Ekeler: Negotiated Incentives for 2023 Contract Year

[richpjr]

Ok so it means nothing. He has a ways to go to earn that..

I would say he has the potential to be the best back we have had since LT, but LT was all time, all world.

[Bolt4Knob]

Charger fan since I was 7 years old, 1961 when they moved to SD. What does Weddle have to do with Ekeler? Aren't they
different persons? Besides TT was not exactly a Saint in the way the Weddle situation was handled. Were you here when
we let Jackson walk? The very next season he had the best ever in his career, with another team. How about Seau? LT?
Did you like the way the Chargers FO handled those situations? Did you forget what AJ Smith was like?

Weddle was kind of a pain to deal with after he didn't get his contract extension. And by all accounts, up to that point - he was a good dude

Nobody knows how Ekeler will react. If he doesn';t get new money, he might not show for OTAs and training camp. Show up on Labor Day. that didn't work out for melvin Gordon

Seau and LT - I understand how the business of the NFL works. It gets messy sometimes. And Ekeler is not even close to the caliber of player Seau or LT were

Ekeler or his agent - messed up. The market was not what they thought it was.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Sound like Bengals are going to release Joe Mixon. another RB soon to be on the market.

Reason being they dont want to pay a RB 12.8 million ths year.

Burrow, Chase, Orlando Brown...those are the critical pieces to an offence you pay the bucks for

[charger1_sj]

Ok so it means nothing. He has a ways to go to earn that..

Except that somebody did say it. You asked I answered. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one.

[sonorajim]

He hasn't held out.

Yet. It's definitely implied. The way I understand his position :
1. Pay me what I demand.
2. Trade me
3. Don't play football in '23
4.Play for LAC under terms previously agreed upon.
I don't see option 4 happening. Ek is a multi-millionaire businessman who doesn't NEED the money.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Just the facts.

1. There is no credible information that Ekeler is asking for North of $12/yr. Barnham stated we don't know what he wants. So stop the $12M
nonsense until we hear it from a credible source. So far there is no source claiming that.

2. Ekeler has NOT stated that he's going to hold out alla MG. He asked permission to shop around for a better deal than what the Chargers
put forth. The Chargers granted his wish. That's where it stands. So stop the hate until there is reason to hate him. Nothing wrong with
seeking a better deal. The NFL is a business, they have no problem cutting guys loose that don't produce or don't like.

3. He didn't say support me not the logo. He said please support me and NOT JUST the logo. That's a pretty massive difference. See it
turns out you can support a player AND the logo. Or you can hate a player but love the logo. That's your choice.

Opinion: It is Free Agency and Pre Draft time. Nobody is going to dish out a big contract and give up draft picks at this time unless the
team is desperate (Hello NY Jets). Note that a former MVP QB is testing the market and there are no takers. If Ekeler receives an
offer from another team it will be after the draft and quite possibly sometime before the season starts. So relax, sit back and enjoy
the draft. Nothing is going to happen for a long time.

I get your points and it is easy to say that until we have concrete evidence Ekler is asking in the 12 million range it is all speculation, but at the same time do you honestly think his agent is not comparing his numbers to CMC and insisting Ekler deserves similar numbers ???

Again if the numbers were not way far apart he would not have been given permission to explore a trade.I am sure the Chargers appreciate Austin and would give him a reasonable increase to keep him happy. This is clearly an ask beyond their comfort level.

I think we can all do the math and figure out this ask does not start with a single digit.

[Bolt4Knob]

Sound like Bengals are going to release Joe Mixon. another RB soon to be on the market.

Reason being they dont want to pay a RB 12.8 million ths year.

Burrow, Chase, Orlando Brown...those are the critical pieces to an offence you pay the bucks for

Perfect trading partner

[CanadianBoltFan]

Perfect trading partner

Very much depending on the salary Ekler wants to be resigned for

[charger1_sj]

I get your points and it is easy to say that until we have concrete evidence Ekler is asking in the 12 million range it is all speculation, but at the same time do you honestly think his agent is not comparing his numbers to CMC and insisting Ekler deserves similar numbers ???

Again if the numbers were not way far apart he would not have been given permission to explore a trade.I am sure the Chargers appreciate Austin and would give him a reasonable increase to keep him happy. This is clearly an ask beyond their comfort level.

I think we can all do the math and figure out this ask does not start with a single digit.

Do we have info that the Chargers offered him an extension or a raise? The way I see it, it's a two prong issue. Time and money.
He may want a 4 year extension, maybe the Chargers offered 2 or 3. Maybe he wanted more guaranteed money than the Chargers
are willing to put up. No matter it was a mutual disagreement and both sides are behaving respectfully so far. I see no reason to
diss the Chargers or Ekeler at this time.

His agent is probably reaching for the stars, that's his job. But he gets paid only when a contract is signed. So there is some balance there.
Asking north of $12M doesn't seem much of a balance when the Ftag is going for $10M. So don't believe everything you read. Back in
the day the NY Times said that Hitler was a nice guy. Of course that was before disaster hit home.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Just the facts.

1. There is no credible information that Ekeler is asking for North of $12/yr. Barnham stated we don't know what he wants. So stop the $12M
nonsense until we hear it from a credible source. So far there is no source claiming that.

2. Ekeler has NOT stated that he's going to hold out alla MG. He asked permission to shop around for a better deal than what the Chargers
put forth. The Chargers granted his wish. That's where it stands. So stop the hate until there is reason to hate him. Nothing wrong with
seeking a better deal. The NFL is a business, they have no problem cutting guys loose that don't produce or don't like.

3. He didn't say support me not the logo. He said please support me and NOT JUST the logo. That's a pretty massive difference. See it
turns out you can support a player AND the logo. Or you can hate a player but love the logo. That's your choice.

Opinion: It is Free Agency and Pre Draft time. Nobody is going to dish out a big contract and give up draft picks at this time unless the
team is desperate (Hello NY Jets). Note that a former MVP QB is testing the market and there are no takers. If Ekeler receives an
offer from another team it will be after the draft and quite possibly sometime before the season starts. So relax, sit back and enjoy
the draft. Nothing is going to happen for a long time.

You are in denial Ekler is not asking for 12 million range

From Popper this morning

The running back market, though, leaned in the direction of teams Wednesday. Miles Sanders is coming off a career season in which he rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns behind one of the best offensive lines in football. Sanders signed with the Panthers for $6.25 million in average annual value, according to multiple reports. Jamaal Williams is coming off a 1,000-yard, 17-touchdown season. He signed with the Saints for $4 million in AAV.

If Ekeler wants to reach that next tier of running back contract, he would be looking for something in the $11-12 million range in AAV. Aaron Jones is at $11.5 million. Joe Mixon is at $12 million. Nick Chubb is at $12.2 million, Derrick Henry at $12.5 million and Dalvin Cook at $12.6 million. A step above that was Ezekiel Elliott at $15 million, but he was released by the Cowboys. Alvin Kamara is also at $15 million, and then Christian McCaffrey sets the market at $16.015 million.

With the way the running back market is unfolding this offseason, it is hard to see Ekeler getting to that $11-12 million number. He is a better player than Williams and Sanders. But is he twice as good as Sanders and three times as good as Williams? That is where we are at.

[charger1_sj]

Perfect trading partner

Nobody is giving up draft picks before the draft and FA is over, unless they are desperate. So you're not going
to see anything happen until sometime after the dust of FA and the draft is over. May extend into just before the
season starts, because you know injuries and other shit happens.

[Bolt4Knob]

Very much depending on the salary Ekler wants to be resigned for

If the Bengals release Mixon, they have already lost Perine. Ekeler would make a bit of sense

As for the idea you would trade with Bengals and possibly help them - Chargers can only concern themselves with how they can improve with the money and draft pick(s)