Written By Bob Cunningham What started as rumor has now been confirmed by both sides; Sheldon Brown wants out of Philadelphia.
The only problem for Brown is that the Eagles have no record of letting players go when they want to be let go, but rather when they see fit.
Brown saw that first hand with his friend and former teammate Lito Sheppard, and even had some of his own opinions on the situation:
“You gotta keep ya mouth shut,” said Brown. “You gotta keep everything to yourself.”
Apparently that’s true, unless you’re Sheldon Brown.
Brown is yelling hypocrisy in his cell phone conversations with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, saying that the Eagles just traded for a disgruntled player in Jason Peters, so why can’t he be traded?
Brown says hypocrisy, the Eagles shrug and say smart business move.
From where I’m sitting, Brown appears to be the little boy at the playground who cries because the other boy got TWO candy bars, and he only got ONE.
Be happy with the one you have, Brown. Or, if you’re still not convinced, ask Jeremiah Trotter how great things were when he fled for the money in Washington. That lasted two years before he was begging Reid for a job on special teams.
Be careful what you wish for Brown, you just might get it.
But I digress.
What this boils down to is that life, whether it’s life in the NFL or anywhere else, is about the “haves” and “have-nots.”
In NFL terms, the “haves” are the players who have spent a couple years in Hawaii (examples being Jason Peters, Anquan Boldin, etc.). Really, that’s it. If you have never been invited to Hawaii, you’re really in no position of power.
Brown is no exception. The Eagles hold all the cards in this, and Brown has to realize that. That makes coming public look even worse on his part.
He knows he’s in a lose-lose situation because like the Eagles said, "Sheldon's comments under the circumstances actually serve to devalue him in a trade if we were willing to consider it, which we are not."
This isn’t a secret, this is something everyone involved with the NFL, from players to fans, know. Everyone knows that the player has absolutely no leverage in the situation.
The worst a player can do is (back to the little kid reference) hold his breath until he turns blue, stomp his feet, or do everything he can to make the other kids miserable until Mom can’t handle it anymore.
Should Brown be paid more? Yeah, probably.
However, his cap figure is not off far enough to warrant this kind of kicking and screaming.
With his signing bonus from 2004 figured in, Brown looks to make $3.25 million this year. In 2010 his cap figure will drop to $2 million because the signing bonus has dried up, but his salary then shoots up to $4 million in 2011 and $5 million in 2012.
Brown will be getting a steady raise (with the exception of 2010), and at the end of this year will have his $7 million in guaranteed money from the signing bonus.
I’d say that’s fair for a player who has only one interception in the last 21 games, and has never been invited to the Pro Bowl.
So while it may seem hypocritical that the Eagles traded for a disgruntled player who was doing the same thing that Brown is doing now, it’s also just smart business on their part.
Brown has to realize that, keep his mouth shut, and play his way into a new deal before he says something to reach that point-of-no-return and finds himself “Litoed,” as we’ll now call it.
The only way Brown should leave, and the only way I want to see him leave, is if he passes Anquan Boldin on his way out of the NovaCare complex.
