Illinois law doing its best to kill Bears free agent hopes.

malk · Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:17 pm

Workers take the risk, owners take the profits. Plus ca change.

GSH · Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:36 pm

Because it wasn't going to be hard enough to persuade real talent to want to play in Chicago...

ysleblanc · Thu Feb 09, 2017 9:58 am

GSH wrote:Because it wasn't going to be hard enough to persuade real talent to want to play in Chicago...

They have signed a boatload of top FA's the last 10 years. That's not a concern for me.

Atkins&Rebel · Fri Feb 10, 2017 8:29 am

I haven't read the law, my only question is this:
After the age limit, do they then revert to a normal disability check?

If so they should have plenty of money from playing and the years of the inflated disability to cover costs and live on.

No need to continue the public subsidation of players.

Fri Mar 10, 2017 6:52 am

I can't help but feel like this played a huge part in the Bears not landing jack shit yesterday.

mmmc_35 · Fri Mar 10, 2017 7:31 am

UOK wrote:I can't help but feel like this played a huge part in the Bears not landing jack shit yesterday.

I mentioned it yesterday. I completely agree.

thunderspirit · Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:06 am

I doubt it.

The Bears are 9-23 in the last two seasons under a notoriously hard-assed coach who, barring a miraculous turnaround that seems unlikely, is probably gone after this year. Add in a GM unwilling to overpay beyond what he deems the value to be and it's not a surprise players are looking elsewhere.

IotaNet · Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:18 am

thunderspirit wrote: ... a GM unwilling to overpay beyond what he deems the value to be ...

This right here. Free agency is big and its exciting but we need to be building through the draft, not by purchasing a lot of bright & shiny objects that turn out to be fools gold.

BamaBear09 · Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:45 am

IotaNet wrote:
thunderspirit wrote: ... a GM unwilling to overpay beyond what he deems the value to be ...
This right here. Free agency is big and its exciting but we need to be building through the draft, not by purchasing a lot of bright & shiny objects that turn out to be fools gold.

How many time have the Redskins splashed out and ate up all the top FAs only to watch their season just stumble to a finish... the Eagles "dream team" when they went out and got Asmogha to pair with Asante Samuel and DRC, they picked up Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Ernie Sims and their defense still under performed... free agency is slightly less of a crapshoot as the draft only you have to pay WAY more and the bomb could blow up even more in your face if you don't keep to a standard... Pace is going to work this like he has... find pieces for prices he likes and do his best to find quality and value in the draft. This type of process takes time and hopefully Pace has the time he needs to get pieces in place. I'd really prefer to have mainly homegrown talent and the occasional FA addition when it is supremely needed.

Hematite · Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:53 am

BamaBear09 wrote:
IotaNet wrote:
thunderspirit wrote: ... a GM unwilling to overpay beyond what he deems the value to be ...
This right here. Free agency is big and its exciting but we need to be building through the draft, not by purchasing a lot of bright & shiny objects that turn out to be fools gold.
How many time have the Redskins splashed out and ate up all the top FAs only to watch their season just stumble to a finish... the Eagles "dream team" when they went out and got Asmogha to pair with Asante Samuel and DRC, they picked up Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Ernie Sims and their defense still under performed... free agency is slightly less of a crapshoot as the draft only you have to pay WAY more and the bomb could blow up even more in your face if you don't keep to a standard... Pace is going to work this like he has... find pieces for prices he likes and do his best to find quality and value in the draft. This type of process takes time and hopefully Pace has the time he needs to get pieces in place. I'd really prefer to have mainly homegrown talent and the occasional FA addition when it is supremely needed.

Yes. It takes time, but the reward can be a sustainable consistent playoff team, which I would much prefer over 1-hit wonder teams. I'm giving Pace the benefit of the doubt. Keep repeating drafts like last year and this team will turn out like most of the other perennial playoff teams, usually absent from the first 48 hours of free agency.

malk · Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:01 am

There's a difference between setting market leading deals for borderline top ten players in their position and giving a top ten player a top five deal (pre contract inflation). There are a few guys we could have signed that wouldn't have been silly free agency contracts.

Nanky · Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:04 am

malk wrote:There's a difference between setting market leading deals for borderline top ten players in their position and giving a top ten player a top five deal (pre contract inflation). There are a few guys we could have signed that wouldn't have been silly free agency contracts.

Such as??

Otis Day · Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:29 am

I don't think this has anything to do with FAs not signing. This is a sinking ship and the right money was not offered. Money talks. I would imagine most teams offered more than the Bears. What about this team, outside of money, is a draw?

malk · Fri Mar 10, 2017 6:22 pm

Nanky wrote:
malk wrote:There's a difference between setting market leading deals for borderline top ten players in their position and giving a top ten player a top five deal (pre contract inflation). There are a few guys we could have signed that wouldn't have been silly free agency contracts.
Such as??

Bouye has just signed a five year deal that puts him currently as the 8th highest paid corner in the NFL. That contract, like all contracts, will get cheaper as the years go by and the cap increases. Plus only $26m is guaranteed. Now he may drop off and I haven't seen the full structure of the deal but $13.5m doesn't cripple the cap and if they're sensible the real average should be lower than that with a very cuttable final year, even if he works out.

Olivier Vernon was similar last year, a top edge rusher that year but only one elite season. He's the 2nd highest paid edge rusher with $85m over five years with $40m guaranteed. He has to be elite for that contract to be remotely worth it but even then he'll be close to 10% of the cap throughout the contract and it's pretty much impossible for most players to be worth that. Even in his final year cutting him will result in $10m dead money.

Bad teams make bad deals but that doesn't mean spending in free agency is per se bad.

britbear · Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:26 am

Otis Day wrote:I don't think this has anything to do with FAs not signing. This is a sinking ship and the right money was not offered. Money talks. I would imagine most teams offered more than the Bears. What about this team, outside of money, is a draw?

I may be looking at this with rose-tinted spectacles, but what about:

- Playing for one of the most storied franchises in American sports history
- Following in the footsteps of some of the greatest names in NFL history
- The fact that this team plays in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in the USA and one that loves its sport

There is more to this team than its records of the last few years.

Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:49 am

britbear wrote:
Otis Day wrote:I don't think this has anything to do with FAs not signing. This is a sinking ship and the right money was not offered. Money talks. I would imagine most teams offered more than the Bears. What about this team, outside of money, is a draw?
I may be looking at this with rose-tinted spectacles, but what about:

- Playing for one of the most storied franchises in American sports history
- Following in the footsteps of some of the greatest names in NFL history
- The fact that this team plays in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in the USA and one that loves its sport

There is more to this team than its records of the last few years.

I appreciate the nostalgia, but that's not how the NFL works in the era of free agency.

britbear · Sat Mar 11, 2017 1:49 pm

I didn't say that was how the league works. The point was made that this team has no draw besides money. But I have heard players coming to the Bears and being in awe at Halas Hall and commenting on the privilege of playing for this franchise.

Our team may well suck on the field, but I don't think we should sell them short on their drawing power.

Otis Day · Sat Mar 11, 2017 5:22 pm

britbear wrote:
Otis Day wrote:I don't think this has anything to do with FAs not signing. This is a sinking ship and the right money was not offered. Money talks. I would imagine most teams offered more than the Bears. What about this team, outside of money, is a draw?
I may be looking at this with rose-tinted spectacles, but what about:

- Playing for one of the most storied franchises in American sports history
- Following in the footsteps of some of the greatest names in NFL history
- The fact that this team plays in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in the USA and one that loves its sport

There is more to this team than its records of the last few years.

If that was the case no FAs would leave right? AJ would have been happy to play here. Did Forte leave happy? Was Briggs happy?

Most of these kids coming out of college and probably a good deal of pro players do not know the histories of most of the NFL teams.

There are also many great sports cities in the US. This has been a dysfunctional franchise for quite awhile.