Rams News

McNeil shuns Rams minicamp, still
holding out for multiyear contract
04/24 10:42 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Eighty-three players were on hand Friday for the start of Rams minicamp.
Ryan McNeil wasn't one of them.
From the moment the Rams designated McNeil as their franchise player Feb. 13, the veteran cornerback let it be known he would not attend any team functions until he has a multiyear contract.
Seven weeks of the team's offseason conditioning program have come and gone without McNeil. And now the first of two minicamps is at hand.
``What if he's injured out there working?'' said McNeil's agent, Brian Ransom. ``Some young receiver wants to prove something and kicks him in the ankle. It might even be a weight plate falling on his toe. I don't know.
``When you're in that environment a lot of things can happen. So he's best training in a safe environment, focusing on some things that he's working on in the community. He's taking care of himself as a professional.''
So while the Rams huffed and puffed in two practices Friday at Rams Park, McNeil remains home in south Florida. As a franchise player, McNeil is guaranteed the average salary of the five highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL last season. That figure is $3.22 million.
In return for making him their franchise player, the Rams can match any outside offers. If they choose not to match, the Rams get two first-round draft picks as compensation.
McNeil was angered that he couldn't test the market as an unrestricted free agent because of the franchise designation. So McNeil has chosen to sit out this minicamp, and maybe the next one, June 12-14, unless he gets a multiyear contract to his liking.
``It's not that he doesn't want to participate,'' Ransom said. ``As you might imagine, he's unhappy not being considered worthy of what he's worked so hard to get.''
The Rams made a four-year, $13 million offer in early March, which included a $3.6 million signing bonus, executive vice president Jay Zygmunt confirmed. The per year average of $3.25 million would make McNeil the highest-paid Ram.
But the Rams and McNeil aren't even in the same zip code on contract terms. Ransom wants $27 million over five years, including a $10 million signing bonus.
``We're trying to establish an understanding with the Rams consistent with our beliefs, based on historical facts and figures, and based off current market conditions,'' Ransom said. ``It's not what Ryan wants, or doesn't want. It's about what Ryan McNeil's value is.''
Ransom says cornerbacks traditionally have been paid ``10 to 15 percent'' more than defensive tackles. He sees the kind of money defensive linemen John Randle ($5.4 million a year average), Dana Stubblefield ($6 million average) and Sean Gilbert ($6.6 million) signed for this offseason. And then he does the math.
But cornerbacks haven't come close to matching defensive linemen in new contracts signed this offseason. Doug Evans' deal with Carolina averaged $4.5 million. Jeff Burris signed with Indianapolis for $4 million a year. Next is the $3.9 million a year deal by Aaron Glenn to re-sign with the New York Jets, and the $3.4 million a year deal by Antonio Langham to sign with San Francisco.
If McNeil accepted the four-year, $13 million deal, the $3.25 million average would be fifth-best among the contracts signed this offseason. It would put him among the 10 highest-paid cornerbacks in the game.
Zygmunt said the Rams won't keep their $13 million offer on the table much longer. When that offer is withdrawn, McNeil can either take the one-year offer of $3.2 million, or continue to refuse it.
``I don't see Ryan waking up tomorrow and saying he wants to take the one-year deal,'' Ransom said.
Ransom tiptoed around a question concerning how long McNeil would stay away without a multiyear contract.
``Put it this way, when it's done, I see him showing up,'' Ransom said.
Gilbert sat out the entire 1997 season in Washington after refusing to play for the one-year franchise offer.

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