Holdouts: Count Them, but Don’t Count on Them

For 43 days last summer, Tony Mandarich talked like Don King and acted like Brian Bosworth.

To him, the world was a cash register and he was ready to empty the till. The 315-pound tackle was truly “offensive,” demanding a $2 million salary from the Green Bay Packers. He challenged Mike Tyson to a $10 million fight. He threatened to become a pro wrestler. He was willing to flex his “pecs” in Hollywood.

As happens with bragging heavyweights these days, Mandarich met his James “Buster” Douglas. He lost his first-round decision to the NFL by a knockout. Despite signing for $1.1 million a season, Mandarich started only nine offensive series, none in games that mattered. Writers joked that he received $10,000 for each of 105 plays in which he tried to block.

They laughed even more when he reported to camp last week as a 285-pound lightweight.

“I think missing training camp hurt him quite a bit,” said Seattle Seahawks rookie guard Bob Kula, the man who followed Mandarich at Michigan State. “Missing training camp is going to hurt anybody, especially an offensive lineman. Tony shot his mouth off, and he was humbled last year. I know talking to him in the off-season, he has really changed his views about life.”

Mandarich might have changed, but the system hasn’t. The wasted days and wasted nights of contract holdouts continue to rip apart teams and careers. Approximately 288 players, including about 186 veterans, reported to camps late this season. Minnesota Vikings coach Lindy Infante and Philadelphia Eagles coach Buddy Ryan were the last to open camps a week ago, but holdout lists drop ever so slowly.

Heading into the first full weekend of exhibition games, 107 veterans and 18 draft choices are sitting out. Every team is affected. The New York Giants are without six defensive starters, including their entire starting defensive line and linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Gary Reasons.

Marty Schottenheimer’s push for a Kansas City Chiefs trip to the Super Bowl is being jeopardized by nine holdouts. His secondary is without cornerbacks Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis, his linebacker corps is missing Dino Hackett and first-round choice Percy Snow, and his offensive line is without David Lutz and Irv Eatman.

Packers general manager Tom Braatz whittled a list of 21 unsigned players at the start of camp to a more manageable number (six), but quarterback Don Majkowski isn’t any closer to reporting than he was two weeks ago.

“You’d think it’s a war going on,” Giants general manager George Young said. “It’s ridiculous. Everybody should thrive, but players won’t acknowledge that owners can make a profit. It’s not like it’s class warfare going on here. They’re not fighting for real wages.”

Real careers and real investments, however, are being ruined by the stubbornness on both sides.

-- The Seahawks and first-round choice Cortez Kennedy are walking the tightrope of disaster. Seahawks president Tom Flores refuses to make a rookie the highest-paid player on his team. Kennedy, the third selection in the April draft, won’t let other signings prevent him from making around $1.5 million a year.

So Kennedy sits. And sits. And sits.

This has all the makings of the long, long holdouts that have become commonplace. On management’s side, you have Flores, who steadfastly limited pay increases for the payroll on the offensive line and linebacker corps last year at the cost of both units’ cohesiveness. On the players’ side, you have Kennedy’s agents, Robert Fraley and Mike Moye, who have produced two of the five longest holdouts in the past four years -- running backs Alonzo Highsmith (93 days for the Houston Oilers in 1987) and Sammie Smith (57 days for the Miami Dolphins last year).

Because of the high stakes, it isn’t likely Kennedy will be seen until the exhibition season draws to a close. Blair Thomas could help. Thomas, a Penn State halfback taken one choice before Kennedy, could reach an agreement with the New York Jets, but that too is highly unlikely.

Last year, first-round choices held out an average of 27 days. The Seahawks have 44 days of training camp. Kennedy already has missed 20 and don’t expect him soon. Talks have been sporadic. Flores, for example, took a file folder of Kennedy proposals to Tokyo but didn’t make any calls to his agents.

Wednesday, three days after returning from Tokyo, Flores plans to call Moye, who also didn’t make any moves in the past week to call Flores.

“General managers hope the player just cracks,” agent Ralph Cindrich said. “They want to save a lot of money in doing so. Even if they lose the player for a year, the team can save some big numbers.”

Anymore, the top six choices equal long holdouts. There is a 54 percent chance he will miss at least 29 days. Review the history. In 1986, three of the top five choices missed between 31 and 153 days. In 1987, half the top six choices were out 93 to 163 days.

Peace was declared in 1988 when only half the 28 first-rounders reported late and only two -- tackle Paul Gruber (29 days, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and defensive back Ricky Dixon (56 days, Cincinnati Bengals) -- had lengthy holdouts.

Last year, things went crazy again. Eight of the top nine choices were out between 33 and 57 days.

Anymore, general managers must factor in the length of a holdout before making a first-round selection. San Diego Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard said he wouldn’t draft Kennedy because he hired Fraley and Moye as agents. As it turned out, Beathard ended up with Steve Feldman, an Orange County-based agent who not only is keeping linebacker Junior Seau out of camp, but he yanked out Pro Bowl defensive end Lee Willliams for more than a week.

“Some guys can come in and it seems like they haven’t missed a step,” Flores said. “Barry Sanders (who held out 51 days last year) had a remarkable year. Mandarich didn’t.”

Front offices still are assessing the damages caused by holdouts of 1986. Most scouts say it takes five years to judge a draft. The first-round war of 1986 hastened the evaluating process to four years.

Forty percent of the longest holdouts turned out to be busts. This list includes Reggie Dupard (New England Patriots), Brian Jozwiak (Kansas City Chiefs), Butch Woolfolk (New York Giants), Ronnie Harmon (Buffalo Bills), Chuck Long (Detroit Lions), Mike Schad (Los Angeles Rams) and Mike Sherrod (Dallas Cowboys). They held out between 19 and 33 days. Within four years, they were either traded or cut.

If that wasn’t bad enough, six of the surviving 17 longer first-round holdouts in 1986 are at it again.

“Anymore, I stop worrying about negotiations with a rookie once it gets past two weeks,” Young said. “If it gets past two weeks, forget it. They don’t play that first year. If you’ve got a guy missing two weeks, you’ve got a major problem.”

In Young’s mind, Kennedy along with four of the eight top choices in this draft already have blown their first seasons. The examples are many. Linebacker Broderick Thomas missed 44 days for the Buccaneers last season and made 18 tackles. Cornerback Deion Sanders missed 51 days but proved to be no more than a “nickle” cornerback, an inconsistent kick returner and a .157-hitting outfielder for the New York Yankees.

Go back to 1985 and research the career of cornerback Richard Johnson, a first-round choice of the Houston Oilers. Johnson played zone defense at Wisconsin, but he needed to learn man-to-man defense to play for Oilers Coach Jerry Glanville.

After a 35-day holdout, Johnson reported. He has spent four seasons on the bench. Kevin Allen, a tackle taken by the Philadelphia Eagles, boycotted 30 days in 1985. Until a month ago, he’s worn a prison uniform more than Eagles green because of a conviction for rape.

“Look at the difference between Shawn Collins of the Atlanta Falcons and Lawyer Tillman of the Cleveland Browns,” Washington Redskins general manager Charley Casserly said. “Collins reported to camp on time. Tillman came in 28 days late and struggled all year, making six catches for 70 yards. You watch. Collins, who had the benefit of his first training camp, will end up making more money during his career than Tillman ever does.”

Collins led the Falcons with 58 catches for 862 yard. Another wide receiver, Hart Lee Dykes of the New England Patriots, endured months of being nicknamed “H(e)artless” Dykes while he stumbled learning the offense after missing 33 days. He got hot in the second half of the season and finished with 49 receptions for 795 yards.

Yet for every Dykes, Mandarich or Richard Johnson, there is a Derrick Thomas, a Cornelius Bennett or an Al Toon. In 1985, Toon missed 50 days. He caught 46 passes. Bennett and Thomas produced instant pass rush the minute they reported to camp. Bennett missed 102 days but still made the all-rookie team.

“I think once the regular season begins, the player has to realize he is at the breaking point,” Cindrich said. “The player has to be a complete player and an individual who has tremendous self-control and a generally good attitude. The Toons, the John Offerdahls and the Paul Grubers each have done this. They are quiet, determined and confident.”

Because of their holdouts, they now are rich, each ranking among the highest-paid at their positions.

“You wish you could go to arbitration, but you can’t,” agent Brad Blank said. “All the player has is the absolute right to say no. I have to keep my clients’ best interest in mind and you have to decide at what point you are at the point of no return.”

The Seahawks went beyond the point of no return last year. Three linebackers and three offensive linemen held out between 26 and 36 days. Both units suffered. Bruce Scholtz’s holdout cost him his job. The Seahawks put him on the waiver wire when the regular season began. Tackle Ron Mattes eventually had to switch from left to right tackle.

As a team and as an organization, the Seahawks suffered.

“It’s hard to tell how much of an effect those holdouts had,” Flores said. “Each player is different, and they react differently. The San Francisco 49ers had a lot of holdouts, and they didn’t seem to be hurt as much. Of course, they were an older team and most of their players know the system. We were rebuilding a little bit. The holdouts set you back as far as your timetable.”

The 49ers did make holdout history last season. Eight starters missed between 33 and 35 days. They marched into camp in unison and the 49ers rolled to their second consecutive Super Bowl victory.

Lesser teams, such as the Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons, could blame bad seasons on holdouts. The Chiefs, Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Packers, Giants, New Orleans Saints and Browns could be letting holdouts kill their seasons this year.

There have been at least 288 late-reporting players every season since 1987. Holdouts have become the most predictable thing in the NFL.

Plan on it.