inmate running the asylum Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 The 49ers only spent $1M in signing bonuses last year? The Skins spent at least $47M last year. And the Poston brothers -- the agents for Julian Petersen demanded a $31 M signing bonus!!!!! ' ======================================== 49ers moving to get rid of deadwood Kevin Lynch, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, February 29, 2004 What happened? A scant season ago, the reputable Geddings Scouting service determined that the 49ers were the most talented team in the league. This week the 49ers experienced a surprising upheaval. Veteran players fled the 49ers as if the team's Santa Clara facility were on fire. Garrison Hearst, Sean Moran, Ron Stone and Derrick Deese all left. On Monday, quarterback Jeff Garcia expects to follow his cohorts. Safety Zack Bronson, wide receivers Tai Streets and Terrell Owens and cornerback Ahmed Plummer may join the exodus. It leaves the impression that the 49ers are just smoldering embers and melted shoulder pads. A downtrodden team, heading into this summer's training camp with a thrift-store roster and the faint smell of smoke. First of all, the scouting service overestimated the team's talent. Secondly, Garcia and Owens were both disappointments during the season, and lastly and most importantly, the team is adopting a new philosophy. Swayed by the success of the Patriots and Eagles, the 49ers are going to do it their way. That means ridding themselves of dead money and signing promising players that will fulfill their contracts. The cornerstone of the two-pronged strategy was locking linebacker Julian Peterson into a long-term deal. The 49ers offered a package with a signing bonus in the $13 million to $15 million range. Peterson's agents, Kevin and Carl Poston, countered by asking for a $31 million signing bonus, which would be the highest in NFL history. No deal. The 49ers slapped Peterson with the franchise tag, which will be somewhere between $5.8 million and $7.2 million for one year. It's a reasonable amount, but difficult on the team's already stretched salary cap. Consequently, the 49ers didn't have enough room this year or in the future to offer friendly deals to veterans like Stone and Hearst. When players began leaving, Garcia's desire to return to a clearly rebuilding team diminished. The 49ers have themselves to blame for much of this. The pragmatic John York was supposed to avoid the salary cap sinkholes that eventually trapped his brother-in-law Eddie DeBartolo. But York was seduced by the team's surprising 2001 season, when the 49ers emerged from just two years of salary cap hell to go 12-4. After that season, the 49ers were enticed by what appeared to be free- agent bargains. The team snapped up Stone and safety Tony Parrish after laying out plenty to re-sign center Jeremy Newberry, Hearst and fullback Fred Beasley. The team appeared poised for a run at the title. But after a 10-6 season and a playoff win, the free-flowing cash and the good times abruptly ended. Possibly constricted by the $20 million in signing bonuses paid the year before, and the $70 million payment due to DeBartolo, York's pocketbook slammed shut. The team's total outlay a year ago for signing bonuses was less than $1 million. The 49ers went into last season flummoxed. Were the Niners going to spend to continue their playoff run or were they going to be cautious? They played confused and finished 7-9. At least now, the 49ers have emerged from the bipolarity of the last two years with a far-reaching plan that should carry them into the future. It's based on successful drafts and good deal-making. The 49ers have been solid on the former, not so good on the latter. With Garcia's and Owens' contracts weighing down the books, the 49ers will likely devote more than 20 percent of this year's $80.5 million payroll to players no longer on the squad. More dead money will probably be a drag on the team next season as well. But then it will gone for the most part, and if recent history is an indicator, the team excels with a young, lean roster. No matter what happens, expect the pounding of nails this spring in Santa Clara as the reconstruction begins. And perhaps this time the 49ers will install a little more fire-proof insulation. E-mail Kevin Lynch at klynch@sfchronicle.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 "heading into this summer's training camp with a thrift-store roster " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nighthawk Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 He forgot to mention that they switched coaches as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 The Poston's are certainly the scurge of the NFL in terms of agents. $31mil signing bonus? Are they nuts? It just goes to show, more than anything else it's the agents that are killing the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinthePRF Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Do the Postons really expect the 49ers to say, "No thanks, but we'll comprimise on a 27M dollar bonus, that seems fair...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 One team I'd love to see go 8-8, 7-9 for a decade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMac Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I agree with what one said above. Its the agents who are starting to make this unbearable. No one player is worth that money or even close when you have a salary cap. Note to Snyder: Do not even look at clients represented by those 2 bafoooons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The X-Factor Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 $31 million, haha. What are these guys thinking? Ray Lewis or Donovan McNabb didn't even get close to this number when they sign their respective deals. This is an insane number, the 49ers did the right thing by franching Peterson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Displaced Fan Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 "Flush!!" That's the sound of the 49'ers season going down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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