We reported on Monday that Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin is planning to hold out if he doesn’t get a long-term deal from the team this offseason, something that could be complicated by his reported contract demands.
Josina Anderson of ESPN.com spoke to a “high-ranking Vikings source” about Harvin and the source said he didn’t think a holdout would solve Harvin’s contract desires. That’s because of Harvin’s lack of leverage in the situation, but the standoff could also be impacted by the fact that Harvin apparently sees himself in the same class with Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson as the best wideouts in the NFL.
“[Harvin] is a star player in our league, but I would imagine that he sees himself in the class of the top wide receivers in our league,” the source said. “I do know at his production, when he was healthy, he was producing along with Larry and Calvin and those guys. I could see Harvin’s agent making the argument that he deserves their type of pay.”
He can make any argument he likes, but it’s hard to put Harvin in that kind of company based on their careers to this point. Harvin does many things well, but he doesn’t overwhelm defenses the way the other two men have done in their careers. Johnson just signed an eight-year, $150.5 million deal before the 2012 season and Fitzgerald is in the middle of his own eight-year, $128.5 million deal with plenty of guaranteed money in both cases.
If Harvin really is looking for that kind of money, his chances of getting a contract with the Vikings aren’t too hot. They probably won’t look any better to another team, which could mean this saga has a while to play out.