What I dont like is for any coach playing games in the media about what a ” player should do or shouldnt do” about his contract and such. Unless Harbaugh is paying the checks or paying for Rice’s money when he is injured.. he really shouldnt be discussing what Rice Should be doing or saying his personal feeling in the matter.

$7.7 mil is not THAT bad… what’s everyone complaining about?
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Yeah, it’s not that bad compared to your $35,000 annual salary. If you were a player as good as Ray Rice who means as much to his team as he does and you’re one hit away from your career ending in a position where other guys make almost double that… that’s what everyone is complaining about. Oh, and Harbaugh should keep his mouth shut on matters like these to avoid alienating his locker room.

Sorry but Ray Rice is much like Joe Flacco, in that he’s been fortunate to be on a very good team with plenty of talent around them that make them look much better than they are.

Talented RBs like Rice are ripped off by current rules. Their first 4 years are kept artificially low, then they can be franchise tagged 2 or 3 more years. And if their legs are shot at any pt during these first 7 years, then they have no value or career.
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100% agree. That’s why you might see running backs more than any other position hold out. A running back is drafted at the age of 21 or 22. The typical NFL rookie contract calls for a 4 – 5 year deal. After that a team can franchise a player up to 3 straight years…….So if you’re a talented running back you can conceivably spend your entire career (most backs are through by age 29/30) without ever having the opportunity to test the free agent market and getting the true monetary value for your talents.

The Franchise tag is the most bs rule in any professional sport and I’m suprise the players have put up with it this long. A back like Rice would comand way more than a 1 year $7.7 million deal on the open market. Rice was the most important offensive player on a Super Bowl calibar team (They were one catch away from the Super Bowl).

Not saying $7.7M is chump change, but denying what would likely end up as a 10M+ payday or more (+ a large signing bonus) if he could hit the open market, it just sucks.

The NFL would be best to just eliminate the franchise tags all together. Either pay the guys or lose them. That will solve a lot of problems right there.

He will also not hold out while the contract is getting figured out. He wouldn’t let his “big brother” Ray Lewis down like that knowing the window is closing.