The move is a no-brainer... the Tomlinson is arguably the best runningback in the league and is now making the salary that he deserves. After halting talks with their number 1 pick, Phillip Rivers, the Chargers show that they are not afraid to spend some money on players that have proved their worth.
Hopefully this will mean Tomlinson will be a Charger for the duration of his career and Charger fans have some hope for the future because there is little else to hope for this season...
CARSON, California (Ticker) - LaDainian Tomlinson needed just three years to set a new standard for running backs.
Tomlinson, the dynamic running back of the San Diego Chargers, has agreed to a contract extension that reportedly will make him the NFL's highest-paid player at his position.
"I agreed to a contract," Tomlinson said following practice Thursday. "I'm not sure when I'll sign it. I'm going over the last details. I'll probably sign it in the next couple of days or so."
Numerous reports have Tomlinson's new contract eclipsing the eight-year, $50.5 million deal that Clinton Portis signed with the Washington Redskins in the offseason.
Tomlinson, 25, had two years remaining on his original contract. He is scheduled to make $5.5 million this season and $6.5 million in 2005.
The fifth overall pick in 2001, Tomlinson has rushed for 4,564 yards and 37 touchdowns in his first three seasons.
"He's the best running back I've ever seen," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said.
Last season, Tomlinson became the fifth player in NFL history to rush for 200 yards in four games. He also became the first player in league history to rush for 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes.
Tomlinson rushed for 1,645 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 100 receptions for 725 yards and four scores in 2003.
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Comments (2)
This is a smart move for th... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Tom | August 13, 2004 10:36 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
This is a smart move for the Chargers, but a stupid move for LT.
The Chargers did not, at least not primarily, give LT his money because he is the best RB in the NFL. They gave it to him because LT is a draw. He's the guy whose mere presence funnels money into the Spanos familiy's pockets.
They have no intention of building a succesful team around him, though Marty is struggling against the current to get things pointed in the right direction.
So LT has doomed himself to a career on as part of a losing organization, and probably to a shortened career because of the needless pounding he will take year after year running behind one of the worse O lines in the league.
The Chargers have a long tradition of losing, and that can't be pushed off on the coaches and players. When a team is this bad for this long, you have to look at the top before you start pointing fingers.
The Chargers will suck until there is a change of ownership. Just as the Bucs sucked until the Culverhouse family was bought out after Hugh's death.
1. Posted by Tom | August 13, 2004 10:36 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 13, 2004 22:36
2. Posted by Richard Kopp | August 14, 2004 5:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I wish I could disagree, but I can't...but I do think the Spanos family does want the team to do well, but they are easily 'deceived' by their GM's. I don't think Marty is a good coach and I don't think A.J. Smith is a good GM...
The Spanos family essentially turns the team operations over to the GM and that is where the problem is right now. Butler had some success and a vision but since his passing, A.J. Smith seems out of his element.
I would like the Spanos family fire both A.J. and Marty and go after a proven winner for the GM. Get a good coach and build from there. I think the 2004-05 season is already a bust. A.J. and Marty have done nothing to correct the many glaring problems on this team and Marty thinks that his coaching and mere presence is going to rectify that...and it won't.
2. Posted by Richard Kopp | August 14, 2004 5:07 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 14, 2004 17:07