When an ordinary human being decides to create his twitter account bio it really doesn’t matter how one describes himself. But when New Orleans Saints super star Jimmy Graham decided to call himself “Tight End” it may have cost him $5 million this season.
According to Bleacherreport.com the self designation as tight end versus identifying himself as a wide receiver is an argument that will be used against him in a grievance hearing that commenced on Tuesday. The hearing will determine if Graham can garner a one-year contract for $12 million as a wide receiver as opposed to a $7 million one if arbitrators rule that he is a tight end.
The pay disparity stems from the Saints placing the “franchise” tag on Graham. This move allows a team to retain a player whose contract has expired but at the price of paying him in the top tier of his position. NFL teams value wide receivers more than tight ends, so the designation matters millions to Graham.
Graham caught 86 balls for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2013. He made his second Pro Bowl roster following the successful campaign.
Graham and the NFL Players Association are arguing that the Saints actually use him more as a wide receiver than a tight end. Ian Rapaport of NFL Network points out in one of his tweets that “67 percent of the time, Jimmy Graham lines up where a WR would line up.” Rapaport contends that the players union has expressed a lot of confidence in clarifying his status as a wide receiver during the hearing.
However, Rapaport also tweeted that the NFL maintains that Jimmy Graham “meets in the TE room, lines up where TEs line up… and lists himself as a TE on Twitter (really).” Nevertheless, Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated seems to think that Jimmy Graham will fare well in the hearing despite his twitter description. He tweeted, “Jimmy Graham’s positional snap counts will eventually, successfully, be currency in negotiations. Whether teams like it or not.”
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