Lavonte David Digging In?
July 24th, 2015
Money talks, and it seems Lavonte David doesn’t like what he’s hearing.
NFL Network was reporting last night and this morning that David and the Bucs are far apart when it comes to settling on a contract extension.
(Translation: David’s agent made a phone call because he doesn’t want the Bucs to get comfortable in negotiations.)
David, a 2012 second-round pick, is in the final year of his small rookie contract. And as Joe explained eight days ago, David likely is seeking about $30 million guaranteed, as part of a long-term contract.
All this is probably typical back and forth before a deal gets done either right before training camp starts, or in the final hours prior to opening day in September.
But Joe can’t help but wonder how much the toll of losing — the Bucs have just 13 wins in David’s three seasons — and being ignored for the Pro Bowl has David wondering how green the grass might be with a winning franchise.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:05 am
When you consider the huge money ownership PISSED DOWN THE DRAIN on bad-knee Darrelle Revis, they should reward this kid for being the best player on a LOUSY team……
July 24th, 2015 at 10:09 am
I will be absolutley pissed if they do not keep him…
There is zero reason why every hood player should not be paid on this team. The cap room is there and we have at least what….4 years until winston hopefully demands a big extension. They better pay him
July 24th, 2015 at 10:10 am
I don’t even want to think of the team without #54…we got SOOO !@#$ing lucky, 4 years removed from Brooks, we draft David. Thats the football Gods taking pity on ur team by sending the second coming of ur best linebacker ever, DON”Y F!CK THIS UP JASON LICHT!! Don’t really care if Lovie wants him to blitz or not, he can do it and probably be one of the best in the game at it if he were aloowed to. He’s proven he can get sacks, so regardless of whether you want him to do it or not, he can, and thats what he wants his salary to reflect. And if the Bucs don’t give him $$ to reflect that, SEVERAL SOMEBODY elses’ will be lined up waiting to.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:14 am
Bucs have control of David’s services through the 2017 season. David’s not going anywhere soon.
The Bucs want him badly. They just aren’t going to be shaken down by an agent.
David wants to be paid like Justin Houston, who is an outside linebacker in a 34 defense. Two totally different postions: David and Houston.
Strictly speculation here: When Joe spoke with David at the Super Bowl in February, David is clearly, obviously frustrated that he is ignored when league honors are sent out. Again, Joe is just speculating here, trying to connect dots, but David might be fed up with the losing as if he was on a better team, he’d be recognized much more, which means paid more.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:16 am
The formula is already out there for free-agents and resigning players. Whatever the market value is and add 25% more for playing for the losing team of Tampa. That is the price tag to play for a non-playoff / non-competitive team.!!!!!
July 24th, 2015 at 10:18 am
This is ridiculous. He should have already gotten paid. Idiot bucs.
Crappy franchises do things like this.
The should just ask how much do you want and pay him.
Idiots.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:25 am
why would a player as good as LVD want to play for such an incompetent head coach who DOES NOT KNOW how to use him. Lovie smith and his passive defense costs LVD cash last year period.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:28 am
Is it just me or does this off-season seem like it’s lasting longer than usual? Hell they even moved the draft up and it still seems like forever for TC to get here.
It must be that whole “franchise QB” thingy we’re all wondering about…
July 24th, 2015 at 10:33 am
It takes two to make a deal. It is entirely possible, as Joe has speculated, that David’s agent is asking for the world, because David doesn’t want to stay here. If a player asks for way more than he could possibly get, he can leave, and still say, “We just couldn’t come to an agreement”.
*IF* they cannot come to a deal this year, expect Lovie/Licht to look real hard at premier LBs in the coming drafts.
BTW, IIRC, the franchise tag is available, so David isn’t leaving any time soon, unless the Bucs want him to leave.
David, and his agent, may have already decided to see how this season turns out, before making a long-term commitment. The outcome of this season could also have a big impact on the negotiations of other players. I didn’t see big name players jump at the chance to play for Lovie BEFORE he went 2-14, so this needs to be a WOW season in order to get sniffed by the upper tier free agents.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:36 am
@Buc1987
its you, This is the fun part!!!! its when the season starts that drags on and on!!! ( example : last year!!!)
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; The Realist adjusts the sails.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:37 am
Bucs realist- David is not a free agent. We pay him what he earned… Which is alot. Justin Houston really screwed things up. Before his deal I think David would have taken a 6 year, 75 million dollar deal with 20 mil in guarantees. Thats fair for his services. Now he probably has 100 million dollars stuck in his head. We should roll the dice and wait till next year. At that point we will have won a few games so we could play the incentives card. Also nobody in their right mind would pay a Linebacker as much as Houston is making for many years.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Realist fun time for me is TC…the hell with the season.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:51 am
No need to resign David we have Kwon Alexander who needs David? – Lovie Smith
July 24th, 2015 at 10:51 am
We should take a page from the Patriots book of seemingly endless championship contenders. They wait until market conditions are ripe to sign their players, often times playing out the final year of rookie contracts to make the most of their funds. They also will not resign players unless absolutely, positively necessary. This allows them to get looks at a larger number of players, resulting in those “diamonds in the rough” that they seem to always have. I think Licht is pushing us in that direction. If Leonard Johnson and Michael Koenen are gone by Sept, I will be a diehard Licht fan.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:52 am
That the Bucs have David for at least two more years puts a smile on my face. In time I expect that to be extended. 1987… time is flying by, today is only 13 hours from being history. the older you get the faster time speeds past.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:53 am
I just hope I’m not checking 2016 mock drafts by week 2 like I did last year
July 24th, 2015 at 10:53 am
@Buc1987
You might have a point,,,, that is usually when the Bucs peak in the season!!!!
July 24th, 2015 at 10:53 am
@joe
Heads up I just filed a law suit against you for pain and mental suffering. You should be getting served shortly. Between Barron, Revis and now this you’ve got me depressed. It’s ALL YOUR FAULT.
I’m kidding of course.
July 24th, 2015 at 10:59 am
Really stupid 30 mill guaranteed give it to him NFL made what 7.2 billion last year. Think I read that NFL cut checks to every team 250 mill. So much money.
July 24th, 2015 at 11:19 am
Show him the MONEY!!!!!!!
July 24th, 2015 at 11:55 am
This is all just posturing by David’s agent. Settle down.
LD #54 is not going anywhere. He will be here right alongside GMC and Winston leading the team to wins for many years to come.
I’ve already predicted that David’s new deal will be 6 years for $56M with $35M guaranteed and $14-$15M coming in the 1st year. Let’s see how close the final deal comes to that prediction.
July 24th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
“The should just ask how much do you want and pay him.”
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Now that’s a solid business move right there! SMDH
July 24th, 2015 at 12:16 pm
@87
You have a great deal longer to wait….remember, the season doesn’t start until November…..
July 24th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Who cares? They don’t have to resign him. They can franchise tag him 3 years in a row. That gives us 4 more years in a pinch. Franchise tag would be comparable to other 4-3 LBs, right?
If he wants to go elsewhere though, we can trade him for a couple first rounders (though I doubt Licht could pull a trade like that off).
We’re a losing team. In my book, the top defensive players on the team should all be trade bait for first rounders, including GMC and David.
If we got 2 years of first for each, we would have 6 first round picks over 2 years.
THAT WOULD COMPLETELY CHANGE THE FACE OF THE TEAM.
July 24th, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Can’t blame him if he wants to leave. Why waste your prime playing for a loser coach who doesn’t know how to use your talents?
July 24th, 2015 at 2:27 pm
The thing that these GM’S don’t understand is that guys like LVD,Russell Wilson,Richard Sherman outperformed their rookie salary by a huge,huge,huge margin. And they want to be compensated for their performance on the field. And I don’t blame them the Bucs will pay him, but right now they are just feeling each other out.
July 24th, 2015 at 2:40 pm
Mother of God. Relax people. LVD’s deal will get done, and it will be a good one.
July 24th, 2015 at 2:58 pm
I’m an old dude who has lived all over the eastern part of this great country.
Tampa/St. Pete is tops!!! We live in paradise guys. And for multimillionaires like NFL players there is NO income tax.
Short of an aging star picking a genuine Super Bowl Contender…about a half dozen teams at most…there is NO reason a player wouldn’t want to play in Tampa if money is not the issue. I get the money part but all this crap about not playing for a loser yadda yadda is just absurd. Darrelle Revis is the most mercenary, self centered in terms of his career, players around and he played a year here. He had a chance to go to an SB team and he took it. If we had come up with 16 million though he’d probably still be here.
So name the teams you’d rather play for than the Bucs.
Seattle…Green Bay…worst climate in the league and unless you love nature NOTHING to do in Green Bay. My summer home is north of Green Bay but I LOVE nature and I don’t stay here past early October.
New England? Dallas? Gawd then you’d have to live in Texas something I was forced to do (Army) for about six months…awful…Denver? San Diego at least competes for climate but their franchise may end up on LA.
I’ve lived around Charlotte and Atlanta…no thanks!!! Jacksonville smells!
New Orleans is not my cup of tea. I grew up in Cincinnati but I still wouldn’t want to play for the Bengals…Cleveland…the mistake by the lake…
Seriously I get tired of all this nobody wants to play for the Bucs. If the money is equal there are only a half dozen teams more appealing.
July 24th, 2015 at 3:35 pm
StPeteBucsFan said:
And for multimillionaires like NFL players there is NO income tax.
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Well, yeah, That’s good for the eight home games. But as a player, you still have to pay the state and local taxes wherever you earned your game check. And, you could be subject to an additional “jock tax.”
If you play a game in London, for example, you pay 45 percent tax on your game check, minus the maximum allowable foreign tax credit.
July 24th, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Theirs a common theme on this site,loser minded a$$ so called fans. No worries though,the WINSton era has officially begun. I can sense what some of you true issue with this team is and so you know love it.
July 24th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Senor Mofo
Thanks for that info, I was unaware they paid taxes based on the location where they earn their money.
Seems unfair for NFL players. E.G. A salesperson who travels the nation and earns 200,000 can claim all of that here in the state of Florida if he lives here.
But even if it’s only for 8 games…for many players that could shield more than a million from tax.
So I take your point. Not perhap as good as it could be but if you get a chance to shelter a million or so of your salary not a bad deal.
July 24th, 2015 at 4:20 pm
@StPeteBucsFan said:
but if you get a chance to shelter a million or so of your salary not a bad deal.
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Agreed.
On the other hand, I don’t know what you do for a living or how much money you’ve made in your life. But if you’ve ever made more than a million dollars in a single year, taxes are merely an inconvenience, not a burden.
We’re talking about athletes with huge contracts, many of whom will spend more money on cars and jewelry than most people will earn in their whole life.
Somehow, I don’t think their tax liability is the most pressing issue for them.
July 24th, 2015 at 6:28 pm
Senor Mofo
I spent 25 years in broadcasting and the last 20 as business manager in my wife’s dental office. Not wealthy by any stretch but finally able to retire comfortably.
I have been around many very wealthy people. Trust me. Taxes are not an inconvenience. The very wealthy like our Governor pay very little in taxes because they know how to game the system and they’ve paid the politcians to write tax rules that favor them.
A British wit once said only two groups of people think about nothing but money. The very wealthy and the very poor. The poor obviously because they’re just struggling to get by and the very wealthy because they are terrified of losing their wealth.
Certainly take your point about players not being too smart with money. Depends on their agent I guess and how much they listen. Sadly too many…can we all say Warren Sapp…do not pay attention to the people smarter than them when it comes to managing their money.
July 24th, 2015 at 8:00 pm
How do you know NFL players paid taxes based on the location where they earn their money? You are saying that when the play in another state the players pay state income tax in the state they are playing in? I don’t know about you but where I come from you pay tax’s based on your residence. Period.
July 24th, 2015 at 8:13 pm
Senor Mofo – See, You are correct. NFL players do pay tax’s based on the city they play in. Muchos Gracias Senor