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Does Andre Johnson Deserve a New Contract?

What should the Texans do?

  • Total voters
    77
GuerillaBlack

GuerillaBlack

Hall of Fame
Does the man deserve a new deal, after playing just three years through his eight year deal because he is the best WR in football? Or does him being the best WR in football not even matter, since he agreed to his new contract and won't honor it less than halfway through.
 
He deserves money like one of the best, if not the best, WR in the league. But he is still only a little ways into his last contract. Give him more money a year from now after you see how the season goes.
 
Meh, he's the third highest paid WR in the league behind Brandon Marshall and Larry Fitsgerald. It's not like he's making peanuts. OTOH, make the man happy. I want him to retire a Texan.
 
BIG TORO said:
He is the best in the league but, I say take us to the playoffs, and then talk more money!
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I find "take us to the play-offs and then get paid" a spurious tenet. There is only so much one player can do, and by becoming the best receiver in the league Dre has done his part.

The opposite viewpoint may be that he's tired of endless losing and mediocrity. He's excelled, the past two years especially, but the other players and certainly the coaching staff haven't played up to his level. I don't think the front office is the best in the league either. Dre isn't the one keeping this team out of the play-offs.

Anyway, if the principle is "take us to the play-offs and then get paid", does that mean they will be re-doing 54 contracts when the make the post-season?
 
If they're going to take care of anyone, it should be this man. If a player like Andre Johnson even thinks you're cheap (let alone says it), every player in the league will for a long time.
 
he's got what, 3 mil left per year? averaged out anyway....make him a few more garaunteed bones to keep him happy but c'mon Dre, you can't be THAT unhappy.
 
Players are unhappy when they are franchised because while they are paid among the best at their position, they don't have a long-term contract. It seems like when players get their long-term contracts, somewhere along the line (3 years in with 5 years left) they realize they are not at fair market value when new contracts come into fold. You can't have it both ways bro.

That being said, he probably does deserve a little more guaranteed but he should have NOT signed an 8 year deal. I just don't like hearing about it not even half way through his deal. This is a part of the game that I would prefer not to hear about.
 
Johnson has all the leverage in this situaiton, it's a win-win for him because especially in this uncapped year somebody is going to pay him. If not the Texans there's gonna be another team that would ? For example, even with this spectacular failure in decision-making by Reskins owner Snyder which is costing him tens of millions with little return on his investment from Fat Albert, do you think he'd stop from making a deal to put Johnson on the receiving end of McNabbs passes if given the opportunity, especially with young OC Shanny raving about the talented Johnson after coaching him in Houston ? That's just one scenario, I can see many others.
Johnsons uncle is making the right move at the right time, will the Texans also make the right move which might be trading Johnson now when it's the right time ffor them to leverage his value with the uncapped year ?
 
IDEXAN said:
Johnson has all the leverage in this situaiton, it's a win-win for him because especially in this uncapped year somebody is going to pay him. If not the Texans there's gonna be another team that would ? For example, even with this spectacular failure in decision-making by Reskins owner Snyder which is costing him tens of millions with little return on his investment from Fat Albert, do you think he'd stop from making a deal to put Johnson on the receiving end of McNabbs passes if given the opportunity, especially with young OC Shanny raving about the talented Johnson after coaching him in Houston ? That's just one scenario, I can see many others.
Johnsons uncle is making the right move at the right time, will the Texans also make the right move which might be trading Johnson now when it's the right time ffor them to leverage his value with the uncapped year ?
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Actually AJ has very little leverage. He's under contract for the next 5 years, period.
 
IDEXAN said:
Johnson has all the leverage in this situaiton, it's a win-win for him because especially in this uncapped year somebody is going to pay him. If not the Texans there's gonna be another team that would ? For example, even with this spectacular failure in decision-making by Reskins owner Snyder which is costing him tens of millions with little return on his investment from Fat Albert, do you think he'd stop from making a deal to put Johnson on the receiving end of McNabbs passes if given the opportunity, especially with young OC Shanny raving about the talented Johnson after coaching him in Houston ? That's just one scenario, I can see many others.
Johnsons uncle is making the right move at the right time, will the Texans also make the right move which might be trading Johnson now when it's the right time ffor them to leverage his value with the uncapped year ?
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No, the only card Johnson has is to hold out. He is under contract for 5 more years. What's he going to do, sit out for those 5 years?
 
BigTimeTexanFan said:
No, the only card Johnson has is to hold out. He is under contract for 5 more years. What's he going to do, sit out for those 5 years?
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Exactly, he is locked up until he's 34 years old. What incentive would the Texans have to give him a new deal? AJ has 0 leverage.
 
dc_txtech said:
Exactly, he is locked up until he's 34 years old. What incentive would the Texans have to give him a new deal? AJ has 0 leverage.
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The only incentive they would have is to keep their best player happy. It's the game you play, but what happens in two years when his contract is out of whack again? Players want the long term contracts for insurance, but they also want to keep pace with an ever-evolving league, and that just isn't possible.
 
Aj signed an 8 year deal when he was 26. 26 + 8 is 34. If he wanted multiple contracts, he should hav egone with a shorter length.

Id be willing to renogiate with him... but only after we see what OD is capable of and get him signed long term.

I think giving in to AJ right now sets a bad precedent for our team
 
Runner said:
I find "take us to the play-offs and then get paid" a spurious tenet. There is only so much one player can do, and by becoming the best receiver in the league Dre has done his part.

The opposite viewpoint may be that he's tired of endless losing and mediocrity. He's excelled, the past two years especially, but the other players and certainly the coaching staff haven't played up to his level. I don't think the front office is the best in the league either. Dre isn't the one keeping this team out of the play-offs.

Anyway, if the principle is "take us to the play-offs and then get paid", does that mean they will be re-doing 54 contracts when the make the post-season?
Click to expand...

Well we can't get to the playoffs with out him, So I say help us get there and then talk more money.
 
Pay him, but dont put a fricking gun to mgmnts head to get it done. Why thi even went public I dont know.
 
Doesn't matter what AJ thinks or really even wants. He is under contract.

What does Mr. McNair think?
 
WWJD said:
Doesn't matter what AJ thinks or really even wants. He is under contract.

What does Mr. McNair think?
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Of course it matters what he thinks and wants! His state of mind is very important to the team's success. An unhappy, underpaid AJ presents an important dilemma for the front office.

Pay the man, but go about it carefully. If anyone deserves to be the highest paid at his position, it's the incomparable Andre Johnson.
 
Tailgate said:
Pay him, but dont put a fricking gun to mgmnts head to get it done. Why thi even went public I dont know.
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Agreed. I knew the day he signed his contract that the 8yrs would present a problem down the line, but I thought it would be another year (and an AFC South division title) before he'd start to make noise about wanting a new deal and the Texans would quietly go about the business of giving it to him.
 
Tailgate said:
Pay him, but dont put a fricking gun to mgmnts head to get it done. Why thi even went public I dont know.
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I think it went public because reporters saw Andre wasn't there. Rick Smith gave an honest answer to why.

I'm guessing he didn't buy a little time with a misleading reason because he doesn't think a little time is all that's needed to reach resolution. Again, just guessing on that part.
 
I don't think they'll give him a new deal, but they might adjust the existing contract to move more money up front.
 
AJ should have did this the right way and showed up to OTAs, if we wanted a new deal. Instead of not going to OTAs because you want a new deal. It's different if he was not going to OTAs, but instead was working out at the U or something. I wouldn't really mind that. But what's going on now? No sir.
 
HOU-TEX said:
I don't think they'll give him a new deal, but they might adjust the existing contract to move more money up front.
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Well, that would be the logical move.

Let's see whether this happens or if there will be "We're smarter than you" shenanigans by the front office/ownership.

I have my doubts that they will bend. Rick Smith said he would listen to him, but that does not indicate action in AJ's favor. Smith is playing a nice game of semantics with his reaction statements on this issue.

Color me skeptical that AJ gets anything different THIS season.
 
GP said:
Well, that would be the logical move.

Let's see whether this happens or if there will be "We're smarter than you" shenanigans by the front office/ownership.

I have my doubts that they will bend. Rick Smith said he would listen to him, but that does not indicate action in AJ's favor. Smith is playing a nice game of semantics with his reaction statements on this issue.

Color me skeptical that AJ gets anything different THIS season.
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I kinda agree. After having a sit down with AJ, I'd let this season play out and address his deal next off season. Hopefully with a new CBA in place.
 
*sigh*
I dreamed of the day when the Texans would be relevant beyond the city of Houston. However, steroids and the beast reciever in football holding out of OTA's is not what I had envisioned as being relevant! :cool:
 
Heres the deal; as with everyone else on this board, AJ is by far and away one of the top three Texans in Texans history. His class, play, work ethic, and leadership go unrivaled.

This is where it gets tricky. With him holding all of the intagibles listed above AND being arguably the best WR in the league....why shouldnt he want more?

I voted dont pay him (yet). We did what we should have done and gave him a very nice extension back in 2007. If AJ wasnt happy with it, why did he sign it? Just because other players are getting paid more than him NOW doesnt justify us paying more.

WHAT GOOD IS A CONTRACT IF YOU ARE GOING TO NOT HOLD UP TO YOUR END WITH FIVE YEARS LEFT!!??!!??

Im all about taking care of our players, but on the other hand, they need to take care of us as well (and by us I mean the Houston Texans as a whole, the fans, the FO, the team, etc, etc).

He needs to put up about three more years into this extension and then if he still feels he deserves more then we should talk. This is absolute bulls#$%.

Last time I checked, a contract is binding on both ends that signed it. Its not just good for one side, then when you dont like it anymore say "I dont think I like this deal anymore, give me more money or I wont hold up my end of the bargain."

As classy as AJ is, this is crap. I hope something gets worked out soon for this so we dont have another distraction.

Im with everyone else, I want AJ to retire a Texan, but we have to draw a line somewhere......
 
2slik4u said:
Last time I checked, a contract is binding on both ends that signed it. Its not just good for one side, then when you dont like it anymore say "I dont think I like this deal anymore, give me more money or I wont hold up my end of the bargain."
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You do understand that NFL contracts aren't binding on both sides, right? Teams unilaterally end them very frequently. I don't see the fans get in a "contracts are binding" uproar every time a marginal player, who received very little as a signing bonus, gets cut with years left on his contract.

The teams take advantage of this on players who really can't afford it; sometimes players on the other end of the spectrum can force a renegotiation. If the first is fair, so is the other. If the second is unfair, so is the first.

Emotional responses aside, that is how the NFL works.
 
Texan_Bill said:
*sigh*
I dreamed of the day when the Texans would be relevant beyond the city of Houston. However, steroids and the beast reciever in football holding out of OTA's is not what I had envisioned as being relevant! :cool:
Click to expand...

This falls under the general heading, "Be Careful What You Wish For".
 
This is a very simple especially now in this uncapped year.

Give AJ equal or more guaranteed money to that of Fitzgerald by adding bonuses each year of the remaining 5 years. AJ got 15 million guaranteed already and Fitzgerald got like 30+ million so make the deal where AJ gets an extra 3.5 million over the next 5 years, making it 17.5 million on top of the 15 already gotten. Gives AJ 32.5 million total in guaranteed money at the end of this contract.

It's no secret the Texans got over on the guaranteed money when they renewed the contract 3 years ago, now the Texans can make it right and make everyone happy by this simple gesture. Question is, will they?

Don't need a totally new contract, just restructure it to where he is paid like THE elite WR in the league....:doot:
 
Runner said:
You do understand that NFL contracts aren't binding on both sides, right? Teams unilaterally end them very frequently. I don't see the fans get in a "contracts are binding" uproar every time a marginal player, who received very little as a signing bonus, gets cut with years left on his contract.

The teams take advantage of this on players who really can't afford it; sometimes players on the other end of the spectrum can force a renegotiation. If the first is fair, so is the other. If the second is unfair, so is the first.

Emotional responses aside, that is how the NFL works.
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To be fair, players get large signing bonuses and owners get long contracts.

Its not fair to get a huge signing bonus AND terminate the contract.
 
I voted NO.

Rich folk crying about needing more money will never get any sympathy from me.
 
Rick Smith has more urgent matters to attend to than renegotiating a contract that has 5 years remaining. Even if it is Andre Johnson, the best player in Texans history. He's not going anywhere, he'll join the team once it's mandatory... and Smith HAS to be signing these rookies, attending to OD's deal once fully healthy, looking at adding free agents and those soon to be available guys from other teams. There's no way Smith can put all that on hold to focus on Andre.

Does Andre "deserve" it? Yes. But now's not the time to do anything about it.
 
Every decent team has at least one player you can't play hardball with...

Pats have Brady, Colts have Peyton, Cards have Fitz, Raiders have Nnamdi, and the Texans have AJ.

Give your best player whatever the hell he wants.
 
There are big difference in between

A. Does he deserve a new contract
B. Should he get a new contract
&
C. Will he get a new or revised contract.
 
gtexan02 said:
To be fair, players get large signing bonuses and owners get long contracts.

Its not fair to get a huge signing bonus AND terminate the contract.
Click to expand...

Then it isn't fair for a team to give small guaranteed money AND cut the player before his contract is up. That happens very, very frequently and is the only combination that directly hurts an individual. Neither the corporation nor the highly compensated athlete are affected as much.

Where is the moral outrage then?
 
BullNation4Life said:
This is a very simple especially now in this uncapped year.

Give AJ equal or more guaranteed money to that of Fitzgerald by adding bonuses each year of the remaining 5 years. AJ got 15 million guaranteed already and Fitzgerald got like 30+ million so make the deal where AJ gets an extra 3.5 million over the next 5 years, making it 17.5 million on top of the 15 already gotten. Gives AJ 32.5 million total in guaranteed money at the end of this contract.

It's no secret the Texans got over on the guaranteed money when they renewed the contract 3 years ago, now the Texans can make it right and make everyone happy by this simple gesture. Question is, will they?

Don't need a totally new contract, just restructure it to where he is paid like THE elite WR in the league....:doot:
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Im ok with this.
 
AJ did a favor for management when he restructured his contract to help them get some more cap space, now they owe him a favor back. I seriously doubt he will hold out on the team through mandatory training camp, so I see this as a way for the team to give him a big bonus in an un-capped year, and increase his guaranteed money over the next 4 years. He should get a bonus of 6-10 million this year, and up his guaranteed money over the next 4 so that he makes at least 5 million a year base salary. Put in incentives in for Pro-bowl and All-pro honors and you should have him locked up through 2015 at cheaper rate. The Texans took advantage of the uncapped year to pay Demeco Ryans a buttload of money, and it will help the team a lot in the future if the salary cap comes back into play.
 
Runner said:
Then it isn't fair for a team to give small guaranteed money AND cut the player before his contract is up. That happens very, very frequently and is the only combination that directly hurts an individual. Neither the corporation nor the highly compensated athlete are affected as much.

Where is the moral outrage then?
Click to expand...

AJ has the right to an agent.
AJ has the right to become a free agent.

Quit making this sound like the Texans are screwing AJ at every possible turn.

He chose to negotiate an 8 year deal with 15 million guaranteed.
He chose to sign that deal.

Its a 2 way street. They both agreed on that deal.

Signing bonuses are the way the NFL offsets teams cutting players before their contracts are up.

If AJ wanted a larger signing bonus, he should have negotiated a better one or waited until he was a free agent and signed elsewhere. Its not like he has no options.



The system is set up so that both sides take a risk. The player takes a risk he will get cut before his contract is finished. The owner takes a risk that he is giving someone 15 million up front and has no idea if he will get a career ending injury the next morning.

This is AJs deal. He negotiated for it himself and he signed it himself.
 
2slik4u said:
Heres the deal; as with everyone else on this board, AJ is by far and away one of the top three Texans in Texans history. His class, play, work ethic, and leadership go unrivaled.

This is where it gets tricky. With him holding all of the intagibles listed above AND being arguably the best WR in the league....why shouldnt he want more?

I voted dont pay him (yet). We did what we should have done and gave him a very nice extension back in 2007. If AJ wasnt happy with it, why did he sign it? Just because other players are getting paid more than him NOW doesnt justify us paying more.

WHAT GOOD IS A CONTRACT IF YOU ARE GOING TO NOT HOLD UP TO YOUR END WITH FIVE YEARS LEFT!!??!!??

Im all about taking care of our players, but on the other hand, they need to take care of us as well (and by us I mean the Houston Texans as a whole, the fans, the FO, the team, etc, etc).

He needs to put up about three more years into this extension and then if he still feels he deserves more then we should talk. This is absolute bulls#$%.

Last time I checked, a contract is binding on both ends that signed it. Its not just good for one side, then when you dont like it anymore say "I dont think I like this deal anymore, give me more money or I wont hold up my end of the bargain."

As classy as AJ is, this is crap. I hope something gets worked out soon for this so we dont have another distraction.

Im with everyone else, I want AJ to retire a Texan, but we have to draw a line somewhere......
Click to expand...

Would the other two be fragments of his personality? He is the best Texan ever. By far. It really isn't close.
 
Just guarantee all 60 million and be done with it. Estimate of 34.2 million left on his current 8 year deal. Just guarantee that last 34 mil and lets move on. He is worth it.
 
BigBull17 said:
Would the other two be fragments of his personality? He is the best Texan ever. By far. It really isn't close.
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+1. This guy is the cream of the crop. I dont know if there is a better NFL player at their position. Name 1 player you would trade him straight up for?
 
gtexan02 said:
Quit making this sound like the Texans are screwing AJ at every possible turn.
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Quit making up things I didn't say to argue against. I've never said the Texans are screwing Andre Johnson.

I'm pointing out that the team plays fast and loose with contracts, as do the players who demand renegotiation.

The teams play the system, the players play the system. I don't see how that makes the teams beyond reproach and the players at fault at every turn. It's how the NFL works.
 
Dutchrudder said:
AJ did a favor for management when he restructured his contract to help them get some more cap space, now they owe him a favor back.
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If I'm not mistaken, AJ didn't take a paycut to help the Texans. When teams restructure player contracts, its primarily for cap purposes and how they account for the dollars. I.e. base salary, signing bonus, other bonus, etc. These have different effects on the team's cap. Very rarely, I would imagine, does the restructure negatively effect the player.

If the AJ flat out said, the team needs more cap space? Just take off $6MM from what is due to me and that will help. That's not the case - more like I'll take less $ as a "signing bonus" and more $ as a "roster bonus", for example.
 
This is a sticky situation because on the one hand, he's the best reciever in the league, and paid like a top 10 instead of the best. On the other hand, he's only a couple years into an 8 year contract and demanding a new one when the old one he signed is half way through, which has the possiblity of setting a dangerous new precedent if he gets what he wants. Either way, I hope we get this settled somehow beneficially to both AJ and the Texans, as I don't want another Dunta situation.

I still voted Pay him just because I don't want to lose him when we're close to breaking through to the promised land.
 
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