Broncos WR Marshall moves into big-money position
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/15/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Denver's Brandon Marshall has 86 receptions for 1,008 yards this season after his Catch-21 game Sunday in Indianapolis. (Andy Lyons, Getty Images )Time is almost up for Brandon Marshall as an affordable player.
Is Marshall down to his final three regular-season games with the Broncos? If so, the Broncos are draining every ounce of sweat they can from their star wide receiver.
"And I'm giving them every ounce of my sweat," Marshall said Monday, the day after he broke a 9-year-old NFL record by catching 21 passes in a stirring comeback attempt against the Indianapolis Colts.
Whether he returns to threaten all of Rod Smith's franchise receiving records or winds up elsewhere through myriad uncertain options that await the upcoming NFL offseason, Marshall figures to become extremely wealthy, even by professional athlete standards.
Wealthy, as in possibly the NFL's highest-paid receiver. Larry Fitzgerald holds that distinction with a four-year, $40 million contract extension he received from the Arizona Cardinals in March 2008.
To retain Marshall, the Broncos may have to start with Fitzgerald's deal — and tack on a couple of years of inflation.
"We've always felt Brandon was in a class by himself," said Kennard McGuire, Marshall's agent. "Now, it's become evident he's one of the greats. He has the passion to do that. At this time, Brandon is clearly focused on finishing the season with no distractions. At the appropriate time, he and I will sit down and discuss what the future holds."
For all the issues that have followed Marshall almost since the day the Broncos selected him in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, he always has been driven by greatness. Thanks to his preposterous game against the Colts, Marshall is on pace for his third consecutive season of at least 100 catches and 1,200 yards. He has already set a career high with nine touchdown receptions, one off the league lead.
Considering he is finishing up the fourth year of his rookie contract that eventually paid him $3.7 million, an average of $925,000 per season, Marshall may have been
Broncos star Brandon Marshall, who set an NFL record Sunday with 21 receptions against the Colts, likely won't be grimacing when he signs his next contract. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post )one of the NFL's top performers for the dollar.
The economical nature of his compensation is about to change. Depending on whether team owners and the players union can negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement in the next 2 1/2 months, Marshall can strike it big either through offer sheets that figure to arrive by way of restricted free agency or really big through the open bidding process of unrestricted free agency that will begin in March.
The Broncos could pre-empt such bargaining leverage by opening talks on a long-term contract with Marshall. But the receiver has his doubts.
"I think if they wanted to get something done, it would have been done already," Marshall said. "But our ultimate goal is to win games and we have three of them left. Hopefully we can get that done. Regarding a contract, I think it's best if I just play it out."
Marshall well knows Fitzgerald has been widely proclaimed as the NFL's best receiver this year not because of any stats he compiled during the regular season, but his record-setting performance during the 2008 postseason.
If the playoffs are to include Marshall for the first time in his career, the Broncos (8-5) likely need to win two of their next three games, with the next one to be played Sunday against the Oakland Raiders at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Because Marshall is just one of five key Denver players who are in the final weeks of expiring contracts — the others are quarterback Kyle Orton, pass-rushing linebacker Elvis Dumervil, right guard Chris Kuper and tight end Tony Scheffler — the team will have a difficult time figuring out how to allocate the millions of dollars needed to bring them all back.
"I'm not going to talk about contracts," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "We know we've got a lot of work to do after the season's over with, and there's a lot of things going on that affect that."
Until then, the Broncos might as well get all they can from the Big Five while they're still affordable. With 21 catches, Marshall just gave the Broncos more in one game than any receiver ever gave his team. Not that, one way or another, the team won't eventually pay for it.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13997929
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Originally Posted by claymore
