You have to give it to the people around Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, they know how to keep his name in the news.
It started the week of the Super Bowl, when his agent Kristin Campbell stoked the flames by saying “It’s time for the Falcons to pay him like the elite back he is.”
But with the Falcons doing other business this week before working on an extension for their star running back, Campbell’s husband — rapper/First Amendment pioneer/Devonta’s Pop Warner coach Luther Campbell — added to the talk on Twitter.
Matt Schaub 9 mil Trufant 14 mil no money left for Freeman looking like a Trade to me. https://t.co/JL5DgIbHg6
— Luther Luke Campbell (@unclelukereal1) March 9, 2017
Uncle Luke has since backed off, joking on Twitter that he’s been “put on timeout” and can’t talk about the Falcons any more “unless you have a place for me to stay.”
But as noted by Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this sets the stage for a potentially sticky negotiation.
Of course Freeman is underpaid, even after his fourth-year rookie deal salary bumped to $1.838 million. And the Falcons have said they want to do right by the guy who has 27 touchdowns the last two seasons while splitting time with Tevin Coleman.
But those around him keep stirring the pot at unusual times and suggesting the deal’s not going to get done probably aren’t helping the case they think they’re advocating for.