James Cook Aims for Top Pay Amid NFL Contract Trends

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00:00Well, yesterday a tweet came out with the Buffalo Bills' James Cook on his contract situation,

00:04and he states, I quote, I'm never going to give up. I deserve what I want. It's going to get done

00:09whenever it happens. Cook said he never thought about holding out. I also understand this.

00:14You usually hold that as a tactic where that team absolutely can't afford to have you and

00:18every day without you is sort of tough. Like if Josh Allen goes, you ain't paying me what I'm

00:22worth. I'm going to sit out. There's going to be shockwaves and a remedy immediately. James Cook

00:26has wanted a contract for a long time, but here's the interesting part about the running back

00:30situation, Joe, in the NFL. Two, three years ago, nobody got paid. I was like, you know what? We're

00:34going to loosen the strings here. Derrick Henry got paid. Saquon Barkley got paid, and Josh Jacobs got

00:38paid. You know what really deters NFL owners? Like, wait a second. They all three got paid. They all

00:43three got injured. They didn't perform well. Like nobody would ever get a contract again at running

00:46back. But now you see like, wait, we paid Jacobs, you know, going from Oakland over, excuse me,

00:51Las Vegas over to Green Bay. Boy, he looked really good at that. Saquon Barkley, one of the best running

00:56back years in the history of sports. They paid him. Derrick Henry chomping along the 2,000 yards

01:00or close to it. It's like, man, and those guys are getting re-upped and extended. Now, James Cook

01:05goes, all right, I made decent money, but I think I'm just as good as those guys, and I want at least

01:10top five pay. And the bill is like, all right, hold on now. There's categories, and there's your

01:14category. We love you here, but how much do we love you? How much are you worth? He did it for one

01:18season. Can you prove it a little bit more? What are your thoughts here before we get to James Cook

01:22actually not holding in or holding out, but James Cook to the Buffalo Bills and what his

01:27pay status should be in your mind? Listen, mad respect for him. Kudos to him, because we all know

01:34the NFL owners are a lot of things, and one of them is they're not exactly going to pay you what

01:40you're worth if they don't have to. And who better? It's all about timing and leverage in the NFL,

01:46right? We just saw it with the 49ers, right? Jennings is like, yeah, I'm going to want more

01:52money. Well, why? Because he knew that wide receiver room, everybody's out or hurt. They

01:57don't know when Iuke's coming back. So, you know, they already know. Pearsall is not going to start.

02:03He's going to start on the IL. So it's all about leverage. Now, James Cook doesn't have a ton of it,

02:10but what he does have is he was such a big part of what this offense did and did well last year

02:16that now is the time. You know, if they don't make the playoffs this year or it's a down season,

02:22that window of opportunity for him to demand more money, Donnie, is out the window. And I think the

02:27window is closing for the Buffalo Bills. Pay the guy the money, and kudos for him for drawing a line

02:33in the sand, because a lot of guys wouldn't do that. Yeah, exactly. He's like, you know what? I'm

02:38going to show up, be that good soldier. And also, you show up and be the good soldier because

02:41it's not the case that look at Terry McLaurin, right? You say, well, the commanders, how they're

02:45doing it. Well, they offered me a contract in March. We haven't spoke since, so I'm not showing

02:48up because this isn't going anywhere. You know, as well as I do. Like, let's just say the money is

02:53$13 million a year, just throwing it out there. The Buffalo Bills are at 11 and a half, and he's at

02:5914 million. Hey, can we meet in the middle? It's getting closer and closer and closer. And if you're a

03:03running back, you want to get your money, you want to still be in camp with the boys and say,

03:06it'll eventually work its way out. We'll meet halfway and get this done. Because I'll tell you

03:09right now, if we heard like, well, James Cook wants a new contract and the Buffalo say, good luck with

03:13that. You could show up and like it at this point. He wouldn't be a training camp. So you have to

03:17figure it's getting close, just like Kyron Williams out for the Los Angeles Rams. Important players,

03:21but sort of that tier, it's not being disrespectful that they tier two, right? Of running backs that are

03:25trying to get tier one money. I'm young, I'm productive. I played really well last year. Now it's the time

03:30for me to strike while the iron's hot. They're looking to get their money and rightfully so we'll see.

03:34And the Buffalo Bills were very explosive with him on the field last year, talking about Cook.

03:38We'll see if he gets signed here long-term and everybody can go into the season happy. And

03:42he's not worried about, hey man, I only want 10 carries a game. If you're not going to pay me,

03:46I need to have my longevity. You'll ramp that up to 20 carries a game quick if he gets paid and

03:50he'll be happy, Joe, to tote that back. Yep. And he's not a distraction, Donnie. He has shown up to

03:55the, you know, all the voluntary stuff. He was there at the mini camps. He's there now. He's not

04:01being a distraction. So, you know, he's being the good soldier in the final year of his contract,

04:07but he knows, and we all know, every time he steps out onto the field, if he gets hurt,

04:13then bye-bye. I mean, you're playing the, you're playing out your contract and that's the end of

04:17it. So I don't blame him for doing it, but he's doing it in a very respectful way to his teammates

04:22into the organization. I think they eventually figure it out before game one.

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