By placing the franchise tag on him earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers guaranteed wide receiver Antonio Bryant a $9 million raise in 2009. And you know what? He's not really happy about that. Seems kind of odd for a guy that was out of football entirely in 2008. Anwar S. Richardson of the Tampa Tribune reports that Bryant wanted to sign a long-term deal so he could have some security. Bryant's agent, Lamont Smith, claims that he may not sign the offer sheet and may be interested in testing the market or holding out.
The Buccaneers placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Bryant, which means other teams around the league can still sign him to an offer sheet. If the Buccaneers refuse to match an offer, they would receive two first-round picks from the team that signed him. There's also the possibility of a trade.
More from Richardson:
Smith would not say how much money Bryant was seeking, but compared his client's productivity to Minnesota's Bernard Berrian and Dallas' Roy Williams. Berrian signed a six-year, $42 million contract, including $16 million in guaranteed money, prior to last season, while Williams signed a five-year, $45 million extension last season.Bryant has always had the ability to be a tremendous player in the NFL, but his attitude -- and this goes all the way back to his college days at Pitt -- has always been the biggest question mark. He's seemingly worn out his welcome in every other city he's played in.
He led the Buccaneers with 83 catches in 2008, and was set to be the top wide receiver on the free agent market had he not been franchised.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-19-2009 @ 7:43PM
anthonysofly420 said...
i can see why there gunna suck next year
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2-19-2009 @ 8:01PM
Bob said...
Wow, another primadonna wide receiver. zzzzzzzz
Feels insulted by a 12x pay increase. zzzzzzzz
History of bad attitude. zzzzzzzz
Wake us up when the record stops skipping.
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2-19-2009 @ 9:20PM
Adam said...
Like I said with Julius Peppers getting tagged, normally I'd feel bad for a guy put in a position he didn't want to be in, but these guys make more money in one year than most people make in their entire lifetimes. They should realize just how good they have it, enjoy the incredible opportunity and stop whining about the millions of dollars they're making.
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2-20-2009 @ 9:25AM
michael said...
I agree Adam. 100%!! These guys make so much money they forget about the "real" issues. Ok,yea it sucks not knowing what's gonna happen in 2010 because of the one year deal thing but that is exactly why they get the top 5 money to go with it. Usually, the top 5 are paid that way because they are the best at what they do and I feel getting tagged says your team feels the same way about you. So with the extra cash and the obvious respect for their abilities I don't understand how these ingrates can complain about much. I say if he's not happy he should quit his job and go away or be more flexible in his negotiations just like all the rest of us have to do. They all think they're the %#$& and i agree they are.
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2-20-2009 @ 9:25AM
jg99ss said...
Seriously.....a $9 Million raise! He's UPSET! about that! This is a load of S*#T! I can't renew my season tickets because I don't have the money, which would barely show up on his raise by thousands of places to the right of the decimal. I truly wish that these ballplayers playing "playground games" would get a reality check if NO one came to the games and NO one bought their jerseys. If sports were not what it is today, jackoffs like A. Bryant would be working jobs like the regular Joes who place them WAAAAYYYY to high on the pedestal. This has got to end. Its time to enlist some anarchy on sports attendance. Rah!Rah!Rah! I need to replace my Cheerios now, Later.
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2-20-2009 @ 9:26AM
Bob said...
The guy is looking for long-term security? Divide his current $800,000 salary into the nearly $10 million they're now going to pay him, and he's getting about 11 years pay in ONE year, and a year from now, he'll be getting more money. Last I heard, 11 years is well above average for a career in this sport. Good God, these guys are spoiled rotten!
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2-20-2009 @ 9:55AM
rlpopp77 said...
Yeah I'd be pissed too if I was only getting 10 million dollars to play a game. Give me a break. These freakin guys got nothing else to cry about. I'd like to see him walk a day in my shoes. Then he really couldn't afford that crack rock he wants so desperately.
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