Haynesworth may want to get out, but will he pay back money to do so?
Date: Sunday, April 11 @ 08:50:25 EDT
Topic: Redskins
Speculation has increased in the past few days that Albert Haynesworth might be willing to pay back part of the recent $21 million bonus he received in an effort to help facilitate his exit from Washington, which two people in the organization said he would welcome because of Coach Mike Shanahan's plans to use him as a nose tackle in the team's new 3-4 scheme.
After about 15 years covering major beats, I've learned never to say never, because anything can happen with the size of the egos and money involved in professional sports. But I do not envision Haynesworth repaying any money to the Redskins, who are as eager to send him elsewhere as he is to leave, the sources said.
In one-on-one interviews with Haynesworth during last season, he made it clear to me how proud he was of the record $100 million contract -- that included a then-record $41 million in guaranteed money -- he received from owner Daniel Snyder only hours after the free-agent market opened in February 2009. It wasn't just about the money, Haynesworth told me, it was that Snyder showed confidence in bringing him to Washington, he believed, to play in a 4-3 defense in the same aggressive manner that helped him become a two-time all-pro for the Tennessee Titans. Haynesworth reveled in the status of being the game's highest-paid defensive player, he said, and he believed he earned the contract, which has paid him $32 million in its first 14 months.
Also, if Haynesworth were willing to give back money, why not just come to some agreement with the Redskins before the $21 million was due? With the contract now relatively affordable for every team (he's guaranteed another $9 million and the base salaries average a little more than $5.23 million the next three seasons), Haynesworth likely would have been traded already if another team would not have been on the hook for the bonus on April 1.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/albert-haynesworth/haynesworth-may-want-to-get-ou.html
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