Lance Briggs Needs to Deal with It
By Deez
This morning, ESPN reported that the Chicago Bears responded to Lance’s Briggs request to renegotiate his contract with a big, “No deal.” Briggs, in turn, has formally requested a trade, much like a child would “take his ball and go home” if he didn’t get to play the position he wanted.
Lance Briggs is smack in the middle of a six-year contract that he signed in 2008. Let me repeat part of that, “…a six-year contract that he signed…” Why do all these players expect to be given more money after signing a contract? It’s like paying for your groceries and then going back and grabbing more things from the store.
I’m sure the reason Briggs signed a six-year contract was for job security, being in the league since 2003 and knowing that injuries can occur at any time. If he wanted to ask for a raise halfway through the contract, he shouldn’t have signed a long-term deal in the first place. It’s like marrying your girlfriend and then, three years into the marriage, asking her if you can marry her hot sister instead.
If I were on the Bears, I would gladly send him packing. He claims he is still “100 percent a Bear,” but I’m calling his bluff. If this is just a negotiating tactic, he went too far, it being just one week before the season starts. He’s causing unneeded distractions. It’s like if you have a crappy kid and once he/she turns 10, you bring them back to the hospital and ask for a better one.
These contract negotiations have gotten out of hand. Guys sign contracts and then think they deserve more money. You signed a contract, deal with it. If Briggs had a bad season last year, he would laugh at the Bears if they asked if they could give him less than the $3.9 million he is scheduled to earn in 2011. If the Bears then reacted the way Briggs has, it would be like Jerry Angelo saying that if Briggs didn’t take less money, the team would move to Fickle, Indiana (it’s a real town, look it up) and Briggs couldn’t come.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m overreacting. Briggs is a good linebacker, probably one of the Top 10 in the NFC. But with that being said, maybe we can get a good receiver for him. Either way, I’d prefer if he just chilled out and played football.
Feel free to comment your own “It’s like…” statement about the Briggs situation, whether you agree or disagree.
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