Per La Canfora. Jets RE Muhammad Wilkerson will attend the veteran minicamp that opens Tuesday. Wilkerson was contemplating skipping the mandatory sessions as he protests his contract. But he would have been subject to fines totaling $72,920 and gotten no closer to a new deal. Wilkerson's best bet is to keep his head down and hit free agency in 2016, where he'll break the bank. Cam Jordan, an inferior player, just landed a five-year extension worth up to $60 million from the Saints.
If wilk was a smarter business man he would hold out. Thankfully, Wilk is all professional athlete. If he plays 2015 he will have a great, impactful season. Our defense and a running game guarantees post season appearance, maybe ..deep breathe..even a division title. A play action pass with deep threats to Marshall, Smith, Decker & Amaro down the seam; daggers. Maybe, Kerley steps back up, and maybe we have a diamond in the rough play maker ready to break out. cough, cough maybe we find 'good' qb play in 2015. Maybe, we have coaches that can manage the qb play better and not throw 30+ times a game from shotgun. Maybe Super Bowl! 2016 off season - Wilk most likely takes a home town discount, or hits free agency; getting paid like he should.
When a player has contract disputes for over a year there's no way they take a hometown discount. In fact the hometown discount doesn't really apply to the NFL outside of quarterbacks that are at the end of their careers trying to win rings (which even still doesn't happen, we've only really seen it with Brady and slightly with Peyton). Discounted contracts is really an NBA thing where you see a ton of good older players take huge contract hits and veteran minimums (like Ray Allen) to win a ring.
Both of these are the least likely scenarios. Wilk has basically been taking discounts for 2 years now by not getting his deal meaning he's due for a big pay day. And there is absolutely no way we let him hit free agency for free. If he still doesn't have a deal by next offseason he will be tagged and kept or traded for a nice return.
Fair, but Wilkerson says over an over again that he is a New Jersey kid, this is his home. I don't think Wilk has ever been far away from home (other than weekend road trip or vacation). Different people, different circumstances. I think Mo is quite content in the New Jersey area. I could see the Giants or Philly being suitors, but doubt money would be big enough incentive to move Wilk much further than that. Kr*ft takes care of Br*dy, bet.
I agree, he could get tagged and kept. Tagged and traded is probably the dirtiest thing the Jets could do to Mo at this point.
It's the dirtiest thing they could do but they've waited so long now and next year that may be the only move. It's either let him go for free or get a first rounder/maybe more.
I don't know where you're formulating these opinions that he's never been far away from home. Would you move further away from home for an extra $1.5 million a year? I would. These guys definitely would when knowing they have a shelf life of about 7-9 years before they're paid like dirt and out of the league. A lot of them don't have commentating careers after football so they need to make all the money they can last them the next 20 years after football.
Liden, NJ High School Temple University (1 hr 30mins by car to Linden) New York Jets (25min by car to Linden) Cortland NY (3hr 33min by car to Linden) http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/art...own-Hero/6617e346-fb93-4747-9082-fe78c61719e7 "M" is for Mom'. This guy is going to be on the east coast. 4hr drive max from Linden, NJ. Home cook meals > $1.5m/year
He's not happy, but he's not stupid. The worst thing he could do right now. He should be out there and give it all he's got, that sends the right signal.
I actually don't agree here. Not holding out is the smart business move. Holding out accomplishes nothing for him but nicks his rep. It's not like they are actively negotiating or the depth chart is thin. He has absolutely zero incentive to hold out and it would get him nowhere, except more reps for Leonard Williams which likely would not help his cause in the least. The smart business move by Wilk is to carry along BAU, produce on the field and then come back with the results when he can threaten to hit the open market.
Lol. You delusional, bro? Acting like 1.5mil/year is going to make or break the man. He will be set financially for the rest of his life regardless. He's making more this year alone than 80% (maybe more) of the U.S. population will make in their lifetime. Get a grip.
while this is true for gen population, for pro athletes we can't compare them to the standard income of the US population. They live in a different world. Not for nothing, if we were making life decisions on a short career (with likely 30+ years of life left post retirement) over 1.5 mil we would take that seriously as well. Also, a giant misconception that pro athletes are all set for life. Many of them come into mega money coming from no money, and have no money management skills, plus have an entourage with palms up at all times, and likely don't realize it will at some point end. Often times they retire from football and aren't "Set for life".
Name me one good reason why a player in his prime should take a "home town discount" essentially leaving money on the table? It makes no sense, Wilkerson needs to get everything he is owed and deserves and not a penny less.
This is the factual reality. Just like the team wants to pay him as little as possible while appeasing him.
ian rappoport of NFL.com and NFL Network reporting. seems like they may have quietly made some progress in my opinion based on this statement
