Ekeler: Negotiated Incentives for 2023 Contract Year

[richpjr]

Ekeler's agent, after signing the contract he is currntly under, is advising Austin this way.

Do not insult our intelligence. The Chargers must always manage the cap with the big picture in mind.

No agency is this stupid ...not Dynamic Sports Group...not anyone. The timing is an effort to compel the Chargers to do something. The market screams the truth.

The Chargers should waive Ekeler and sign KVN, Callahan IMV.

Actually, we don't know what his agent is advising him or if testing the market was his idea. Listening to him speak I can certainly believe it could have come from him.

Cutting him at this point would just guarantee we have to spend a high draft pick to replace him - not sure what that accomplishes.

[Bolt4Knob]

The front office is not going to be happy watching that interview, this sort of thing leads to bad blood IMO, sounds like he’s digging in his heels despite seeing what’s out there and he’s unwilling to accept it, that was very hard to see…I think the chargers let him test the market out of respect and to not hold him hostage, AND so that he would realize what’s going on out there,….but if he’s unwilling to accept that reality then I fear his time as a charger is over…

First he is no underpaid. Miles Sanders signed a contract with an AAV of 6.25 - that is Ekelers salary this year 6.25m. I get Ekeler is probably better than Sanders but I also understand the two offenses and how Ekelers stats were over-inflated

Second the Chargers put a lot of money into this year - they cannot have this hanging over the team - I would say - take whatever you can get PLUS the cap space and move on

[dmac_bolt]

I never said Kelly was a replacement to Ekeler he was an acknowledgement that he is incomplete and we need a bigger back to compliment Ekeler, which isn’t a secret even Ekeler has admitted it.

it is funny how you admit the had to draft a 3rd round back to help Ekeler then talk about him being multidimensional, lol. Ekeler is what he is an over hyped 3rd down back not big enough to take the beating of running between the tackles. No amount of spinning can convince me that the guy who was the chargers number one back for two years but couldn’t break 1k rushing yards in a season is multidimensional.

Oh and can you stop pretending that Ekeler is even close to CMC in skill. CMC has 3 seasons of over 1k rushing and one of those seasons he had 1300r and 1000k receiving yards. The guy can run between the tackles better than Ekeler and is a bigger recieving threat than Ekeler. He’s admittedly glass but that’s not the argument his actual skill set is better than Ekelers.

lol, Ekeler doesn’t deserve more money than he is getting paid. He’s probably overpaid frankly and no one wants to pay him more which is obvious from the complete lack of bites in the market. You’re worth what the market sets for you and currently the market doesn’t think he’s worth more than what he’s making at the least.

As for distractions, it’s the off-season now of course we’re going to talk about it. The padres haven’t started so I’m bored and this is interesting. If he is disgruntled then it’s an issue, and it’s not crazy to think that could be the case with his social media blunders along the way. It could be nothing and just him looking to maximize value and do the smart business move and that’s great but without knowing it begs questions and concerns. I also haven’t mentioned holdout so please don’t project other people’s concerns on me, I don’t think he’s going to hold out he has zero leverage.

Lasty, about throwing punches. I don’t understand why a public figure that makes his money through a highly public venture funded by fans is somehow not supposed to take some flack when they do something that is a tad bit controversial like requesting a trade. He makes his money from being public when he shows his ass a bit and it gets called out that also part of being a multimillionaire sports figure. No apologies from me for that ever.

I’d only correct your post to say that he has more than proven he can take the beating between the tackle, he just can’t consistently gain the tough short yard on his own when the box is stacked - he is just not big enough/ strong enough to move a 300 lb DL for one yard.

Bijan can do that and do everything else Eke does too. People scoff but I’m tellin y’all - the next LT

[Velo]

Bijan can do that and do everything else Eke does too. People scoff but I’m tellin y’all - the next LT

Seriously? Bijan has never played a down in the NFL. Ekeler has led the lead in scoring two years running.

[La Costa Boy]

So I watched a vid interview with Austin and Chris Long this morning. Ekeler basically says that he is underpaid by half. I imagine he is looking at McCaffery's money and wants to be rewarded as such. In the vid he speaks of the "RB market" and how skewed it is to the cheap. While I was employed I wish I could have been paid double my salary.....did I feel I earned that? Sure I could have convinced myself of that but was it realistic to the market and my skill set? Probably not even with what I felt was my value. There are folks with my skill set that were as affordable at all times. So I never pushed that envelope because I might get a harsh reality check.

Welcome to the harsh reality Austin.

[Bolt4Knob]

So I watched a vid interview with Austin and Chris Long this morning. Ekeler basically says that he is underpaid by half. I imagine he is looking at McCaffery's money and wants to be rewarded as such. In the vid he speaks of the "RB market" and how skewed it is to the cheap. While I was employed I wish I could have been paid double my salary.....did I feel I earned that? Sure I could have convinced myself of that but was it realistic to the market and my skill set? Probably not even with what I felt was my value. There are folks with my skill set that were as affordable at all times. So I never pushed that envelope because I might get a harsh reality check.

Welcome to the harsh reality Austin.

If I am the Chargers - the best I have for him is a slight bump in salary from 6.25 to 7.5m plus incentives. No extension. The Chargers cannot push any more cap I don't think.

But even with that - would he be happy

When I first read the news a week - my response is the same - move on from him and take hte cap space. The guy wants his numbers - and thats fine. Chargers need to be about winning. And I get he has probably outplayed his salary the last two years. But his contract should be about 2023 - 2025 and not 2020-2022. It sucks - he probably deserves a couple million bucks. But not double

I think the final solution will be a trade and the return will not be as much as people think

[Fouts2herbert]

First he is no underpaid. Miles Sanders signed a contract with an AAV of 6.25 - that is Ekelers salary this year 6.25m. I get Ekeler is probably better than Sanders but I also understand the two offenses and how Ekelers stats were over-inflated

Second the Chargers put a lot of money into this year - they cannot have this hanging over the team - I would say - take whatever you can get PLUS the cap space and move on

As much as Love ekeler being on the team, I’m afraid I have to agree with you, not about his stats being infllated, that’s bullshit, he worked his ass to carry the offense during hard times when important guys were out, so he deserves credit for stepping up…but I also don’t see the chargers going thru all this trouble just to have drama in the locker room, that said if he’s shipped off for basically nothing for the cap space as you say, THAT is also going to hang over the locker room for the entire season because he’s popular and a team leader…it’s a fucked up situation and the chargers need to be cautious here….

[Bolt4Knob]

As much as Love ekeler being on the team, I’m afraid I have to agree with you, not about his stats being infllated, that’s bullshit, he worked his ass to carry the offense during hard times when important guys were out, so he deserves credit for stepping up…but I also don’t see the chargers going thru all this trouble just to have drama in the locker room, that said if he’s shipped off for basically nothing for the cap space as you say, THAT is also going to hang over the locker room for the entire season because he’s popular and a team leader…it’s a fucked up situation and the chargers need to be cautious here….

The key thing with the cap space - is they would have to spend it. I hate to bring up a RB that "likes to eat and cook" - but he would be the type of replacement that might win over the locker room. Plus signing a safety Jx3. but if they trade him and keep the cap space - you are right

As far as Ek - again, would he take a bump in salary of 1.5m plus some incentives and be happy. Just not sure

[Rambler]

The only reason to cut Ekeler now is to free up his money to sign some lower-cost free agents, like KVN or Callahan. But the Chargers could do that by restructuring another contract or two. Also, if you cut Ekeler now, you telegraph to the rest of the league that you will be drafting a running back high. That just invites another team to trade up ahead of you to grab the running back they like and they think you like. Or, you feel compelled to trade up to get that guy that likely would have fallen to you anyway (i.e., Melvin Gordon). Even if the Chargers are "done" with Ekeler (and I don't think they are), they should wait until after the draft to cut him--or maybe trade him, if a team hoping to draft a running back high lost out and now decides they want him, or there's a training camp injury.

That said, I wouldn't cut him, unless the running backs (plural) they really like in this draft fall to their picks. And even then, maybe not, since rookie running backs often take some time to learn how to sufficiently pass-block so they don't get your franchise QB killed back there.

Ekeler has one year left on his contract. He has some incentive to report on time and play hard for us so that some team signs him as a free agent next year for decent money. He's trying to create leverage where there is none, but I think he's smart enough to realize what is in his best interest to do when the last card has been played. We are getting close to that time.

[electricgold]

The only reason to cut Ekeler now is to free up his money to sign some lower-cost free agents, like KVN or Callahan. But the Chargers could do that by restructuring another contract or two. Also, if you cut Ekeler now, you telegraph to the rest of the league that you will be drafting a running back high. That just invites another team to trade up ahead of you to grab the running back they like and they think you like. Or, you feel compelled to trade up to get that guy that likely would have fallen to you anyway (i.e., Melvin Gordon). Even if the Chargers are "done" with Ekeler (and I don't think they are), they should wait until after the draft to cut him--or maybe trade him, if a team hoping to draft a running back high lost out and now decides they want him, or there's a training camp injury.

That said, I wouldn't cut him, unless the running backs (plural) they really like in this draft fall to their picks. And even then, maybe not, since rookie running backs often take some time to learn how to sufficiently pass-block so they don't get your franchise QB killed back there.

Ekeler has one year left on his contract. He has some incentive to report on time and play hard for us so that some team signs him as a free agent next year for decent money. He's trying to create leverage where there is none, but I think he's smart enough to realize what is in his best interest to do when the last card has been played. We are getting close to that time.

Ekeler is setting himself up for a fall. First off he is saying he is going to score 20 TD's and get his 1600 yards. Truth he went from 20 to 18 TDS this year with a OC that ran an offense tailor made to his game. He acts like 20 TD's and 1600 yards is a given. I'm not so sure. Secondly he says he only wants to play for the Chargers for the right price. If he comes in and isn't getting the 20 TD 1600 production he is proclaiming I could see him missing games down the stretch with hamstrings or sore back etc. focusing on his next contract. I just think the best thing to do would be to draft a young talented RB and let him go. If things don't go his way I could see him reacting in a way that doesn't help the Chargers win games. Flashing his supplement trained body on social media as a cry to get paid was pretty bad.

[Boltjolt]

I’d only correct your post to say that he has more than proven he can take the beating between the tackle, he just can’t consistently gain the tough short yard on his own when the box is stacked - he is just not big enough/ strong enough to move a 300 lb DL for one yard.

Bijan can do that and do everything else Eke does too. People scoff but I’m tellin y’all - the next LT

So you are the one lol.

Imo calling him the next LT is premature. I really like him but I'm not going to go that far.

You know LT had questions about his hands coming out as he didn't have a lot of receptions so LT wasn't LT,......til he was.amd showed he can catch the ball and be great.

[Critty]

Ekeler recent comments where he thinks he is only getting half of what he is worth. So the 12mil number many were thinking he wanted was a solid guess. He sees himself as a top 5 RB and wants his money.

Ekeler did say he would play his final year and then be a free agent if he couldn't find a deal he liked. This seem like the most likely outcome. Why would a team give up draft picks when they can just sign him next year as free agent. I don't think any team sees him as the missing piece to a Superbowl which is worth trading for, so I don't think he is going find the deal he wants this year.
Better luck next year.