In the past, Jets center Nick Mangold has been more than willing to talk about his lack of a new contract. Now that he’s closing in on getting an extension, he has zipped his lips.
“I am not talking contract,” Mangold said Monday in comments distributed by the team. “I was advised not to. Anything else football [related], I’d love to talk. But other than that, I am not talking contract.”
Mangold later explained that his agents advised him not to talk. And, of course, they wouldn’t be advising him to not talk if there wasn’t something to not talk about.
The amount of his compensation and the all-important guaranteed money aren’t yet known. What is known is that coach Rex Ryan has yet to learn the connection between the things he says about a player and the player’s potential financial expectations.
Indeed, Ryan recently called Mangold the “best center in the league.”
“That’s kind of him,” Mangold said. “God bless him. That’s another thank-you card I have to send.”
And he can buy the card with signing bonus.