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03/07/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has reportedly suspended defensive tackle Jason Ferguson for the first eight games of the 2010 season for a violation of the league's performance enhancing drug program.
The Miami Herald reported the suspension on Sunday with confirmation from a league spokesman.
Ferguson, 35, played last year for Miami but recently became a free agent. He had 23 tackles for the Dolphins in 2009 before suffering a season-ending quad injury in the team's ninth game.
This is the second suspension in Ferguson's career, having testing positive for an anabolic steroid back in 1999.
In 159 career games, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound University of Georgia product has played for the Jets, Cowboys and Dolphins, compiling 498 tackles and 21 1/2 sacks.
<< Iginla's hat trick helps Flames beat Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla recorded his second hat trick of
the season, as the Calgary Flames handled the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in a battle
between Northwest Division foes at the XCel Energy Center.
Iginla also dished out a
<< Villegas earns five-shot win at Honda Classic
Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas captured his third
PGA Tour win on Sunday, leaving the rest of the field in the dust with a
closing two-under 68 at the Honda Classic.
The 28-year-old Colombian posted a 13-
<< Pens down Bruins, who lose Savard
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin scored early in the third
period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at
Mellon Arena.
Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who have won four straig
<< Bordeaux maintains edge over Montpellier
Bordeaux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Costa scored in stoppage time, but
Montpellier wasted a chance to take over the lead in France's Ligue 1, because
Bordeaux goalie Cedric Carrasso saved two penalties in a 1-1 tie Sunday at the
Stade J
Bruins' Savard leaves game on stretcher >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard left
Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Penguins on a stretcher after being drilled by
Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke.
Cooke, who is known for his physical nature, caught an un
Browns add LB Fujita, OL Pashos >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns added a pair of free
agents in linebacker Scott Fujita and offensive lineman Tony Pashos on Sunday,
signing both to multi-year contracts.
Fujita played last year for the Super Bow
Lavender leads Ohio State to Big Ten title >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jantel Lavender posted 35 points and 10
rebounds, leading 10th-ranked Ohio State to the Big Ten Tournament title with
a 66-64 win over Iowa.
Lavender went 14-of-25 from the field and was named the
Couples gets second Champions Tour win >>
Newport Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fred Couples captured his second
Champions Tour win Sunday at the Toshiba Classic, just three weeks after
breaking through for his first.
Three starts, two wins. It's been an explosive debut on the over-5
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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