SbB has been following the will-he-or-won’t-he saga of Kings forward Ron Artest and his decision on whether or not to exercise his opt-out clause, noting that he won’t take a cut in pay just to get a title. Now, the interest for his services has ratcheted up enough to where the SACRAMENTO BEE’S Sam Amick is expecting him to test the waters.
Amick got Artest to respond to a Peter Vecsey column in the NEW YORK POST, with Vecsey claiming Artest would exercise that option.
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Ah, the broadsides that inevitably come with labor negotiations. Per the AP, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is planning to take a crack at reducing the rookie contracts many think are ridiculous — considering they are much more than what veterans will earn. The commissioner called deals such as the ones Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan and Miami Dolphins O-lineman Jake Long signed “ridiculous.”
It will be particularly difficult for Lord Rog to be able to extract a change in the rookie salary scale out of NFLPA head Gene Upshaw because the union can and will demand some serious concessions in any change to the draftees’ first contracts.
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