Anquan Boldin Wants Out of Arizona
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That was a strange headline to write after my May 4 post that read: “Anquan Boldin Happy to be in Arizona.” But Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin no longer wants a new contract from his team. He just wants to play out his current one and find a home somewhere else. Or so he says:
“I was promised a deal would get done before this season. But the season is here and obviously it hasn’t happened. Right now, I don’t want a deal. People may think I’m being funny or just saying that just to say it. But for me, I’m just tired of it. I’ve washed my hands of the whole situation ….. My numbers speak for themselves. They even came out publicly and said I outplayed my contract. I don’t have to argue to anybody or make a case to anybody about why I’m deserving of a new contract. That’s self-explanatory.”
I’ve been talking a lot about contract squabbles lately. ‘Tis the season. Many players sign a contract, play well enough to think they deserve more, and then raise a fuss when they don’t get an extension or reworked deal. It can be complicated, but more often than not I side with management, believing a player should honor the contract he signed. If a player wanted more money for reaching certain “milestones” or goals, that should have been written into the contract. It’s called an incentive clause. Or something like that. Anyway, I’ll admit in some cases, it’s pretty clear a player has gone above and beyond what was expected of them. And maybe the two sides can sit down and bang out a new deal. In Anquan’s case, I would hope the Cards would negotiate rather than let him wallow in displeasure for three more years.
I will say I think it’s absurd that Anquan will play out his contract “as is” because he has three years left on the four-year, $22.75 million extension he signed after the 2005 season. I believe cooler heads will prevail and somewhere along the line (hopefully sooner than later), both sides will come to their senses and make this thing work. I realize there is not an unlimited supply of funds, but if the Cards can get Larry Fitzgerald a new deal, they can find a way to make Anquan happy, too. As I said back in March, over the past three seasons, Anquan has more catches and yards than Larry and he’s scheduled to be making between seven and eight million dollars less over the next three years. Something’s not right there. I won’t take anything away from Larry’s deal because he deserves what he got. Anquan won’t argue that, either. But Anquan is too good to let go and the Cards are too good of an organization to let him go. The team needs both of these guys to get to the playoffs and beyond. And they should do everything in their power to keep them both.
Source: East Valley Tribune, Photo: Newscom
Tags: Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals, Larry-FitzgeraldRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Arizona Cardinals
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