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May 28, 1998
Patriots Salary-Cap Woes Continue...

Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson wants the respect...and the $$$ that comes with it.
The Patriots salary-cap is perhaps the biggest, if not the only, problem they face right now. They must get contract extensions for C Dave Wohlabaugh and LB Ted Johnson, as well as the rookies which include first-rounders Robert Edwards and Tebucky Jones. The situation with Edwards is explained above. LB Ted Johnson's contract is one the Patriots must not fool around with. Ted Johnson is perhaps the most-liked defensive player on the roster and he's an all-around awesome player. In a recent news conference, he said that he would dislike it if the Patriots placed the "franchise player" label on him, meaning that they would keep Johnson and pay him the average of the top five players at his position. If a team tried to sign him, it would have to compensate the Patriots with two first-round draft picks. To Johnson, all it really comes down to is respect. He says that if your the best player at your position, your contract should reflect that. If the Patriots think he's worth it, they should pay him that.

"A lot of it is a respect thing," he continues, acknowledging that the respect comes from the money and the market. "You got 53 guys and we all have big egos. If people tell you you're the best at one position, then you think your contract should reflect that. That's why guys come off sounding greedy. Unfortunantly thats the way it is and we have no control over that." says Johnson.

Sports these days is all about multi-million dollar contracts. It has truly gone out of hand. Just recently, Pittsburgh LB Levon Kirkland signed a four-year extension worth $25.35 million, including a $4.85 million signing bonus payable in 1998, a $650,000 reported bonus that bumped his '98 salary to $1.95 million, and an average of $5.838 million for the following four years. All this is doing is increasing the expectancy of players for future signings.

The Boston Globe reported that Patriots vice president of business operations Andy Wasynczuk said the team is mindful of Johnson and Wohlabaugh's situations. The Patriots would likely place a franchise tag(!) on Johnson if they couldn't work something out, but they'd rather avoid creating ill will with a key player.
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