With all the talk about whether Drew Brees will get a long-term deal from the Saints, it’s easy to forget that 13 other franchise players have yet to get long-term deals, either.
And not every franchise player is as upset as Brees seems to be about the lack of a multi-year deal.
“I’m hoping something long-term will happen,” 49ers safety Dashon Goldson told Randy Cross and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday night, via Marvez’s double-dipping article at FOXSports.com. “I’m not taking anything personally. I look at it as a business move on [San Francisco’s] part. That’s just the business.
“If I have to play for the tag, I’ll play for the tag. But any guy would love long-term security.”
Unlike Brees, Goldson has seen another franchise player who plays his position get that security, when the Titans gave safety Michael Griffin a five-year, $35 million contract.
“I’m sure it helps,” Goldson said of the Griffin contract. “Mike Griffin is a great player. He’s a good friend of mine. I’m excited for him. He does a lot for that team and is well deserving of what he got.”
By not giving a franchise player a long-term deal with significant guaranteed money, the team keeps the injury risk on the player.
“All these one-year/one-year [contracts] is not what any player would want,” Goldson said. “We know what we put our bodies through and what we do for our teams. But it’s all good. There’s no love lost or anything like that. I just hope something will get done. If not, I’ll still be a 49er.”
But for how long? Without a long-term deal this year, it will cost the 49ers $7.44 million to keep him in 2013, a 20-percent raise over his $6.2 million deal in 2012. Come 2014, the Niners would have to give Goldson the quarterback franchise tender to keep him around.
Griffin got his money after showing up for the offseason program without a contract, which the CBA permits. Goldson opted to stay away from 49ers workouts. Though it’s unclear whether his absence has made the 49ers less inclined to give Goldson the security wants, it apparently hasn’t made it more likely.