Bengals owner finally submits, but who is the real winner? Carson Palmer made a decision that he was no longer going to be a Cincinnati Bengal and sacrificed nearly half of the 2011 NFL football season to prove that he wasn’t bluffing. Bengals owner and CEO, Mike Brown, called Palmer’s hand, forcing the former USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner to either retire or show up at Bengals camp and honor his contract. Palmer was scheduled to make over $11 million in 2011, over $13 million in 2012 and over $14 million in 2014. Al Davis may have died a few days ago, but his spirit and his style have apparently lived on passed his physical body. In Davis-esque manner, the Raiders traded away next year’s first-round draft pick and a conditional first-round draft pick in 2013. This was a tidy sum to pay for a quarterback recovering from major knee surgery and an extended vacation in 2011 missing the entire training camp, the preseason and nearly half the regular season. It has been said, the Carson Palmer has been training with Ken O’Brien, the former New York Jets signal caller and that he has kept himself in shape and is ready to play. Being in physical condition and being game ready are thought to be completely different things to most NFL trainers and players who back up that theory.
My previous post really questioned the priorities of contracts and how the NFL only recognizes contract law when it applies to owners not paying and players not getting paid. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a professional athlete being sued for breach of contract when a player holds out for a reworked contract or plain won’t play for any particular reason, financial or otherwise (aside from injury). There’s part of me that is disappointed that Mike Brown gave in and allowed Carson Palmer to go to another team, but if the Raiders want to be stupid, that’s not Mike Brown’s problem. Giving up a number one draft selection for a veteran player like Carson Palmer is a pretty stiff price, particularly one that has been disgruntled about various team decisions and has also been through major reconstructive knee surgery. Palmer was considered one of the elite quarterbacks in football, before he sustained the injury. Since then, his performance has been met with mixed reviews and a roster that looks more like a revolving door of prima donnas and cocky, self-indulgent, self-proclaimed superstars. The team has been plagued by players with legal problems as well as the egos that bring nothing but distraction to a club that needs focus more now than ever. The Raiders felt they had little choice whether or not to approach the Bengals about Carson Palmer. Earlier this week, the Raiders Jason Campbell sustained a season-ending injury. This led them to inquired with former Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, before learning that he was scheduled for season-ending back surgery to repair a previous problem injury. Desperate, and maybe feeling the calling from the grave, the Raiders acted in a very Davis like manner going after the NFL’s most unhappy and out of work quarterback. Carson Palmer will be back in California and happy to be out of Cincinnati. Mike Brown has got to be feeling like he is the winner in all of this. Two first-round draft picks to go with a certain high pick of their own in 2012 will aid nicely in rebuilding for future seasons. Many teams are already posturing and scheming for a chance at all American quarterback from Stanford, Andrew Luck. NFL analysts believe that Luck might be the biggest sure thing since Peyton Manning. Either way, the Bengals have to be happy about coming out of this fiasco with a very handsome position to be in as the NFL approaches its next draft and a season that will likely have an entire schedule of OTA’s and minicamps as well as a complete training camp and preseason. Who’d a thunk it?