NFL Overpaid Nfl Players

Michael Vick, in case you hadn't heard, made a lot of money in the NFL. He also did something with dogs that landed him in prison. But before he left for the big house, he spent a lot of money on new cars. And now, financial decisions like that are coming back to haunt him.

Why, you ask? Well, because instead of waiting for his prison sentence to end and then rolling back to a plush lifestyle, he's having to sell all kinds of stuff. Like boats. Really expensive boats.

A new doc in his bankruptcy case shows Vick is trying to unload a couple of World Cat boats estimated to be worth around $165K for the pair -- he needs the cash to pay back his debts, say lawyers.

Best line in the filing, a Hail Mary of laughable proportions: "Upon his release, the Debtor [that's MV] ... will seek to rebuild his life and professional football career."

Okay, so those are actually pretty cheap boats (I bought like four on my November blogging salary). But the point is that Vick has no money. And that's why he's filed this bankruptcy court pleading (which, legal buffs, you can read here -- .PDF)

Honestly though, the TMZ staff shouldn't be so contrite about the "rebuilding" part. Because, believe me, I've been watching the Lions the last few weeks, and I'm fairly certain that if old Rog will let Vick back in the league, he won't be unemployed forever.

FanHouse's resident referee will chime in weekly with thoughts on major topics relating to officiating. We call it The Zebra Report. Matt Snyder is a high school official with eight years experience. While this is like a third-year resident critiquing the work of a world-renowned surgeon, it's still better than someone who has never worn the stripes.

Wow, this was a long weekend to those who support the boys in stripes. That group may only consist of myself at this point, but I still do. Those people who like to call the officials "blind" -- which, by the way, is incredibly uncreative and lame -- or believe they are out to screw a team out of a game, really don't have any idea what it takes to officiate at that level. Hell, I don't. I do know what it's like to be on the field and be a constant scapegoat for people who aren't accountable for themselves and/or their favorite team.

Terrell Owens does stupid things in front of reporters (and probably in the privacy of his home, but we don't have video cameras in order to be privy to that.) His newest one is actually kind of funny though: he decided to wear a Christmas Cowboys cap along with strapping on a blinking red nose, like a reindeer, while speaking with reporters in the locker room.



Of course, TO also forgot that, traditionally, it's a clown that wears the red nose, regardless of the season. And, despite the humor of this act, that's what, again, he comes across as.

H/T: Salty Milk

Say this for Raiders owner Al Davis: His team's losing isn't due to a lack of effort on his part. Sure, he may not know how to win in today's NFL, but he can sign blank checks with the best of them, as demonstrated by the salary data released by USA Today.

According to the data, Oakland currently sits atop the NFL with a payroll of $152 million, $6 million more than the No. 2 team on the list, the Dallas Cowboys. Oakland and Dallas are the only teams spending over $140 million, while only the Saints, Vikings and Browns join them in the $130 million club. The Kansas City Chiefs currently have the lowest payroll at $83 million, and have only one fewer win than the Raiders.

The Raiders are currently on pace to win four games this season, and should they reach that mark Davis will have spent, roughly, $38 million per win. Should they hold steady at two wins, well, that would be $76 million per win.

So, how did the Raiders get to the top of the NFL's pay scale? By overpaying a lot of bad players, it would appear.

Earlier this evening, Michael David Smith passed along the big news that the Oakland Raiders were prepared to part ways with, perhaps, the worst off-season pickup in the NFL, DeAngelo Hall. While Hall's poor play -- magnified by the hefty price tag he comes with -- hasn't been a surprise to, well, pretty much anyone outside of Al Davis' inner-circle of crazy, it is a surprise to see them be willing to part ways with him after just eight games.

I, for one, applaud them for owning up and, essentially, admitting that they made a huge, huge mistake. Well, two mistakes, actually. The first mistake was trading for him, the second mistake was giving him a brinks truck full of Benjamin's.

Having said that, it's equally surprising to see ESPN's tag-team duo of Chris Mortensen and John Clayton report that Davis has a list of players currently on his bad side, and that many of them could be released in an everything-must-go-style roster trimming. The other big name, allegedly, on the list? Perhaps the second worst off-season pickup, Javon Walker. The only thing that keeps Walker from being the worst, in my mind, is the fact the Raiders didn't have to give up a second-round pick to acquire him. Just a lot of money.

Let me preface this piece by saying that my only source for this information is myself. This is pure conjecture, but based upon things we've seen this season. Still, I don't believe Edgerrin James career will continue past this season.

He lost his job yesterday to Tim Hightower, a rookie from Richmond. Hightower proceeded to put together a vintage Edge game ... as long as you are going back to 2005 for Edge. J.J. Arrington played backup and piled up over 100 total yards. Considering how easily the Cards disposed of the Rams, I don't see any reason Edge is even needed on the active roster anymore, and he said this change has been a long time coming.

Moving forward, I just don't see Edge finding a new job. The Cardinals won't have a single reason to retain him heading into next year. This season, there were a bunch of different injuries and weird backfield situations which enabled Shaun Alexander and Cedric Benson to eventually find jobs. It took a while, though. Next year, the job market for running backs will be just as crowded, and the tread on Edge's tires is much more significant than that of Benson, for example.

If the Chiefs and the Vikings were playing a game of chicken, the Chiefs flinched.

Kansas City was looking to trade former first-round pick Napoleon Harris. Actually looking might not be a strong enough statement, they were desperate to get something for Harris--who hasn't been active for a game this year after signing a massive six-year, $23-million deal with the Chiefs in 2007. I guess we don't need much further evidence of why the Chiefs are awful. In fact, in one game, the Chiefs dressed only five linebackers including a practice squad call-up, but left Harris inactive.

The Vikings (who had Harris in 2005-2006) were in rather desperate need for a middle linebacker now that E.J. Henderson is on the injured reserve and his replacement David Herron was banged up last week.

So we have the makings of a deal right? Not exactly. If the Vikings have interest in Harris, they did a good job of camoflauging it. They signed Dontarrius Thomas as a fill-in on Monday, which helped ensure that the Chiefs released Harris on Tuesday after the trade deadline passed with no deal.

Now, it would be surprising if the Vikings didn't at least kick the tires on Harris to see if he can help them out. There is a reason to beware--like the Deltha O'Neal example with New England, there is a question whether someone who can't help the Chiefs can actually help any NFL team. But considering that Harris will come dirt cheap and knows the Vikings defense, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of damage in bringing Harris in as a short-term fill-in. The Star-Tribune's blog says that as of now, the Vikings haven't called Harris' agent.

Everyone in America is trying to sell a house these days. And very often, we've seen cases where athletes homes are foreclosed upon. The former is the situation that Brett Favre, former quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, finds himself in.

And you would think, when considering Favre's accumulations of wealth over his career, that his house would be huge. Yet ... it's not. Ah, no wait, scratch that. It's just his football season house in Green Bay. Good Lord.

Here we are again with another sports celebrity selling a home in the town they used to play for. You might think that former Green Bay Parker quarterback Brett Favre would have one of the most lavish homes in the Green Bay area. You would be wrong.

[...]One of the Real Estalker's able commenters reports that Favre's main manse is in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and this is just the home he stayed in during the football season. He and his wife, Deanna bought the four-bedroom home in 2005 for $416,000 so it was likely just a temporary home in a town that he was planning not to stay in after he retired from football. This likely explains the decor which seems to have been shipped straight from the local furniture store. It is listed at just $475,000.

If you check out the photos of the house, you will be shocked at its unassuming nature. Which makes a lot more sense once you know that he didn't actually spend that much time there, and only owned the 500 grand worth of crib in order to cut down on his travel time from Lambeau to home.

A few photos after the jump -- the rest can be seen at the Luxist.

Complained about the inflated nature of NFL rookie salaries aren't new. Before they've played a down, draftees like JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson are getting tens of millions in guaranteed money while their veteran teammates make far less. The players union doesn't mind, of course, but many in management bemoan the structure and want it changed.

Dan Pompei takes up the cause in the Chicago Tribune (and it must be near and dear to his heart because he wrote the same thing for NBCsports.com 10 days ago) by suggesting a two-year limit on contracts for all rookies. He argues that would ensure only the cream of the crop cash in and that no busts would be paid like All-Pros. Colts executive Bill Polian sounds like he'd appreciate that system.

"The idea that the worst team would get help from a good player or players is out the window because you are saddled in salary-cap hell if the guy is anything but a Pro Bowler almost immediately. And it must change. The union has to give us a firm, definitive, rookie salary cap. We're perfectly willing to have the money that does not go to the rookies go to the veterans. Nobody is looking to save money. But we're sick and tired of giving exorbitant, incredible sums to players who haven't proven they can do anything but play against Eastern Michigan."

Where's the gun to the head of a team that doesn't want to give "exorbitant, incredible sums" to unproven players?

Notes on a trip to the Super Bowl.

On Friday I met some members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated, untied champions in NFL history. There's a part of me that finds it unseemly that the '72 Dolphins constantly seek attention, but there's also a part of me that thinks this Reebok "Perfectville" commercial is pretty funny:

The Perfectville campaign had two commercials ready, one in case the Giants won the Super Bowl and one in case the Patriots won. No word on what the commercial in which Mercury Morris welcomes the Patriots to the neighborhood looks like.