Jets bring back FB Richardson
Football Betting Lines
09/07/2010 - Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets re-signed Tony Richardson on Tuesday, just two days after releasing the veteran fullback.
He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the NFL's top rushing offense, which was led by veteran Thomas Jones and rookie Shonn Greene.
Used almost exclusively as a blocker, Richardson had just 17 rushing attempts in his two seasons with the Jets. The three-time Pro Bowl selection previously played two seasons for Minnesota following a long-term assignment clearing paths for Kansas City backs.
Richardson broke into the league with the Chiefs in 1995 and had the most prolific season of his career with them in 2000, when he carried 147 times for 697 yards and caught 58 passes for 468 yards, career-highs in each category.
During his 15 seasons, the Auburn product has toted 424 times for 1,714 yards and 15 touchdowns, and hauled in 205 passes for 1,512 yards and nine scores.
The Jets made several other roster moves Tuesday. They signed center Robby Felix, linebackers Joshua Mauga and Cody Brown, wide receiver Larry Taylor and defensive tackle Martin Tevaseu to the practice squad; waived wide receiver Patrick Turner; released linebacker Ricky Foley and defensive back Donovan Warren from the practice squad.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny was a fourth-round winner Tuesday at the 2010 U.S. Open, while Sam Querrey, the final American in the field, was beaten in five sets by Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka
<< Chicago's Boquete wins WPS Player of the Week
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars attacker Veronica Boquete
was named Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 21 on
Tuesday.
Boquete led the Red Stars to wins in their final two games of the 2010 sea
<< Alouettes QB Calvillo expected to sit vs. Ticats
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony
Calvillo will likely not play in his club's next game with the Hamilton Tiger-
Cats on Saturday.
TSN of Canada and CFL.ca both reported on Tuesday that while
<< Nats recall Maya for highly-anticipated debut
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled pitcher
Yunesky Maya from Triple-A Syracuse among a quartet of moves on Tuesday prior
to their game with the New York Mets.
Maya, a right-hander, is slated to make
<< Rockies recall Escalona among numerous roster moves
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday recalled right-
handed pitcher Edgmer Escalona from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The 23-year-old Escalona will look to make his debut in the majors. The
Venezuelan native
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Freddy Garcia left Tuesday's start against Detroit with what appeared to be a lower body injury. Garcia lasted two innings and allowed two runs on three hits. The 3
Reds recall Volquez from Single-A Dayton >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds recalled pitcher Edinson
Volquez from Single-A Dayton so he could be a part of the team's pitching
staff down the stretch.
Volquez missed most of the season after Tommy John sur
Williams advances to the semifinals >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Venus Williams
advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Tuesday night with a 7-6 (7-5),
6-4 win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
The third-seeded Williams, the las
Seahawks re-sign Babineaux >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday re-signed
defensive back Jordan Babineaux.
Babineaux, who was released by Seattle over the weekend, registered a career-
high 105 tackles as the starting free safety last
Cabrera exits early against ChiSox >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers infielder Miguel Cabrera left
Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox after the fifth inning with an
undisclosed injury.
Entering Tuesday's action, Cabrera was batting .334 with 33 home ru
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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