he now has no reason to worry since if he does get in trouble which by his own action says it’s only time he then has to give you back say 1 million dollars. HMMMMM I pay him 18 million but if he gets in trouble he has to pay back 1 million. Plus I do not have him to help team as well.

    If anyone REALLY is honest and not just trying to find fault in Denver because Shanahan was fired or Cutler was traded you better not ever go into business on our own.

  • Pete

    I would LOVE an incentive laden deal, HOWEVER, Players and Agents never, ever, ever sign 1 year deals that are purely incentive laden. Players want long term, high money deals “incase” they get hurt. Marshall and his agent will argue that “what if by week 6 Marshall is the #1 receiver in the league, but then week 7 he gets injured and misses the rest of the season. He WAS the #1 WR, but by the end of the year, he misses all the incentives and ends up at the base minimum salary for veterans. That isn’t faire.”
    At that moment, I would 100% agree with Marshall and the Agent. It wouldn’t be fair, and that is the exact reason why players and agents never allow 1 year incentive based deals to happen.

  • Eric in Vegas

    I’ve been going back and forth on this, and here’s what I’ve come up with:

    Facts:
    On the first drive Friday night, the first-team Broncos offense, mostly via the short passing game, did a good job of moving the ball down the field, until Orton threw an interception in the end zone. On the two subsequent drives, he threw interceptions between the 20s on short and mid-range throws.

    Analysis:
    In all likelihood, the 49ers were playing a base defense on the opening drive, which meant protecting the deep ball, mid-range, and short throws in a normal ratio (2-3 guys deep, 3-4 middle, 4-6 underneath/line). When the field got smaller near the end zone, the defense had to cover less ground and made the pick. On the subsequent drives, they made the correct adjustment that the Broncos weren’t going to challenge deep and were going to dink and dunk, so the 49ers played more guys closer to the line of scrimmage and protecting the short game, causing the two additional picks.

    Conclusions:
    Marshall (or a receiver like him) is pretty much mandatory toward keeping defenses honest with the threat of the deep ball/big play, just like Randy Moss was in NE. But, as long as our QB is weak in his decision-making and execution, it probably wouldn’t matter much in the red zone offense, anyway.

    Summary:
    I’d like to see Marshall execute for a couple of weeks in the regular season to get his trade value up and then have the Broncos trade him before the trading deadline to a team that’s contending this year and willing to give up a lot for him. Unless Orton makes some major progress before preseason’s over, I’d rather trade Marshall to help get a top-flight QB in next year’s draft to build around. This offense is geared around a smart, efficient QB, and even though Marshall is a top receiver, he’s not as integral to success.

  • BLForever

    Well… If they are not going to pay him and the cap is an issue, they should have kept Cutler. He had 3 yrs on his contract with the bulk already paid instead they get Ort with one year left on his contract and 2 # 1s with high guaranteed money. The sequence of events tells me that some one does not know exactlly what they are doing.