mr. blackandwhite

In a move that is really not all that surprising, Asante Samuel has come out and said that he is not planning on attending training camp and will not be showing up to play football for the Patriots until week 10, which is the latest that he can appear and still earn credit for playing this season.

I really don’t understand the reasoning that Asante is going through here. In the Mike Reiss article he is quoted as saying, “I feel unappreciated. The way they’re treating me is just wrong.”

WHAT??

The guy is set to earn no less that 7.79 million. I wish somebody would wrong me that way. Hurt me baby, please.

Asante is pissed because he feels he can make more on the open market, which may or may not be true, but I would still call 7.79 mil a pretty good salary for one year.

Unlike the Deion Branch situation last year, The Pats have are holding all the cards here. If Asante tries to prove some kind of worthless point and sits out, he only hurts himself. Not only does he not get paid during the entire time he’s not playing, but he’s not on the field, proving to potential suitors that last season’s numbers were not a fluke and showing them what he can really do.

On top of that, if The Pats are feeling vindictive, they can always franchise Samuel again next year, leaving him right back where he started.

It seems to me the smart thing for Samuel to do would be to make a deal with The Pats now, play the season, earn a few million, win the Superbowl, and hope they don’t franchise him again next year.

It’s possible that Asante’s desire for a promise from The Patriots not to franchise him again could be the sticking point, and the Pats are not making any such promise. There’s no way to know but it would not surprise me if that was the issue that is holding things up. The long term numbers are not to Asante’s liking and the Pats are not making any guarantees about not franchising him again next year, leaving him between a rock and a hard place.

Of course another option is that The Pats tire of this little game and let Samuel go, just as they did with Deion Branch. The problem? What team is going to give up the two first-round draft picks that would be required to land him? I would venture to guess the answer would be, none.

Poor Asante.

Here’s what I would do with 7 million dollars:
Pay off my house, pay for my kids college, probably buy some silly sports car or something (2008 Dodge Challenger would be nice), get something shiny for my Wife, take a vacation… Seriously, that amount of money is so beyond imagination for me, it’s hard for me to feel really bad for Asante Samuel’s situation. I hope it works out in the end because I think The Pats are a stronger team with him on it and the chances of my getting some new Superbowl t-shirts goes up a little more. Yes, I guess in that respect I know how Asante feels. In the end it really is all about me isn’t it?