harrison motivated by the way things ended with the steelers?

I am getting so tired of this discussion. Jack, how do you know it was a fair offer? The Steeler's Front office does not make contract negotiations public. I have yet to see a statement by the team saying what was offered. Nor has Harrison or his agent made the details of their negotiations public other than to say they were willing to restructure the deal like everyone else has done to help the team out but not willing to take a pay cut. Harrison himself said that from early on it appeared the two sides were very far apart in the negotiations and that in all likelihood he saw getting released as a possibility. Everything else has been media speculation that has in turn driven fan speculation and discussion. If there is a story out there that talks actual numbers that were being offered and not something the media is speculating on I wish some one would post a link.

You say they were short-sighted and allowed their delusions of grandeur to override reason and logic and that Harrison and his idiot agent greatly over estimated his value on the open market. How do we know this? Again the media speculation puts the numbers as being taking the pay cut was smart money as compared to the deal he signed with the Bengals but how do we know? The Bengals deal gives him guaranteed money where as all the talk about what the Steelers could be offering was a heavily incentive leaden deal with a smaller base salary which would be augmented by those incentives to give him nearly 4.5 million if he meets the requirements to get those incentives. I have said in other threads that unless those incentives were show up to camp without injuries and you get 3.5 million it would be foolish to take that deal when you know that even if you don't get any high offers you can still get more guaranteed money by going to free agency and getting a deal worked out even if it less than what people are speculating that he would have gotten if he took the paycut simply because it is guaranteed money.

On a 8-8 team filled with players who had a subpar year and bloated contracts why is Harrison the only one asked to take a paycut? Why are Woodley, Ben, Brown, and Timmons more team players for restructuring and Harrison isn't because he wouldn't take less? Why weren't Troy or Ben or Woodley or heck even Coach Butler and DL going to the front office and saying hey we need James Harrison next year, I'll take a paycut or can you ask some of the others to take a paycut as well so we can have money to sign free agents to be competitive. I just don't get how Harrison and his agent can be labeled as dumb or greedy or not helping the team when they offered to do the same thing that many are praising Ben and the others for but were unwilling to take a paycut if it wasn't being asked of others who were in the same position. If I was Harrison you can bet you backside I would be motivated by how things worked out it the nature of the beast.

Edit: I am a reasonable person and I am more than happy to change my opinion on the matter if anyone points to an official announcement of what was being offered by the Steelers and will then call Harrison and his agent a pair of giant morons

 

Pride is a tough piil to swallow.

 

I'm not jumping in on this debate this time, however, I'm not sure how receptive I would or wouldn't be towards Harrison's pay cut, considering I don't make that kind of money. Hard to compare his taking a pay cut to my taking a pay cut. If my employer came to me and said that instead of making 6 mil I was only going to make 3.5 mil a year I would still be pretty da** excited, knowing I may not make that much in a lifetime!

 

Agreed with all the above. I believe he has a good year or two left. He probably should not of played last year. He was getting healthier and better as the year went on, unlike Woodley who was mostly out of shape all year. Did you notice how much bigger Harrison was with more weight training. He still is a warrior, and plays Steelers type of football. He will be missed, wish we could of kept him. And his agent didn't help him any either.

 

but how well do you sack qb's? LOL a couple of years ago the guy was the defensive player of the year of the whole NFL.

we all think we are worth more then we make. there are a ton of older guys not going to play this year because of these inflated salaries. i think this year alot of owners made a stand to try and start getting these salaries in line.

james isn't going to get to many more years to make his money, but will have to put up with the injuries the rest of his life. i'd want to make as much as i could too. everyone else was allowed to test the market and when james wanted to come back they said no. what was he supposed to do?

isn't it bad enough, that the man has to now wear those stupid tiger stripes? that should be enough to pizz off the good humor man. heck , i'd want to take it out on somebody too.

 

I'm kinda getting tired of the discussion too, thorn. Like you, I consider myself to be a fairly reasonable person. That's why I love the Steelers FO, because they are generally very reasonable in their approach when it comes to tendering players, making offers to free agents and KNOWING WHEN TO CUT BAIT WITH PLAYERS. Unlike most of the other players you named above, Harrison is 35 years old and has had significant knee and back injuries the last couple of seasons. The Steelers needed additional cap space so it was reasonable for them to begin discussions with Harrison about reducing his salary IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP HIM WITH THE TEAM. Harrison and his agent were highly offended by this gesture and decided to sell their services to the highest bidder on the open market instead and here's what happened...
queu the crickets...*chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...*.

After a while, the incessant chirping of the crickets were driving Harrison and his agent crazy so they decided at that point to go back to the Steelers, hats in hand, and say, "uh, Mr. Rooney, remember that very fair contract reduction you offered us a couple of weeks ago. Well, I know we told you to stick it where the sun doesn't shine and then made passes at our most hated rivals, but we'd be more than happy to revisit that and would certainly welcome a call from yinz guys. See I even used the word "yinz" to prove that we still bleed black and gold." To which the Steelers replied, "no thanks, we're moving on."

Now I know I've taken some creative license but this is the gist of what happened. As for the numbers on the paycut, I've posted a link from PFT in which Mike Florio reported that it was indeed a 30% paycut with incentives that would allow him to make as much as he was making under the old contract. That seemed fair to me but Harrison and his agent (who surprisingly is still employed by Harrison) turned it down. That was their right but time has proven that it was the wrong decision since by most accounts he actually received less from the Bungles. I know, I know, nobody believes the news reports.

For what it's worth, here's the link to the PFT Florio article:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/10/harrisons-agent-sees-plenty-of-great-fits/

 

No one is saying he should be happy about it, BF, but if these guys would just step back from the emotion of the situation and dwell on the reality of the situation for a while, it might prevent them from making the kind of boneheaded decision that Harrison and his agent made in this case. None of us were there during the negotiations so we don't know for sure what was offered, we have to rely on professional sports reporters like Mike Florio, who has a pretty good reputation by the way, to give us an account of the negotiations. In the end, the Steelers made the right decision as they so often do in these matters. Harrison in the 4-3 will be a disaster in my book and I was very surprised he signed with a 4-3 team. In summary, I think Harrison and his agent ended up looking short-sighted and greedy. All will be forgiven when Harrison retires (hopefully as a Steeler) but this does put a little chink in his legacy.

 

I wonder if he ultimately WILL retire a Steeler. Would that be enough to bury the hatchet?

 

Really if the Steelers offered him MORE then wouldn't that mean THEY were sorta missing the mark on this one? And from that perspective I'm sorta glad to see us NOT paying someone that kind of money when even the BUNGLES don't deem him worthy of it. LOL. I hate to see him go but I trust in the front office that they rarely let a guy go that comes back to haunt them in the long run. I had someone bugging me about James going to the Bungles and I said "so what. they can have our sloppy seconds anyday". I just don't think he had enough left in the tank. But I really don't understand why he would take less from ANY team. They are always saying "this is a business" but what business makes it their business to get less money than they can?

 

In Woodson's defense though I heard him say a few years ago on NFL Network that if he could ever suit up for a former team again he said he would "love to wear the black and gold one more time".

 

This is where I fall on this. James realized too late that he wasnt going to get the money he thought he deserved and, when he did, the Steelers werent interested in his coming back. He had no choice but to take less and play for the Bengals.

 

As we so often do, we'll agree to disagree.

I'm not saying JH was wrong in not wanting to take a paycut, nobody wants their pay to be cut. But he was wrong in not agreeing to take a paycut. His refusal to do so got him cut and, by most accounts, even less money than he would have made had he stayed in Pittsburgh at a reduced salary with incentives to make up the difference. I think even JH and his agent knew they'd goofed as us evidenced by their last minute overtures to try to reestablish a dialogue with the Steelers. Taking a paycut is no disgrace and it's not the end of the world. The Bus did it, Big Snack did it, Hines did it. Why couldn't Harrison do it?Greed and pride got in the way and it's knocked him down a rung or two on the Black & Gold legacy ladder.

i know, I know. You disagree.

 

Well, for all he's done for the Steelers, he will always be THE MAN (nothing will replace being there for that 100 yard interception return in XLIII in Tampa), but when the Steelers decide they're gonna wear throwbacks on the 12/15 game against Cincy, it's going to make putting on my ugly Harrison bumblebee jersey even that much MORE awkward.....

 

I believe Florio at PFT had the numbers and was the first to report that harrison took less money to play with Cincy. Add to this that Cincy plays a 4-3, and you have the makings for justified criticism of Harriosn's agent.

I'll go out on a limb, here, and say that Harrison is probably the dumbest star player I have ever seen in a Steelers uniform. He was a man with terrific football instincts and a passion for the game. But otherwise, just a plain stupid man. I cringed every time he opened his mouth. I don't harbor any ill will toward James (who played such a huge role in the SB XLIII win). But his act had worn thin with me when he openly ripped Ben after SB XLV and then stated he wouldn't urinate on Goodell even if he were on fire. He embarrassed himself, embarrased the organization, and embarrassed anyone who owned his jersey. I'm not saying he's the first or last player to do that, but he did it without contrition or remorse.

 

Doh! I hate it when you do that!

 

I`m not even gonna get into the money thing, or the so called "stupidity" thing.
I`m just gonna say, as I always have, that I respect, and love James Harrison for his honesty!
Whether you agree with what he has to say, or not...
He is NOT gonna give you a "Politically Correct" interview. He is gonna say what is on his mind.(And sometimes, he probably would be better served "professionally", to keep it to himself)...
Thanx for the link to the Bengal conference, Towel...
As much as I hated to see him in another team`s colors, his candor was refreshing.
Yeah, you could tell he was keeping a FEW comments to himself, or, trying to, that is just not his nature.
He knows he has cost himself money by being outspoken in his beliefs, and not, media friendly, but he just can`t help himself.
God Bless Him!!!
Not to mention, the fact that he is old school, and believes in playing the game the way it is meant to be played... leading to fines and suspensions from Good Ole Rodge...
I have no hard feelings towards him at all... In fact, I wish more players could be like him, but with the combination of watered down rules, and free-agency...
We are just never gonna see the kind of fierce competition, or fierce loyalty, that fans like myself, loved to see...
It is what it is, and if ya wanna keep watching "football", instead of soccer, or something, yer just gonna have to get used to it.
It sucks, but it is what it is... I`m thankful they even let kids play the game, anymore, with the liability issues schools face, when a parent wants to file a frivolous lawsuit, `cause their precious little kid got a bump on the head, or a skinned knee...
OOps, sorry... Off topic Ranting there...
All I got to say, is I hope our O-Line comes ready to play every game this year, and twice as much when they face Silverback...
Like he said... "It would be a lie, If I said that wasn`t a bit of extra motivation"...
There was no hatred, or disrespect in that statement, just the truth...
Refreshing...
GO STEELERS!

 

The Steelers did the right thing in releasing Harrison better a year too early than a year too late. Harrison is a idiot thinking he was going to get a better offer than what the Steelers were going to pay him.

 

What is going to happen next year if these players don't put up
pro bowl numbers? Troy, Woodley, Ben, Ike, Kiesel , Heath, Timmons, Maybe the Steelers
will want these guys to take a pay cut? What do you think LOL.

 

all we gotta do is hold him.