Atlanta Skins Fan Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Bengal players interested in keeping their black game jerseys and helmets will have to pay the team for them. And QB Jon Kitna will miss a bonus of $1.6M, because he fell six snaps short of playing 80% of Bengal offensive plays. Way to go, Bengals. http://bengals.enquirer.com/2002/12/31/bengals31notes.htmlClose for Kitna doesn't count in Brown's book QB apparently falls short in bid for $1.625M bonus By Mark Curnutte The Cincinnati Enquirer The Bengals are still crunching the numbers on quarterback Jon Kitna's bonus clause. Unofficial reports show Kitna finished six snaps short of the 61 he needed Sunday to reach 80 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps this season. It would have earned Kitna an extra $1.625 million next year. Bengals president Mike Brown responded Monday to Kitna's quest. "We made a deal. If he gets the number, he gets the increase in his salary next year," Brown said. "If he gets it, he gets it. If he doesn't get it, he doesn't get. The way the clause is written, if he played 80 percent or more, I don't know if it is fair to say to us if he came close, should he get it? More than it would be fair to say to him, `Gee, you just got over the wire, why don't you give it back?'" BULLETIN BOARD: The Bengals posted a note on the locker-room bulletin board before the season-ending trip to Buffalo. The club gave players their white game jerseys but said players had to buy their black game jerseys or helmets. "Merry XMas," the note read. NAMESAKE: Brown's father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown, was the founder of the original Cleveland Browns in 1946. The new Browns, an expansion team that entered the league in 1999, qualified for the playoffs by beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. "The Browns are our competitor. Pittsburgh is our competitor," Brown said of the Bengals' AFC North rivals. "We're in the same division, and if we can't turn the trick, I'm glad when people in our division do it. "We'll see them next year. We'll get a chance to prove we've moved up a notch. I wish them both well in the playoffs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 And this team wanted to talk to Marvin about coming there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty dread Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Originally posted by Larry And this team wanted to talk to Marvin about coming there? The real question is, Lewis actually wants to go interview with this team?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeCarl Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 The thing about the jerseys is probably just cheapness, but I don't have a problem with adherence to Kitna's contract. Heck, would it be o.k. for the club to pay a player less than the contract amount just because it's real close to the contract figure? The whole area of sports 'contracts' is irritating because it makes it seem as though nobody's word counts for anything. Today, more than every before, if players don't like the terms of the contract, don't sign it. That's what free agency is all about. But once you sign, live up to your agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 I agree, if Kitna had made it by 1 or 2 snaps would he give the money back? It's not like the coach benched him to keep him from making it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Marvin isn't going to Cincy but he can't seem snotty and not interview. He'll pass it up and stay here for one more season...then take the heads job in AZ or Miami or maybe even the burgh if Cowher falls short again. I know coaches who keep getting their teams in the play-offs don't lose their jobs but when you've had a decade to get over the hump and keep losing home AFC Title games....it might be time to move on. That's Marty Syndrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just skins baby Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 I agree with the snap count deal, but paying for your jerseys? The Bengals remind me of every "small market" baseball team that won't spend money to field a quality team. Now they need a head coach, but won't give him any resources to succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 To me, this is less about contractual obligations and more about proper handling of your personnel. If the Bengals view Kitna as their starting QB for next year (and he was by far their best starter this year), then their handling of his bonus falls under the "penny wise, pound foolish" heading. Pay him the bonus and send him a signal that he's your guy. Heck, pay him half of the bonus! The rest of the players would see that and would feel a lot better about the organization too. That situation with Kitna, plus the one with the jerseys, simply looks like (and is in fact) more penny pinching from one of the lamest and cheapest organizations in the NFL. And the stupidity of doing it at the time when you're trying to lure yet another head coach into your organizational morass is simply mind-boggling. :shootinth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMADD Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Yeah, but Kitna isn't their guy, really. I wouldn't give him the bonus, either. It sets a bad precedent: what if my contract says if I get 20 sacks I get $1m, and I get 18 sacks? Gotta give it to me now, because after Kitna gets his everyone will expect it. That's suicidal. Of course, the Bengals have been suicidal for years. What the hell else are they going to do with those black jerseys? Sell them? Who'd want them? And why the hell would a Bengals player want to keep a jersey from a season that sucked that bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyJ Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 In a cap economy, I don't see how you can be generous with the bonus $ - it all counts against the future. And it does set a bad precedent. Why wouldn't they give players the uniforms? Aren't they custom fitted for each player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathByLinebacker Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 This is the franchise that ran out of bottled water and started charging their long-suffering fans 3$ for cups of tap-water at a home game this year. The NFL should forcibly remove the team from Mike Brown. www.MikeBrownSucks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Makes you feel pretty damn good about being 7-9.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70Chip Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 What's all the fuss about? Don't most semi-pro teams ask their players to pay for their equipment? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masaemaya Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I think you're all approaching the Bengals situation incorrectly. Their owner (Mike Brown) really doesn't care about winning. He just wants to make money. The Bengals, despite having losing records for the past ten seasons, have been profitable every single year. They cut back on equipment, personnel and other expenses, and at the end of the year they are in the black -- both financially and figuratively. So, when you look at the Bengals from a financial point of view, they are quite successful. Just thank god you don't live Cincy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboDaMan Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I'm with redman. While there's clearly no contractual obligation, as a PR and a player management issue the Bungles have Bungled another one. Pay the man the money, or pay him half, or donate a sum to a charity under his name, anything, anything at all to escape the impression this is less about the letter of the contract and more about being so tight your arse squeaks. Of course, if Mike Brown had the brains not to do stuff like charge his own players for their uniforms he wouldn't have this problem in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstahl Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Would be interesting to note where the 20% occured. Did he, say, get hurt or was benched for poor play, if so, no problem? Maybe he was taken out of a game or two to give the other guy a "few snaps". Seems like it would be tough to figure out, but a penny pinching club could, I suspect, fairly easily "miss" some escalator clauses on purpose. Hey, if you are 3 sacks short with 3 games to go as a pass rush specialist, then you just go in for a few less snaps or hand the ball off to the rookie running back if the vet is getting close to the 1000 yard season. I am not saying this did happen, as I have NO idea what happened to the other 20% of the snaps, but it is interesting to wonder if or how much it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins24 Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Amazing....If this was Synder making the players pay for their Jersies, there would be a media uproar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathByLinebacker Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Originally posted by rskin24 Amazing....If this was Synder making the players pay for their Jersies, there would be a media uproar The media rip Mike Brown and the Bengals pretty regularly. It's just that this particular news isn't anything really new or different about how the Bengals are run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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