share
email
print
font size
options
 
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Westbrook deal seems imminent
Negotiations continued late into the night, aimed at wrapping up the details on a new contract for Brian Westbrook, sources close to the situation indicated. The Eagles are expected to announce the deal Friday, before their preseason opener in Pittsburgh.

The team’s negotiators, Eagles president Joe Banner and player personnel vice president Howie Roseman, and Westbrook’s agent, Todd France, faced some formidable hurdles in reworking Westbrook’s current contract, which has three more years to run. But there were strong indications Thursday night that those hurdles were in the process of being surmounted.

The Eagles generally are tough negotiators, particularly when a contract has years to run, but no less an authority than owner Jeffrey Lurie publicly acknowledged this week that Westbrook has outperformed his five-year, $25 million deal. Last season, Westbrook was an All-Pro running back, and set a franchise record with 2,104 yards from scrimmage. That figure led the NFL, as did Westbrook’s 104 first downs.

Westbrook said when he reported to training camp that he wanted the deal done quickly, and he didn’t rule out not playing in the preseason opener if that didn’t happen. On Wednesday, Westbrook said he would play, but he also dropped several hints that a deal was close, and again emphasized that he wanted to see it happen very quickly. If the pact is announced today, obviously, it will have been achieved before he had to risk injury playing in a game under his old deal.

It wasn’t clear last night how much new money Westbrook will get, but because a roster bonus was converted to a signing bonus earlier this year, another revision can’t increase his cap number for the remaining three years of the deal. That number is about $15 million.

Because ownsership has opted out of the collective bargaining agreement, uncapped years are coming up, which invokes the “Deion rule.” Basically, there can’t be a huge disparity between Westbrook’s signing bonus and his base salary. Also ticklish was the “30 percent rule,” which in this case meant 2010 can’t be more than a 30 percent increase over what Westbrook made in 2009, not including signing bonus.

Westbrook has maintained there are ways to make him one of the league’s highest-paid running backs within those restrictions, though neither he nor France has offered details.

The Eagles are believed to be eager to show fans and other players that they reward extraordinary achievement – which also was part of their motivation the last time they announed a contract agreement with Westbrook, on the November 2005 weekend that they parted ways with wideout Terrell Owens.

Also, guard Shawn Andrews did not respond to messages regarding his situation. Andrews was scheduled to meet with his doctor Thursday in Arkansas.

Posted by Les Bowen @ 10:58 PM  Permalink | 8 comments
8
Comments   
Comment removed.
Posted 05:30 AM, 08/08/2008
wes
We [ all know ] that sports people are "very over paid for what they do"; and the time they do it. Giving him more money will just plese the 700 level people, and the people who wear Eagle shirts all year long.
Posted 05:39 AM, 08/08/2008
wes
I know I'll sleep a lot better tonight hearing the B.Westbooke is "HAPPY" with his new contract. Will the prices at the ball park go up along with everything else now. YOU BET THEY WILL. Going to a ballgame is like going on a vacation in cost now days..
Posted 07:56 AM, 08/08/2008
phillyWASnice!
Hey Brian, quite whining and play football. These guys sound like little girls being asked to dig ditches in the hot August sun for a nickel a day. Still the bozo fans in this area say to throw more money at them? The sports IQ around here is heading down the toilet.
Posted 09:07 AM, 08/08/2008
LJL
I wonder what Lito will do when BWest gets his new deal....Probably stamp his feet, flail his arms and cry in a massive hissy fit.
Comment removed.
Posted 10:43 AM, 08/08/2008
LJL
I have less problem with football players getting the money as opposed to baseball or basketball players. You can get hurt/cut/released in football in a heartbeat, and your career is over, and other than the signing bonus nothing is guaranteed.
Posted 01:22 PM, 08/08/2008
DJ
Nice for him that they will give him more money. Wouldn't it be nice if you could call your bank and tell them that you know you have a few years left on your mortgage but seeing how you've paid on time for years that you now deserve to have your interest percentage cut in half or I might not send you another check! Nice dream isn't it, hey Brian, you willingly signed a contract!!!
About Eagletarian Blog
Les BowenLes Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.

You can now follow Les Bowen on Twitter.

Paul DomowitchPaul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.

Advertise Here