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Matt Leinart (FOX CFB Analyst)

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http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0814CARDSONLINE.html#

Cards, Leinart agree on deal

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
<!--______START TEXT OF STORY________-->
Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart has agreed to a six-year contract that could earn him a maximum of $51 million, according to his agent, Tom Condon.

The deal has not yet been signed, but another of Leinart's agents, Chuck Price, said the goal was to have Leinart in camp at Flagstaff by tomorrow afternoon.

The contract contains $14 million in guaranteed money.

Leinart missed the first two weeks of training camp as his agents and the Cardinals reached a contract impasse. As of Sunday, the two sides reportedly were not making progress in negotiations.

The key as a change in the structure of the deal, said Condon, who declined to be more specific.

It likely involves "escalator" clauses that could increase Leinart's salary in the later years of the deal should he meet certain play time incentives.

It's believed those play-time incentives are not as great as those of Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, who was the 11th overall pick. And the salary escalation is greater.
 
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It'll be interesting to see if it is close to Green's last position: $14 Million

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green has lost his patience with rookie Matt Leinart and his contract holdout.
<!-- FOXBITE -->Green sharply criticized Leinart and his representatives on Monday for rejecting "a more than generous" offer from the team."It is an outstanding contract," Green said. "It's $14 million guaranteed."
Green said the deal is far more than a 10th pick would normally receive.
Leinart's agent, Tom Condon, did not return a telephone message seeking a response to Green's comments.
Leinart is the only first-round pick unsigned. The next-to-last holdout agreed to terms a week ago. That's the date, Green said, the Cardinals made their latest offer.
Leinart might have been the No. 1 pick in the draft a year ago but he decided to remain at USC for his senior season. This year, he unexpectedly fell to the Cardinals at the No. 10 spot.
Green said the sides were at odds over the total value of the contract, which the coach said was among the top five of this year's deals with draft picks.
The main issue reportedly is the size of escalation clauses that would give Leinart additional money the more he plays.
Green was upset with the perception that Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill was being cheap in the negotiations.
"I've been here two years," Green said. "All I know is when we set out a strategy, whether it be signing Bertrand Berry, or drafting Larry Fitzgerald, Bill Bidwill has helped us get that player."
He said the signing of running back Edgerrin James was the best example.
"Edgerrin James is as big as they come," Green said. "We had our powder dry and we got a guy who's been the most significant back in the National Football League over the last seven years."


Leinart's absence was magnified when backup John Navarre threw two interceptions in Saturday's preseason opener against Pittsburgh.
Kurt Warner understands Green's frustrations.
"Coach wants guys to help us win and Matt's one of those guys that's going to make our team better," Warner said. "That sometimes can get frustrating as players, as a coach, because so much of that is out of your control."
"Leinart has missed a crucial two weeks of training camp," Warner said.
"I think everybody knows that the more days you miss, the more games you miss, the farther and farther you fall behind and the harder it is to catch up," Warner said.
He said that the number of reps a backup quarterback gets diminishes the closer it gets to the regular season. Green said he looks forward to former Super Bowl MVPs Warner and Tom Brady, "who was not a No. 10 pick," playing for a quarter in Saturday's preseason game at New England.
"It would be a shame if Matt Leinart is still sitting out there as the only player in the National Football League who is not in the National Football League, and you've got an impressive deal on the table.
"That's just the kind of mood I'm in," Green said, before he walked away.
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Damn - too slow!! But it does look like it was Leinart who caved.
 
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Yahoo.com

8/15/06


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Leinart finally comes to terms with Cardinals</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER type="block" width="1" height="1"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
August 15, 2006
<TABLE style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2><TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
<SMALL>AP - Aug 14, 10:34 pm EDT</SMALL>
More Photos</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Even though Matt Leinart may have lost millions when he returned to Southern California for his senior season a year ago, he's still plenty rich now.
He also has some serious catching up to do with the Arizona Cardinals.
The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner ended a two-week holdout late Monday night and signed a six-year contract that guarantees him $14 million. It could also bring the rookie quarterback up to $51 million. He was the last of this year's first-round picks to sign. Announcement of the deal came hours after Cardinals coach Dennis Green sharply criticized Leinart and his representatives for turning down "a more than generous" offer.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Leinart was to join the Cardinals three days before the team ends its camp at Northern Arizona University and moves workouts to its practice facility in Tempe. Arizona plays at New England on Saturday.

The left-handed quarterback who directed USC to two national titles and a 37-2 record might have been the No. 1 pick in the draft last year. But he decided to remain with the Trojans for his senior season and unexpectedly fell to the Cardinals at the No. 10 spot in this year's draft, a tumble that cost him millions.
He was the first quarterback chosen in the opening round by the Cardinals in 19 years. That quarterback, Kelly Stouffer, never played for Arizona.
That wasn't going to happen this time, with the Cardinals riding a wave of fan support following the signing of free-agent running back Edgerrin James, the drafting of Leinart and the opening of their $455 million stadium.
Leinart was the second quarterback chosen in the draft, behind Vince Young of Texas, who went to Tennessee with the No. 3 pick overall. Quarterback Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt went to Denver at No. 11, one spot after Leinart.
Young signed a six-year contract worth up to $58 million, with $25.7 million guaranteed. Cutler signed a six-year deal worth as much as $48 million, with $11 million guaranteed.
Leinart's contract includes escalator clauses that boost his pay the more he plays.
He participated in all of the Cardinals' summer workouts so he's familiar with the offense. He'll still have to make up for crucial lost time if he expects to beat out John Navarre for the backup spot behind starter Kurt Warner.
"I think everybody knows that the more days you miss, the more games you miss, the farther and farther you fall behind and the harder it is to catch up," Warner said.
Green's criticism focused on what the coach said was far more than a 10th pick normally would receive. A grumpy Green was upset with the perception that Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill was being cheap.
"I've been here two years," Green said. "All I know is when we set out a strategy, whether it be signing Bertrand Berry or drafting Larry Fitzgerald, Bill Bidwill has helped us get that player."
He said the signing of James was the best example.
"Edgerrin James is as big as they come," Green said. "We had our powder dry and we got a guy who's been the most significant back in the National Football League over the last seven years."
Leinart's absence was magnified when Navarre threw two interceptions in Saturday's preseason opener against Pittsburgh.
Warner, speaking before the deal with Leinart was announced, said he understood Green's frustrations. "Coach wants guys to help us win and Matt's one of those guys that's going to make our team better," Warner said. "That sometimes can get frustrating as players, as a coach, because so much of that is out of your control."
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Link
Leinart, Cardinals reach agreement on six-year dealBy Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

And then there were none.

Quarterback Matt Leinart, the former Southern California star and the 10th overall selection in the 2006 draft, on Monday night signed a six-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, a contract that ESPN.com has learned includes a maximum value of $50.8 million.

Leinart becomes the last of the 255 prospects chosen this year to agree to terms, and the accord ends his two-week absence from training camp.
The basic six-year deal averages about $6.75 million per season and includes $14 million in guarantees. The value of the contract, negotiated by agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer of CAA, will increase if Leinart reaches predetermined playing time levels that will then trigger so-called escalators in the latter years of the deal.

In fact, it was a battle over escalators that stalled the progress in negotiations, even as late as Monday afternoon. Only a few hours before the agreement, both sides appeared solid in their respective stances, and it appeared the talks might break off. Clearly, there was plenty of high-stakes bargaining Monday evening.

In the end, Cardinals officials agreed to an escalator package similar to the one featured in the contract of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich, a first-round choice in the 2003 draft. That contract, also negotiated by Condon and Kremer, stipulates that the escalators were triggered if Leftwich participated in 55 percent of the Jaguars' offensive snaps for two seasons, or 70 percent of the snaps in one season.

Under the Arizona proposal sent to Condon on Sunday, Leinart could have played every snap in his first three seasons, been injured in his fourth year and unable to play, and would not have realized any of the escalators in the deal. That proposal would have made the escalator thresholds the most difficult to reach of any quarterback chosen in the top 10 since 1993.

Escalators are critical in any first-round contract, but particularly for quarterbacks, because they reward the player for becoming a starter.

The deal on Monday evening came after nearly a full a week of inertia in which the two sides did not engage in substantive negotiations. Leinart's representatives had agreed nearly a week ago to accept the six-year contract, the maximum term allowed for a player chosen in the top half of the first round, even though they preferred a five-year deal.

It is believed that the Cardinals made about three to four different proposals to Leinart before altering their stance with a Sunday offer that got the two sides talking again.

The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, Leinart, who posted a brilliant 37-2 record as the USC starter, is now expected to battle two-year veteran John Navarre for the backup job behind starter Kurt Warner. Navarre threw a pair of interceptions in Saturday's preseason opener. The consensus is that the Cardinals chose Leinart to groom him as the team's quarterback of the future.

During his celebrated college career, Leinart completed 807 of 1,245 passes for 10,693 yards, with 99 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions.

It is expected that Leinart will report to camp as quickly as possible. He had been in the Phoenix area two weeks ago, just before the Cardinals reported for camp, and was throwing with his new teammates. But when the talks broke down, and camp opened without him, Leinart returned to Los Angeles.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here .
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8/17/06

Leinart to play at least full quarter


Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 17, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]<!--______START TEXT OF STORY________-->
FLAGSTAFF - The Cardinals plan to have rookie quarterback Matt Leinart make his NFL debut in the second quarter of Saturday's preseason game at New England, coach Dennis Green said Wednesday.

Starter Kurt Warner will play the first quarter, with Leinart taking over in the second and playing at least a full quarter. John Navarrewill play in the third quarter, and it's possible Rohan Davey also could play.

Leinart has taken a considerable number of snaps in practice the past two days, as coaches try to get him up to speed after he missed two weeks of camp.<!-- BOXAD TABLE -->

"I was little surprised," Leinart said, referring to his first practice Tuesday afternoon. "They were throwing me in there almost every time it seemed like. But it was good. I thought I threw the ball pretty well."

The team breaks training camp in Flagstaff today, so Leinart will spend only two nights here. That's given his teammates plenty of time to tease him, however.

"I guess I'm supposed to be taking people out to dinner now," he said. "I have the 'new money,' I guess they call it. That's part of being a rookie."
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Sources say Leinart to be a father
<!--subtitle--><!--top author info--><TABLE width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleByline><!-- overline--></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=articleBody width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleBody align=left colSpan=3>Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Matt Leinart and USC women's basketball player Brynn Cameron of Newbury Park are expecting a baby boy in November, according to sources. Cameron, who is a junior, will redshirt this season and return to the basketball team next season and earn her degree while Leinart plays for the Arizona Cardinals. Neither Leinart nor Cameron could be reached for comment.
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Silent :biggrin:
 
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methomps said:
Silent :biggrin:
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Here's a pic.

Think he can do MUCH better!


319306.jpeg
 
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