Mugsy 225 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Chiefs fans, Eric Berry is not the bad guy!by Tarek Mavani 6 hours ago Follow @TarekMavani Right around this time every year, optimism around the NFL is an all-time high.Each fan base is thinking something along the lines of “why not us this year?” Well that is unless you’re a Browns fan, then the thinking is more “why is it always us?” Anyways, the Chiefs kickoff camp under what is seemingly the most optimistic atmosphere in years. That is, except for the dark cloud cast by the Eric Berry holdout. Now, from a football perspective, you don’t need me to tell you that Eric Berry is an elite play-maker, on one of the league’s top safeties, and the emotional heart and soul of the team. This is all a given and just a few of the reasons the man has been adored by this fan base ever since his arrival. But when the business side of football decides to rear its ugly head, players tend find themselves on the receiving end of fan ire real quick.With that being said, I’m not here to tell who should shoulder the responsibility for the current predicament. I am here, however, to ask that as this situation drags out, and it undoubtedly will, don’t make Eric Berry out to be something he is most certainly not – a villain. Some you are thinking it’s absolutely ridiculous those words even have to be written out – no way would Chiefs fans turn their back on Berry. After all, not only did the guy work relentlessly in 2015 to get back to our team, he achieved the herculean task of actually coming back a better player. How could we ever have contempt for him? This is where the aforementioned ugly side of football comes in: there’s another camp of fans – one that will see its ranks grow – that believe this is pure selfishness by Berry and that he should put aside his ego for the good of the team. There is definitely some validity in the argument that Berry is putting himself ahead of the team, but you know what? That’s exactly what he should be doing. If this past month has taught us anything, it’s that football players are, by far, in the worst negotiating position out of all their professional sports brethren. Truckloads of fully-guaranteed money were tossed about in the NBA earlier this month, and 31-year old players were signing six-year deals over in the NHL! Those are two things that not even NFL quarterbacks get to experience during their NFL careers, let alone safeties. So when a 27-year old Eric Berry, coming off of the best season of his career, is looking to sign what is likely the final lucrative contract of his career, can you really get upset at the guy for trying to maximize his value and secure his long-term future? Now, without said security is there really any benefit for him up to show up to training camp on the franchise tender? If we’re just looking at 2016, the franchise tag fully guarantees him 16 game cheques totaling $10,806,000; from a short-term financial perspective, there’s zero benefit for him to show up. And let’s be honest, how many of us would go to work for free for an entire month… On top of that, any injury Eric Berry suffers between now and the end of the season is going to depress his value. Justin Houston was this close to being in the exact same situation just a year ago, and could you imagine the type of contract he’d be signing today with the current status of his knee? I can tell you one thing for sure: he absolutely wouldn’t be in the exclusive nine-figure club. Now Berry’s in that precarious situation for at least four months starting in September, and fans are expecting him to willingly make it five? I hope you’re starting to see the fallacy of the “team first” argument. Make no qualms about it, Eric Berry deserves a lucrative long-term deal and the Chiefs should be the team to give it to him; unfortunately, that won’t be happening in 2016. So come the end of August and Berry has yet to strap on his helmet, I implore you to have some empathy and refrain from villainizing the man. At the end of the day no contract situation is going to the change the fact that he is the perfect archetype for what we want from a Chief: a tireless worker, an inspirational leader on and off the field, and an absolute stud on Sundays. http://arrowheadaddict.com/2016/07/29/chiefs-fans-eric-berry-not-bad-guy/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer 8,686 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 blah blah blah.. the man aint broke so this clown can stifle with his crap.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugsy 225 Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 blah blah blah.. the man aint broke so this clown can stifle with his crap.. You gonna work a month for free? I'm not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,811 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 You gonna work a month for free? I'm not... If they pay me 10.8MM, hell yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer 8,686 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 If they pay me 10.8MM, hell yes! yea Mugs you have to look at the big picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetlord 10,209 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Semo has it right. It's always amusing when an athlete turns down $20,000,000 trying to get a couple million more because, "I gotta feed my family." I don't blame anyone for getting the maximum, but also don't have sympathy for having to settle for a mere ten million with more coming next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidfriend 1,151 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Anyone that posts here wouldn't turn down a salary increase and would get as much as they could. It's a business stalemate on both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHard 2,061 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 This is out of touch. I have not heard anyone I know say that Berry should take less than he can get. Nobody will thick bad of Berry for leaving for more bucks. I hope he gets $200 mill. We just can't afford it. And what is the basketball comment about. Basketball and baseball players make way too much. I agree there and think football players should make more, but what does that have to do with this situation? I do like the cap and the minimum spend. It is a big reason the NFL kicks the other sports ass in popularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefsfan1963 1,101 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Basketball and baseball players make way too much.I believe all of them, to include football players make way too much but that's not the point. However, playing 162 games a year, plus the 20 plus during spring training takes a major toll on a body, maybe even more so then the 16 NFL games. One other question, didn't the Chiefs take care of Berry during his treatment and recovery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhataLerror 370 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 I hire employees at the price I wish to, and while I will pay for quality of work and experience, my income-earning potential is going to dictate how much I can afford. In a free market economy, if I don't want to pay an employee what they could earn elsewhere, and can't through some other legitimate means present a competitive offer, I have to let them go. I owe them nothing. If I have to layoff an employee due to a bad economy and a reduced income-earning potential, that is my prerogative. It doesn't make me a bad person to layoff an employee I can't afford any more than it made me a good person to hire them in the first place. I never called Eric Berry selfish, but I know for a fact that his assessment of his value to the Chiefs relative to the value the Chiefs place on his is completely out of line. Berry wants to earn all he can, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for that. Neither the Chiefs nor Berry are bad guys. That being said, where have the Ravens been since they overpaid to retain Joe Flacco after a career year? Where have the Saints been since they overpaid Drew Brees? The Chiefs are a team good enough not to have to overpay for talent, and 2016 represents the first year in a long time since when the Chiefs could settle for an eventual third-round compensatory pick in exchange for the expired contract of a top-ten player who has more heart than football ability. These arguments that 'the Chiefs are going to pay for disrespecting Berry' are ridiculous. He's never earned the kind of contract he's looking for by consistent play and durability at a position that is by its nature complementary rather than linchpin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 You gonna work a month for free? I'm not... For free? LOL. That contract is fully guaranteed the moment he signs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugsy 225 Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 For free? LOL. That contract is fully guaranteed the moment he signs it. He gets 16 games checks under that tag. He doesn't get paid until September if he signs now or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefsfan1963 1,101 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 He gets 16 games checks under that tag. He doesn't get paid until September if he signs now or later.Hmm, I have made a few mill in the past few years. I am going to get a few mill in a few months. Yep, I could work for free for a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 He gets 16 games checks under that tag. He doesn't get paid until September if he signs now or later. What part of "fully guaranteed" are you not understanding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,811 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 What part of "fully guaranteed" are you not understanding? Talk slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West 6,714 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 The unbiased "in Berry's Jock" part... w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugsy 225 Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 What part of "fully guaranteed" are you not understanding? I get it. So what's the incentive for him to come? Look, I am disappointed he's not there but, I understand where he's coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 I get it. So what's the incentive for him to come? Look, I am disappointed he's not there but, I understand where he's coming from. His only incentive is to be ready for the regular season. I understand as well, most players in the same situation do exactly the same thing. Then we see a lag in production at the beginning of the season because they aren't in game shape yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West 6,714 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 or they pull a hammy or quad.... time will tell. w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugsy 225 Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 His only incentive is to be ready for the regular season. I understand as well, most players in the same situation do exactly the same thing. Then we see a lag in production at the beginning of the season because they aren't in game shape yet. We were 1-5 last year before he hit his stride. Hope that doesn't happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 The Chiefs are not worried about Berry. They can rescind his franchise agreement if they wish. This is all about business. Eric Berry will play football in the NFL this year, and I am 90% sure it will be as a KC CHIEF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Calichief Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 100% sure it will be in KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhataLerror 370 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 The Chiefs are not worried about Berry. They can rescind his franchise agreement if they wish. This is all about business. Eric Berry will play football in the NFL this year, and I am 90% sure it will be as a KC CHIEF. It would be great for the Chiefs if someone steps up in Training Camp to the extent that the Chiefs could get a first-round pick and change in trade value, but somehow I don't believe that's going to happen. Unless Berry's replacement is already on the roster, Berry will play in Kansas City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetlord 10,209 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 No team is going to give the Chiefs a high draft pick PLUS pay Berry more than the Chiefs would. On some talk show someone was complaining that the Chiefs should have signed Berry instead of Fisher since he's a better player. Sure, he is. However, the way I see it is that it's better for the Chiefs to have Fisher and Berry's replacement rather than Berry and a Jordan Black type. It would be great to keep Berry long term, but not at the expense of losing other key players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spfdchiefsfan 621 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Berry is just missing some parts of camp. Who wants to be in 100 degree heat in pads if you have the option not to? He'll sign the contract, he has 10.8 million reasons too. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he is in camp by August 15th. That should leave about a week left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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