‘Money means nothing’
Contrary to rumours, tackle ditches a big bucks deal from Miami Dolphins
Tackle Khalif Mitchell turns down NFL offer to re-sign with the B.C. Lions, while defensive back Tad Kornegay gets his wish and is released
The inclination on the part of Wally Buono when it came to Khalif Mitchell was similar to most people who tend to believe what they hear or read, especially when they were on vacation.
If a Miami Dolphins fan website said he had signed with the NFL club, as was the case over a week ago, the general manager of the B.C. Lions wasn’t about to argue.
But when the freethinking tackle looked in the mirror and told himself he hadn’t really finished with the CFL, Buono also wasn’t to start a debate when Mitchell came looking for an offer last week.
And so for a two-year Lions contract that won’t likely be worth a great deal more than the $95,000 US in signing bonuses he turned down from the Dolphins, Mitchell provided ample proof he is indeed one of a kind.
Buono and personnel coordinator Neil Mcevoy ended four days of talks with a deal that could have unexpected consequences on other parts of the roster and start one of the more active months of the winter for the Lions.
Owing to an agreement made when he signed as a free agent early last season, the Lions Monday also released defensive back Tad Kornegay, who asked to be released Jan. 15, if a contract extension had not been reached.
Mitchell’s deal was the more unexpected development. At least it was to Buono, who was on vacation last week buying the reports linking him to Miami but also realizing he had a player the past two years who did things his own way.
“I’m somewhat taken aback by the fact he was able to rationalize what’s best for him without someone telling him,” Buono said.
Mitchell, who e-mailed The Province twice to state no deal had been done, emphatically backed up his disdain for the NFL upon joining the Lions two seasons ago. The NFL can keep its money, the 26-year-old said, until he’s good and ready to give it another try.
“I didn’t sign in the NFL because I actually had the power to say I don’t want to come right now,” Mitchell explained from his home in Virginia Beach, Va. “If you’re looking at life through your bank accounts you’ll never find peace.
“I was all ready to sign, but then I had all these feelings and emotions. I really didn’t feel right. The NFL was selling me purely on their brand. ‘You’re going to like it because everyone else likes it.’ I told [Miami] your money doesn’t mean anything to me.”
The remark Mitchell said he delivered to Miami general manager Jeff Ireland would have sent most player agents into a supreme spin cycle, only the tackle ended his NFL investigation without representation, which factored as to why he was able to cut a quick deal with the Lions.
Now it remains to be seen where the Lions intend to spend the remainder of their free agent dollars. Veteran teammate Aaron Hunt, who also negotiates on his own behalf, has not yet begun talks on a new deal and may not have one by the time it expires Feb. 15 and he becomes one of eight players eligible for free agency.
Kornegay jumped the free agency queue by having his agent, Tim Fleiszer, do a deal which gives him an early negotiation window.
“[Fleiszer] was concerned about the value we signed him at,” Buono said of Kornegay. “If he’s undervalued he’ll soon be somewhere else.”
“It’s a tricky situation,” Kornegay said. “But I want [to stay].”
Nonetheless, the release gives new defensive coordinator Rich Stubler a chance to insert at least one free agent defensive back familiar with his system, possibly more, and though veterans Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips have indicated they’d like to return, no deal for either is in place.
Then again, up until last week Mitchell was on his way out, too. But with a little negotiating advice from teammate Korey Banks, who’ll be around to see Buono about an extension of his own, Mitchell took less than what he would have made in the NFL but got more value from peace of mind instead.
“[Banks] told me to be realistic,” Mitchell said. “Don’t ask for a million. Do your homework.”
If only the Dolphins website had done the same thing.