Good morning and welcome to The Jalen Ramsey Show, where we get big contracts and live up to the hype! We’re here to talk about your life and your money. We have open lines at 818-338-0011. Starting us off today in Houston, Texas we have George. George, welcome to the Jalen Ramsey Show.

Hi Jalen. Thanks for taking my call. How are you today?

Better than the Jaguars under Tom Coughlin. How can I help?

I’m calling today, uh, I don’t have an NFL questions per se but I’m hoping you can still offer a little advice on negotiations.

Well, let’s hear what you got and maybe we can help.

So I’m entering contract arbitration for a new deal with my current employer. I’m running up against a bit of a snag on a matter because…..well, our organization has some successes and, you know, I enjoyed some personal successes as a result of it….but, ummm, we can’t seem to agree on who, ummm, how to split responsibility.

So you and your employer got some kind of award or won a big contract or something and, is this right, you’re saying it was your outstanding efforts and they’re saying it was their efforts and equipment and business infrastructure that put you — or, I suspect, they’ll say anyone in your position — and the organization in a position to win?

Kind of like that. 

Well here’s the deal. This is the heart of negotiations, right? How much do you need me? How much do you need them? If they can — you said this isn’t an NFL question, are you in sports or business or, what are we talking about here.

MLB. I was the MVP on a World Series Champion and —

Alright so, you guys use the WAR stat, right? Wins above replacement. It should be simple for them — take George and compare him to a guy making the league minimum. If you don’t contribute any more than a guy at the league minimum, then there is your number. They can take that $555,000 and hire you or whoever else has that same WAR. Either way, they’re getting the same piece for the same price.

It’s a little more complicated than that. They’re saying they pretty much provided me with the support to earn the Series MVP. They’re sticking hard that, you know, MVP only goes to the winning team and their, you know, the contributions they made were so great that they did more than me for my MVP award.

Wow. I know teams get ruthless but what hostile position to take. Of course they built the roster and provided the coaching staff and all that — but you were the one who stepped into the batters box — or took the mound or whatever — and performed on the field. I mean, what can they argue that they’d give you that any other team wouldn’t have? Everyone has a coaching staff. Everyone has an equipment room.

And that’s sort of the problem in this negotiation. The team sort of provided ummm….they did provide something us players wouldn’t have gotten elsewhere. And negotiations were fine until about a week ago when the organization said the — well, the coach and general manager were the specific resources but I was negotiating with them and they were a lot more fair to my side of the story. Now the team fired the coach and general manager — they said that what they had provided me was against the rules — and so these new negotiators are telling me, you know, that they fired these guys for cheating with me and so, you know, they aren’t going to reward me for benefitting — you know, getting the Series MVP — from what they’re calling those guys’ cheating.

Well, you can’t be that bad because they obviously want to keep you. You know what I mean? They didn’t think the GM brought enough to the team without cheating so they canned him. They seems to think you bring something — but you’re overvaluing yourself because you got a boost from their cheating.

Right. And I figure, you know, we play 162 games besides the playoffs. Plus the cheating was on offense and so I also think my defensive skills need to be evaluated differently but they’re kind of not listening and just —

Consider Patrick Peterson. He’s one of the best corners in the league. Aging and has no support on the opposite side but, all in all, the guy can ball out. He gets popped for PEDs. Okay, so what? Yeah he missed some games and that hurt. Yeah he played pretty poor after returning but that’s because the team had no chance. Remember Deion? Business decisions. Now, it ain’t like his value went to zero. Shine came off a bit maybe. But, yeah, it’s an opening for the team to suggest that at least a portion of his gains were ill-gotten.

Well and they’re saying —

Yeah yeah, they’re saying. Whatever. They’re gonna say anything that lets ’em keep a Nickle. Here’s the deal. Whatever the infraction, it can’t be that big of a deal if they’re negotiating with you. So address them with a holistic approach. I mean, if they fired your coach and GM, I bet they aren’t planning to cheat with you in the future. So don’t look back. And, seriously, to hell with these ownership reps. They want to stiff you out of thousands of bucks — in a league without a salary cap — while they pocket millions?! Nah — you go in there and tell them to eat it and, if they don’t like it, you can swing a bat for someone else.

Good conversation there. Thanks for the call. Next up we have Anthony calling from Weaver, Texas. We’re approaching the break so what have you got, Anthony?

Actually, I’m in Houston.

Doesn’t matter. It’s just what the screen here says.

Then I’ll jump right to the point. I’ve been with my organization for over a combined decade as both a player and a manager. I’m being promoted to a defensive coordinator position and am looking for some advice. See, the previous coordinator held the position a while and, while he had some success —

Couldn’t have had that much success. He got fired.

Well, and that’s the thing. He may still stay around the organization and, if he does, I’m a little apprehensive about making sweeping changes with him having the head coach and owners ear.

They fired him. If they wanted his opinion on coordinating, they’d have kept him on. If they’re keeping him around and he is trying to undermine you, that’s a failure of the organization. If they keep him around and he can’t stomach watching you run your scheme, then that’s his failure taking the job. The NFL is tough. It’s competitive. That’s just part of the game.

Should I approach him about this and let him know there aren’t any hard feelings? I respect the man and he helped bring me up —

Then he already knows all that. Look, NFL fans don’t know shit and the press aren’t any help. You want to honor this man? Go out and win a Super Bowl with a scrub like Jared Goff at quarterback. Even if you do it with the exact opposite schemes as your predecessor, he will be celebrated as the man who made you into a coordinator who could win the big one with a substandard offense. It’s that simple — winning solves everything. Best of luck to you out there. Odds are that you’ll wash out but, hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones. Thanks for the call.

As always, I want to thank all our listeners and remind all of you out there that I only talk because I can back it up. Don’t be trash like Josh Allen. We’ll see you all next time on The Jalen Ramsey Show.