Training camps open in roughly a month. And the team on which there will be significant focus this preseason, due to the whole Hard Knocks thing, will receive plenty of focus before practices begin.
But not because they’ll be on television.
The Bengals have a long history of first-round holdouts. Their first-round pick in 2009, tackle Andre Smith, has a recent history of erratic behavior.
And so many believe that the sixth overall pick in the draft is destined to miss part, and possibly all, of training camp.
A big part of the problem, as Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News points out, is that last year’s sixth overall pick, Jets linebacker Vernon Gholston, received a five-year deal with $21 million in guaranteed money. The deal also had a base value of $32.5 million and a maximum value of $50 million.
Another significant impediment is that the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, received a five-year deal with $28 million in guaranteed money. The base value reportedly is near $50 million (or so his agent claims) with a high-end potential of $60 million.
Smith’s agent, Alvin Keels, possibly will look to split the difference, with $24.5 million guaranteed and a base value in excess of $40 million.
And the Bengals likely will balk.
Heck, the Bengals might not want to even match the contract that the Jets paid to Gholston.
So, basically, anyone with HBO will be able to watch the network this year without fear of seeing images of a large shirtless man jiggling like the back end of a salad bar in an earthquake.
