Akers won't sign transition tender; Vick signs
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Akers won't sign transition tender; Vick signs
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE:
The Eagles made it official when they announced Wednesday that Michael Vick signed a one-year contract. The quarterback was designated as the team's franchise player on Feb. 15.
Based on 2010 earnings of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, Vick is slated to earn a little over $16 million next season. That number could increase based on the next collective bargaining agreement.
Of course, there is the possibility that the franchise tag would not exist as is or at all in the new CBA.
As he did when the Eagles tagged him two weeks ago, Vick tweeted, "Proud to be an Eagle!" on Wednesday.
FROM EARLIER:
While Michael Vick is slated to sign the Eagles' franchise tender on Wednesday, kicker David Akers won't ink a transition tender, his agent Jerrold Colton said.
Akers' decision not to sign the tender comes as no surprise. Colton said two weeks ago, after the Eagles placed the tag on the kicker, that his client was "disappointed" with the designation.
Colton took the stance already made by the NFLPA that the franchise and transition tags will be rendered invalid anyway once the collective bargaining agreement expires on Thursday at midnight. A new CBA could alter the tags or not include them, but many expect the labels to exist in some form.
"It was never something that we were going to sign at this point," Colton said. Asked if Akers not signing was an indication that he remains unhappy with the tag, Colton said, "Our feelings haven't changed."
Akers' transition tender was valued around $2.8 million. It differs from the franchise tag in that the Eagles have the right of first refusal if team's make an offer to Akers. The Eagles have exclusive rights to Vick under the franchise tag.
Akers is still hoping to work out a long-term deal with the Eagles, Colton said. If the two sides can't agree on a deal, however, Colton said Akers would hope to test the open market as a free agent.
Looking forward to the next couple years of revolving door kickers.... /sadface— corakil
Best kicker in Eagles history, misses 2 kicks and people are ready to throw him under the bus. check his stats, he hasn't dropped off at all, check around the league see how many are better— Howard32- Akers is unhappy. Like many idiotic athletes who have hit the genetic lottery and have been handed millions, he wasn't satisfied. He tried to get outrageous returns on his money instead of using smaller, but solid investments to grow his money. He gambled his life savings with Koy and Ty Detmer and their wild business ventures and he lost it all. Now he feels it's the Eagles job to negotiate with him based on his need to recoup his losses. I, like many around here am not a huge fan of Eagles management but it's not their responsibility to make up for David's gamble with his family's future. I hope you get all your cash back David, but it's not Banner's job to give it to you. When will these athletes who blow it all on shopping malls learn?— Sewellmatt
- Give the man his money. He is automatic inside the red zone and unless Reid has an epiphany and decides to run the ball next season we are going to need all the red zone points we can get.— jkt
