Wednesday, December 15, 1999
McGee negotiates own contract extension
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bengals tight end Tony McGee (NFL.com profile) did a deal the old-fashioned way Tuesday, negotiating his own contract extension that will keep him in Cincinnati through the 2002 season.
After making McGee the NFL's eighth-highest paid tight end, with $2 million up front and annual salaries of $1 million, $1.1 million and $1.3 million, President Mike Brown invited the Bengals' other free-agents-to-be to come in and talk without an agent. Brown, whose disdain for agents is legendary, said players won't be taken advantage of.
“We would like to send that message,” Brown said. “We think that's the fact.”
McGee, who has started 101 straight games, looked to be headed to free agency after this season. But he approached the club a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised when he had a fairly easy time getting a $1.8 million average salary from negotiator Paul Brown that nearly doubled his last deal.
“I've heard all the stories about this, that and the other,” McGee said of the Browns' stingy reputation. “I even asked PB: "This has been a relatively easy process. I don't understand.' And he said that a lot of it is media-driven, a lot of it is perception. But there was no shiftiness or under the table. They were just up front. We looked at the other tight end numbers, and I feel good about what we did.”
What Mike Brown did was tell Paul Brown and team counsel Katie Blackburn to run the numbers of the other tight ends for McGee. McGee said the yearly aver ages range from $1.5 million to $1.8 million. They looked at the recent deals of Seattle's Christian Fauria, Pittsburgh's Mark Bruener and Baltimore's Eric Green, and McGee thought three years was fair. He also thought getting more than 50 percent of the money in the first year is a major plus.
“Tony is a good tight end we can count on,” Mike Brown said. “He's a better blocker than people recognize. ... He's having a very good year.”
McGee's catches have dropped steadily, from a career-high 55 in 1995 to a career-low 22 last season. With two games left this year, he has 25 receptions and two touchdowns.
And when backup tight end Marco Battaglia agreed to a three-year, $2.4 million extension this spring, it looked like McGee was gone. But he pointed to his comfort with receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott and other teammates. Pickens was drafted in 1992, McGee in 1993 and Scott in '94.
“You develop friendships and chemistry,” McGee said. “You've got the excitement of a new stadium. I looked at these things, and it was a good fit to stay here. I also felt like the Browns treated me very fairly. ... Maybe an agent would have gotten me a couple of thousand more. Maybe not. But I don't have any agent fees to pay.”
Mike Brown is heartened by McGee's decision, feeling it shows not everyone is trying to escape the decade's worst franchise. He also thinks the team has a good chance of re-signing other free agents such as left tackle Rod Jones and defensive linemen Kimo von Oelhoffen and Jevon Langford, although talks have been minimal.
“Our players don't get much credit,” Mike Brown said, alluding to a Bengals offense ranked second in the NFL in rushing. “I think we have a pretty solid foundation for the future. We would like (our own free agents) back. We like them. They earned their spots here. They grew up here. ... It's not our business to run a school for players for other teams.”
Bengals Stories
Do Reds have checkmate on Mariners?
Clinton: Let Rose in Hall
UC's Land likely to redshirt
Crosstown Shootout Flashback
Xavier 'hit jackpot' with West
Flying Pig gets new finish
Olympic bid a year away
Olympic champ Phelps will make comeback
Cincinnati boys basketball roundup
Ohio boys basketball scores
Cincinnati girls basketball roundup
Ohio girls basketball scores
N.Ky. boys basketball roundup
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
Elder's Christopfel commits to Michigan
