Brady’s reworked deal good for New England
Miami to induct Harbaugh Best of the Rest
NEW ENGLAND, Feb 27, (RTRS): So Tom Brady got a contract extension. Big deal. Well, yeah — for the three-time Super Bowl winner and for the Patriots. There’s nothing unusual about one of the game’s best quarterbacks and leaders being coveted by his team. Or being rewarded.
What’s rare is how well the three-year extension works for both Brady and for New England. First, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, despite some perceptions, did not really take a pay cut with this new deal. It might have sounded that way with salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million the next year and $9 million in 2017, far below the going rate for superstar QBs.
Instead, Brady gets a $30 million signing bonus, payable over the next three years, and $57 million overall in a contract that will run through the 2017 season, when he will be 40 years old. Other than backups who are little more than insurance policies, how many quarterbacks even make it on to a roster at 40?
Essentially, he gets $33 million guaranteed for the next two seasons, and he’s surely worth it considering that Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and, most likely, Joe Flacco, will earn more in 2013 and ‘14. Add up each of their Super Bowl rings and it adds up to the number Brady owns.
The extension should have little effect on other quarterback deals, particularly Flacco. The Super Bowl MVP is 28, just entering his prime and in line for a huge contract no matter where he winds up. (Bet on Flacco staying in Baltimore).
Of course, Brady has shown no signs of slowing down — look at his stats for 2012, including 34 TD passes and eight interceptions, and a 12-4 record. He’s still at the peak of his skills, and he wants to be surrounded by players at a similar stage of their careers. Accuser is ‘bully’: A San Diego swim coach alleged to have multiple identities and a felony conviction has fired back, calling his accuser a “bully” with a checkered past.
James Pantera issued a statement Tuesday, one day after complaint was filed with USA Swimming by Mike Saltzstein, a former vice-president with the governing body.
The statement says Saltzstein is “attempting to smear the name of a well respected and liked swim coach and official” who has passed numerous background checks. It also points to a 1990s insider trading case involving Saltzstein. Saltzstein went to USA Swimming alleging Pantera has at least 11 identities and three dates of birth, and that he was sentenced to a year in federal prison for making false statements and fraudulently obtaining student loans. (AP)
Indian Wells
boosted: BNP Paribas has extended its title sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Open in the California desert through 2018. This year’s tournament, which combines the ATP and WTAtours, runs March 417 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The company began its five-year sponsorship of the Indian Wells tournament in 2009. It also sponsors the French Open, Davis Cup and Fed Cup, four ATP Masters 1000 events, and the year-end WTA Championships. (AP) Racing joins Formula E: Team China Racing has become the second team to sign up for next year’s environmentally friendly Formula E championship, which will feature zeroemission cars racing in 10 cities around the world.
China Racing was officially proposed to motor sport’s governing body on Thursday as one of the 10 teams taking part. British-based team Drayson Racing was the first team to sign up, while Rio de Janeiro and Rome are the first two cities to commit to hosting a race. The championship, scheduled to begin in May 2014, features racing cars powered exclusively by electricity. Races will be held in the streets of major cities over a distance of about 3 kms (1.85 miles), and cars will travel at a maximum speed of 220 kph (136.4 mph). (AP) Sutil gets nod: Force India has chosen Adrian Sutil as one of its main drivers for the new Formula One season over Jules Bianchi, the French rookie’s agent told AFP on Wednesday, signalling a return for the German after a 12-month absence.
Nicolas Todt, whose father Jean is the head of world motorsport’s governing body the FIA, confirmed the appointment but said he did not know whether British-based Force India would retain Bianchi as a reserve in 2013. (AFP)
In Oxford, Ohio, Ravens coach John Harbaugh will be inducted into the ‘’Cradle of Coaches’’ association at his alma mater Miami University next year.
Harbaugh’s team won the Super Bowl, beating his brother Jim’s San Francisco 49ers 34-31 for the Ravens’ second NFL title. He graduated from the southwest Ohio school in 1984.
A bronze, life-size statue of Harbaugh will be added to the Cradle of Coaches display on a plaza outside Yager Stadium early next year, joining the statues of Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler, Weeb Ewbank, Ara Parseghian, Earl ‘’Red’’ Blaik, Carm Cozza, Paul Dietzel, and John Pont.
The statues honor Miami graduates who have been named a coach of the year at the college or professional level, won a national college or NFL title, or been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame or the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In Indianapolis, Manti Te’o’s first appearance on a football field since the BCS championship game didn’t go as well as planned Monday.
The Notre Dame star and Heisman Trophy runner-up was clocked at 4.82 seconds in the 40-yard dash. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock had said Sunday anything faster than 4.7 would be “phenomenal.’’ Anything 4.8 or over would be a “concern.’’
The workout came more than a month after Te’o’s highly-publicized online romance with a girlfriend was exposed as a hoax and that he was a victim of the hoax.
Since then, he’s done a handful of 1on-1 interviews and took questions Saturday in one of the craziest scenes in NFL scouting combine history. Reporters crowded around the podium, lining up eight deep to hear Te’o talk one more time about what happened.
Some have wondered if the embarrassing story was a distraction leading into the national championship game, in which Te’o and his Notre Dame teammates played poorly in a blowout loss to Alabama.
The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed on a trade to acquire quarterback Alex Smith from the San Francisco 49ers, according to a report on the National Football League’s website on Wednesday.
In exchange for the 28-year-old Smith, the Chiefs will send a second-round draft pick in 2013 to San Francisco and possibly a 2014 draft pick, according to the report.