PA Season Ticket Holder
04-07-2003, 01:44 PM
A league source tells us that Steelers starting quarterback Tommy Maddox is quietly miffed about the team's recent announcement that it won't adjust his salary in 2003.
As it stands, Maddox will earn $650,000. His understudy, Charlie Batch, will bag $1,000,000.
According to the source, Maddox will keep his mouth shut about the disparity for now. Once training camp opens and he further entrenches himself as the No. 1 man on the depth chart, Maddox's agent (Vann McElroy) will start making noise about the importance of doing the right thing and bumping up Tommy's take.
The problem is that the Steelers are skittish about making another huge financial investment in a quarterback, given their past experiences with Kordell Stewart and (to a lesser extent) Jim Miller. Stewart got a big-money deal in 1999, and he proceeded to stink it up over the next four seasons (with the exception of most of the games in 2001 -- but not the AFC Championship).
In our view, we think there's more to the issue than the Kordell factor. Like Maddox in 2001, Batch was kept tightly under wraps in 2002. Now that Batch has had a year to learn the team's Stewart-proof offense (which is sort of like spending a decade studying "Hop on Pop"), the thinking could be that Charlie will emerge as the best option after training camp.
Also, don't rule out the possibility that the Steelers will draft their quarterback of the future later this month -- especially if Byron Leftwich does the Randy Moss/Deuce McAllister free-fall through round one. If that happens, there's no need to pay Maddox like the long-term starter, since he won't be.
Then again, it's possible that the Boys from the 'Burgh are just making this one up as they go along. Exhibit A on this point is Bill Cowher's recent statement that giving Maddox a new deal based on one year of success "would be out of character for us."
A personnel exec to whom we mentioned this remark said that this is typical of "selective memory Coach Ego. He was the one who helped push the early Kordell extension (in 1999), and then watched him crash in flames."
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
As it stands, Maddox will earn $650,000. His understudy, Charlie Batch, will bag $1,000,000.
According to the source, Maddox will keep his mouth shut about the disparity for now. Once training camp opens and he further entrenches himself as the No. 1 man on the depth chart, Maddox's agent (Vann McElroy) will start making noise about the importance of doing the right thing and bumping up Tommy's take.
The problem is that the Steelers are skittish about making another huge financial investment in a quarterback, given their past experiences with Kordell Stewart and (to a lesser extent) Jim Miller. Stewart got a big-money deal in 1999, and he proceeded to stink it up over the next four seasons (with the exception of most of the games in 2001 -- but not the AFC Championship).
In our view, we think there's more to the issue than the Kordell factor. Like Maddox in 2001, Batch was kept tightly under wraps in 2002. Now that Batch has had a year to learn the team's Stewart-proof offense (which is sort of like spending a decade studying "Hop on Pop"), the thinking could be that Charlie will emerge as the best option after training camp.
Also, don't rule out the possibility that the Steelers will draft their quarterback of the future later this month -- especially if Byron Leftwich does the Randy Moss/Deuce McAllister free-fall through round one. If that happens, there's no need to pay Maddox like the long-term starter, since he won't be.
Then again, it's possible that the Boys from the 'Burgh are just making this one up as they go along. Exhibit A on this point is Bill Cowher's recent statement that giving Maddox a new deal based on one year of success "would be out of character for us."
A personnel exec to whom we mentioned this remark said that this is typical of "selective memory Coach Ego. He was the one who helped push the early Kordell extension (in 1999), and then watched him crash in flames."
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm