Panthers sign Jarrett, suspend Bridges

Football Betting Lines

07/28/2007 - Spartanburg, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers signed wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett and offensive lineman Ryan Kalil, both second-round draft choices, to contracts on Friday.

Jarrett, chosen 45th overall, started in 31 of the 38 games he played in at Southern California and set the Trojans record with 216 catches for 3,138 yards and a Pac-10 record of 41 touchdown grabs.

Kalil, who also played at USC, started 39 times at center. He didn't allow a sack in his final two seasons.

The Panthers also signed linebacker Tim Shaw from Penn State and safety C.J. Wilson from Baylor. Shaw is a fifth-round draft pick, while Wilson was taken in the seventh round.

Carolina also suspended offensive tackle Jeremy Bridges for the first two games of the upcoming season. Bridges was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault by waving a gun on Thursday in Charlotte following an incident Wednesday night.

The Panthers have yet to sign first-round draft pick Jon Beason, a linebacker from Miami-Florida.

Sportbettingcenter Football Betting News

<< Thatcher equals 36-hole record at Cox Classic
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roland Thatcher fired an eight-under 63 on Friday to equal the 36-hole tournament record and take the lead through two rounds of the Nationwide Tour's Cox Classic. Thatcher stands at 15-under 127, matching Jon Mi

<< Vikings sign second-round pick
Mankato, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings signed their second round draft choice, wide receiver Sidney Rice, Friday. The 44th overall selection from South Carolina, Rice was a second-team All-SEC and third-team All-A

<< Colts sign Gonzalez
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts agreed to terms on Friday with their first-round draft pick, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Ohio State wide receiver was th

<< Stegall sets CFL TD record
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winnipeg Blue Bombers slotback Milt Stegall set the Canadian Football League all-time record for touchdowns with 138, breaking the mark in Friday's game against Hamilton. Stegall, a 13-year veteran,

<< Reds outright Saarloos to minors
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds outrighted pitcher Kirk Saarloos to their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville on Friday, a day after he was charged with his first blown save during the team's 6-5, 10-inning win over Mi

Schiavone, Meusburger to square off in Gastein Ladies final >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone and Austrian crowd favorite Yvonne Meusburger were both winners in their semifinal matches Saturday at the inaugural $175,000 Gastein Ladies tennis event. Schiav

Diamondbacks target eighth straight win against Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks go for their eighth straight win this afternoon when they play the middle contest of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Chase Field. Arizona won in dramatic fashion once again on Frida

Brewers, Cards play double-dip at Busch >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers hope to stay on the winning track this evening when they continue their four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals with a day/night doubleheader at Busch Stadium. The doubleheader was scheduled to

Mets, Nats set for day/night affair at Shea >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets try to get back in the win column today when the play a day/night doubleheader against the Washington Nationals at Shea Stadium. The Mets dropped their second straight game in the opener of this four-gam

Dodgers try again to continue key divisional set with Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers will try to gain some more breathing room in the standings when they resume what is now a three-game series with the division-rival Colorado Rockies tonight at Coors Field

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.