Saturday, April 22, 2000Bonus holds up Pickens trade
Bengals want to recover signing money
BY Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati EnquirerCarl Pickens wants out. The Bengals seemingly have phased him out. The odds of the prickly Pickens playing here another full season seem less likely than a Bengals Super Bowl berth.
Though the team's all-time receptions leader is under contract, both he and the Bengals are exhausting every avenue to ensure his exit.
“He would like to play elsewhere,” said Pickens' agent, Steve Zucker. “But there's no telling when something might happen. This thing could last until July, or even up until the trading deadline (after the season's sixth week).”
The most immediate suspense concerns potential trade rumors and whether Pickens will attend next weekend's mandatory minicamp.
Zucker said he expects the New York Jets, who traded receiving ace Keyshawn Johnson, to trade for Pickens. But Jets officials reportedly are waiting for Pickens to be cut so they can negotiate a contract with him.
The Bengals say Pickens has informed them he won't come to minicamp, but Zucker said that decision isn't final.
“He has the obligation to be here,” Bengals president Mike Brown said. “If he chooses not to fulfill his obligation, we'll respond.”
Brown wouldn't say how the team would react, though it could be with a standard fine of $10,000 per day. But a league source said Brown might contend Pickens' absence violates his contract and sue to get back Pickens' $3.5 million signing bonus.
That signing bonus is the only thing keeping Pickens tethered to the team. Pickens won't pay back the bonus, but a source said he would be willing to restructure his contract for another team.
If the Bengals cut Pickens now, they must pay his $2.8 million pro-rated bonus this season. If they cut him on or after June 1, they must pay $700,000 of the bonus this year and have $2.1 million count against their 2001 salary cap.
Brown prefers not to push money into future years. He showed that last year, cutting quarterback Neil O'Donnell two days after drafting Akili Smith and taking O'Donnell's $2.7 million hit immediately.
The advantage of cutting Pickens now would be having money available next year for potential big-money deals with Corey Dillon and Willie Anderson.
Pickens' impending departure became more apparent last weekend when the Bengals drafted two receivers, All-American Peter Warrick in the first round and Florida State teammate Ron Dugans in the third round.
“It's obviously getting crowded at wide receiver,” Zucker said. “Mike would never want to trade Carl unless he had a replacement.”
In September, Pickens signed a five-year extension for $23.25 million after a lengthy holdout. But the eight-year pro reported to the team out of shape and had an uninspiring season, catching 57 passes for 737 yards.
Brown said he won't let the ongoing saga divert his team's attention.
“I'm not going to dwell on Carl Pickens,” he said. “It's the old (Thomas) "Hollywood' Henderson syndrome.
“When the 49ers acquired Henderson (in 1980), and he was always a problem of one variety or another, at all their meetings they ended up talking about nothing but Hollywood Henderson. He wasn't even going to start for them, but he was the problem of the moment.
“You'll always have a problem of the moment, and you can put more focus and attention on it than it deserves.”
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