Mandatory mini camp took place last weekend for the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts but some star players weren’t in attendance. WR Reggie Wayne, DE Robert Mathis and DB Antoine Bethea continue to hold out due to contract disputes with the team.
As always, each player believes he is worth more than his contract is paying him. In the NFL, players can get cut at anytime unlike the NBA for example. Careers can be cut short thus players must get all the money when they can.
Reggie Wayne, 31, has two years left under a front heavy contract. Most contracts are that way because contracts are not guaranteed. Wayne will make about $5.6 million the next two years while other top WR’s are making $9 million.
Bethea’s situation is a little different heading into his 5th season. The Colts placed the first-round tender on Bethea indicating that the safety won’t be going anywhere. The tender gives him a one-year offer of $2.521 million. Another team has the opportunity to sign Bethea however it is unlikely that another team would be willing to do so because they would have to give up a first-round pick to get him, should the Colts not match their offer.
The Colts have to hope this situation doesn’t get nasty. They hope to negotiate with these players and ensure they report to training camp on August 1st in Anderson. These three players however are veterans and have been through camp multiple times. They are all working out and remaining in shape.
Last night Coach Jim Caldwell and his wife Cheryl hosted the 6th Annual Colts Celebrity Showdown. While speaking to VIP’s in the locker room, Coach says he hopes the guys arrive soon.
“Well I think they will be ready to go without any question. But we also believe that you get better here. The more guys we can have around that’s been kind of our custom here. The more we have around, the better we can get and the more continuity we can gain from it.”
Meanwhile Colts President Bill Polian says that Tom Brady’s contract situation will have no bearing on his desire to get a new deal done with 4-time MVP Peyton Manning. Polian told Sirius NFL Radio that the Colts are focused on doing a deal with Peyton and that he’s not keeping an eye on Brady’s negotiations with the Patriots at all.
Owner Jim Irsay along with Polian said in Miami before the Superbowl how important it was to lock up Manning before the 2010-2011 season. The Colts hope to lock up for the remainder of his career. Start a Colt and finish as a Colt. He has given so much to the Circle City and even more to the community.