The hot topic since last night has been the rumor that Ndamukong Suh wants to get paid more than Sam Bradford did and that that is the cause of Suh's holdout. The rumor first came onto the scene when Tom Kowalski wrote about it, and since then it has taken on a mind of its own, with people suddenly calling Suh a "diva" and others saying some nasty things about his agents.
While it's certainly possible at one time that Suh and his agents wanted a deal worth No. 1 money, Eugene Parker admitted to ESPN's Chris Mortensen that when a contract is finally agreed to, it will not include more money than what Bradford got.
Eugene Parker told me now that market is set with Bradford's deal, he concedes Suh's deal will come in less. Hoping to get it done soon.
The question becomes is Parker only now conceding that Suh's deal will get less money than Bradford's? Based on an earlier tweet from Mortensen, it does appear that Parker and Roosevelt Barnes asked for more money than the $50 million guaranteed Bradford got.
Word is that Suh's reps asked for more than Bradford.... $90 mill x 6 yrs.... $56 mill guaranteed... sure that's not going to be the deal.
On the one hand, as an agent it would be stupid not to ask for as much money as possible, no matter how ridiculous. You never know if a team out there is going to be stupid enough to say, "Sure, that sounds great!" That is just part of the negotiating process. Start high and work your way down to a happy medium that both sides can agree on.
The one thing I'm not sure about, however, is if Suh's agents quickly moved on to negotiating a new figure or if they wouldn't budge from that original high number that would pass by Bradford's deal. If that was the case, then you can understand why it's Sunday afternoon and Suh is still without a deal. There's no way the Lions would pay Suh more than what Bradford got, and it's definitely possible that Parker and Barnes only now are realizing the need to move forward with a lesser number.
The last thing I will say about the Suh situation for now is that everybody just needs to relax. With negotiations like this, it's tough to tell what is really going on behind the scenes and if what we're hearing is true or mere rumor. I think everybody is overreacting a bit considering this is only day two of the holdout. If negotiations go south and it looks like he will miss more than a few days, then I will start to worry. For now, though, I vote for everybody just taking a deep breath.