- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 20,922
- Name
- Peter
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...ck-and-so-far-so-good-with-a-long-ways-to-go/
The 49ers start contract talks with Colin Kaepernick… and so far, so good (with a long ways to go)
Posted on February 24, 2014 by Tim Kawakami
Yes, amazingly, the 49ers were able to conduct some business at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last weekend despite the swirling, whirling rumor/speculation/tense reality surrounding their head coach and his future…
To that point: An NFL source indicated to me today that team president Paraag Marathe and Colin Kaepernick’s representatives had a solid start to talks that could eventually lead to a rich new extension for the 49ers QB.
Emphasize “could eventually.”
There are many miles to go on this, of course. Any Kaepernick deal will be very large and any agreement involves many different leaps of faith…
How long a deal will it be? At what salary? How much guaranteed? This could break off on any of those points, at any time, and remember Kaepernick is still under contract for the 2014 season so there’s no great imperative… except to get this settled here and now.
(And to get Kaepernick paid at a proper level.)
But for now, both sides seem to have entered into this optimistically and over the weekend provided each other good reasons to keep going on it.
Kaepernick said during Super Bowl week that he’s open to striking a balance between what he wants and what’s best for the team salary structure, and from what I’ve heard, nothing said over the weekend contradicted that.
Of course, the parameters of “balance” could mean different things to both sides–does that mean Kaepernick will ask for $20M per instead of $22M? Or does it mean he’ll talk about $16M-17M per with steps to get him up to $20M?
Either way, it sounds like $15M to $16M is the floor for an average salary here, which is a lot higher than I originally thought and would bring Kaepernick near the top echelon of QB salaries.
Again, this is no guarantee that this is heading for a multi-year agreement any time soon.
But, unlike say last year with Dashon Goldson–when the 49ers left their first meeting concluding that Goldson was no longer a 49er–these initial talks have given both sides room and incentive to keep going.
The 49ers start contract talks with Colin Kaepernick… and so far, so good (with a long ways to go)
Posted on February 24, 2014 by Tim Kawakami
Yes, amazingly, the 49ers were able to conduct some business at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last weekend despite the swirling, whirling rumor/speculation/tense reality surrounding their head coach and his future…
To that point: An NFL source indicated to me today that team president Paraag Marathe and Colin Kaepernick’s representatives had a solid start to talks that could eventually lead to a rich new extension for the 49ers QB.
Emphasize “could eventually.”
There are many miles to go on this, of course. Any Kaepernick deal will be very large and any agreement involves many different leaps of faith…
How long a deal will it be? At what salary? How much guaranteed? This could break off on any of those points, at any time, and remember Kaepernick is still under contract for the 2014 season so there’s no great imperative… except to get this settled here and now.
(And to get Kaepernick paid at a proper level.)
But for now, both sides seem to have entered into this optimistically and over the weekend provided each other good reasons to keep going on it.
Kaepernick said during Super Bowl week that he’s open to striking a balance between what he wants and what’s best for the team salary structure, and from what I’ve heard, nothing said over the weekend contradicted that.
Of course, the parameters of “balance” could mean different things to both sides–does that mean Kaepernick will ask for $20M per instead of $22M? Or does it mean he’ll talk about $16M-17M per with steps to get him up to $20M?
Either way, it sounds like $15M to $16M is the floor for an average salary here, which is a lot higher than I originally thought and would bring Kaepernick near the top echelon of QB salaries.
Again, this is no guarantee that this is heading for a multi-year agreement any time soon.
But, unlike say last year with Dashon Goldson–when the 49ers left their first meeting concluding that Goldson was no longer a 49er–these initial talks have given both sides room and incentive to keep going.
