Brady Quinn's rookie holdout was the worst decision of his life. And given some of the situations this young celebrity has found himself in, that's saying something.
If this wasn't perfectly obvious at the time last summer, the new contract and vote of confidence for Derek Anderson cements the deal. Let me count the reasons.
- The holdout delayed his ability to absorb, execute, and lead the Browns' new offense in 2007.
- It ruined any chance for him to win the starting job outright from the start, which might have pre-empted Anderson's surprising season.
- It clearly irked GM Phil Savage. Never a good idea to pick the first fight of your career with the man in charge of franchise's football operations.
- The coaching staff didn't exactly go out of its way to give the rookie a taste of NFL game action either. If he had been on board from the very first day of camp, would Romeo have looked for a chance to give him more snaps during the season? Maybe. It took the coach months just to use Quinn's name in public.
- Anderson's emergence may very well keep Quinn from reaching the playing time incentives his agent bargained so hard for. He ended up with a deal assuring him just $7.75 million. It could rise to as much as $30 million, but much of that escalation depends on Quinn taking 55% of the team's snaps in two of his first three seasons or 70% by the third year. DA's three-year deal guarantees him $14.5 million.
Still think the Browns regard Quinn as their quarterback of the future? It's iffy. They'll save eight figures by not paying his playing time escalator. The Browns won't play Quinn and still pay Anderson, at least not for any longer than the remainder of a season, and then only in case of abject failure or fracture, something no fan of the team should dream about.
Quinn may be a lifelong Browns fan, a promising young quarterback, and a gentile mensch. But no one's calling him the face of the franchise any more. That day, if it ever comes, must now be preceded by disaster or the distance of time.
What's that old line again? You never get another chance to make a first impression.
3 comments:
Nice post.
It will be interesting to see if Quinn's situation will be sufficient evidence to steer High-end draft prospects away from Tom Condon.
Immediately following the draft and reaching full amplification during Quinn's (or should we call it "Condon's"?) holdout, rumors swirled about Condon's motives for the Quinn holdout. There were whispers that, in an effort to pump-up his prestige with another Big-Name Client getting Big Money as a top 5 selection, Condon had overplayed his hand, asking for too much money than many of Quinn's early suitors were unwilling to pay. There was even speculation that Oakland would have taken Quinn #1 if Condon had simply accepted a more reasonable offer of guaranteed money. Condon and his client then experienced one of the most conspicuous freefalls in draft history, as hours passed and a distraught Quinn finally got out of the spotlight to cope with things in a private room.
WHen the Browns took Quinn, it was both a reprieve for the QB and his agent. But Condon would not concede the point, and, instead of serving his client selflessly, Condon took a decidedly "me first" approach" at a time when his client really needed him to be a professional.
Condon's top priority, in hindsight (and at the time, according to many) was not Quinn's future, but his own. He needed to salvage something from his (rumored) mishandling of Quinn's negotiations with the teams at the top of the board; that meant squeezing the Browns for anything and everything he could put on his resume. Condon wanted to preserve his reputation as a Super Agent to the Stars of the Draft(his bread and butter).
And so Brady held out, then lost out...and so if we want to get really tough on him, we can lay tens of millions of dollars lost by Quinn at Condon's feet, without getting too loony in our speculations.
Condon is a veteran agent; he knows the NFL, and he knows the Browns as well if not more than any other NFL team. Many of his clients have worn Orange and Brown, and it was no secret that in Crennel's camp rookies - esp. holdouts - have always had to pay their dues before they see the field on Fall Sundays.
Even if he were naive, he could have flipped on ESPN or surfed the web for ten minutes to discover that a holdout, in what was an "Open" competition at QB in Cleveland, would have been crippling.
In closing, isn't it ironic as hell that the bone of contention in the "Condon" Holdout was playing time triggers? The holdout itself made these stipulations more unrealistic with each passing day...
Tom Condon: caveat emptor.
Thanks for that insightful comment concerning the agent's role. I've long thought Quinn was too trusting and/or passive when it came to dealing with Condon, whose interests clearly diverged from his client's in this case.
Bottom line for me is that Quinn hired him, Quinn stuck with him, Quinn held out, and Quinn now suffers the consequences (if someone in his position can truly be called suffering). Tough lesson for someone so young, but welcome to the NFL, rook!
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