Haynesworth: Bucs offered more money

Some interesting news about the Bucs in an interview that Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth had on Sirius NFL Radio. Haynesworth, the biggest jewel in this season's free-agent crop, chose the Redskins over an offer from the Bucs, apparently giving up money to do so. Here's the juicy parts:

Host Adam Schein asked if money was the No. 1 issue in him choosing the Redskins, and Haynesworth said "No, I could've made more money with Tampa Bay if I really wanted to."

Asked why he chose the Redskins -- who finished last in the NFC East last season and went 8-8, one game behind the 9-7 Bucs -- here's what Haynesworth had to say:

"They offered me a whole lot more, and even with their tax situation, it could have been 20 percent more. But you look at Washington, they've got a lot of the pieces together. They're right there. They're in a huge market. It's one of the largest markets in the world. You've just got a large, huge media outlet and it can be life beyond football. Going to Tampa, I mean, great city. Looking at it from the off-season standpoint, I love the water. I love to be out in the sun. It's just awesome, but it would've been like another Nashville. Tampa doesn't have that big market and they don't have a huge fan base like the Washington Redskins do, so I think it was just a choice just to look at it that way."

In case you're wondering, by the numbers, Washington D.C. is the nation's ninth-largest TV market, while Tampa is 13th. Did we mention that the Bucs play at the Redskins in Week 4 on Oct. 4?

-- Greg Auman, Times staff writer

Comments

[big007hed]

Wow....

[Itch]

I feel strangely insignificant now.

[Greg285]

9th largest market in comparison to the 13th largest market? WoW! I guess they don’t teach mathematics at UT in Knoxville! This rationale is by far the most ridiculous one that I ever heard! As a diehard Bucs fan who lives in Wash, D.C. , Haynesworth does understand economics! I don’t care how much money you have, it’s expensive as Hell to live up here , I don’t care how much money you make….

[aj]

So he's saying the Bucs offered him 120 million. I guess there's no more blaming Dominik for coming in second.

I think he's wrong about the market. Being a personality on the Bucs is like a free ticket to a tv career. Key even has his own reality show coming up, not that I'll watch it. Combine that with the fact the Redskins s-u-c-k and he's insane.

[Greg285]

I agree the Skins suck! You don't know how annoying the media is up here with the Skins! When the Skins lose, this who Metro Area is SILENT…..

[OAR]

Didn't want him then and don't even more now.

[BucFandango]

Some people just don't know when to keep their mouth shut. Fat Albert is one of them. This game will most likely be a win for the Bucs. Haynesworth will probably be on IR by week 4 with some ridiculous ailment, soaking up the Sun in Miami and draining Snyder's bank account. Haha, They deserve each other.

[Krutch]

I think Haynesworth is talking about making more money in that he wouldn't be paying income tax in Tampa. I bet his cap number is higher than what we were offering. Good riddance, this guy only plays when he wants to anyway. Would've brought unnecessary ego to the team mindset we're trying to build.

[smoke]

life after football is what you make out of it. Look as Warren Sapp, so to say that Tampa is not as big a market, and there is no real opportunity when he leaves is really an ignorent thing to say. If you have the charisma people want you,you will have a career after football. I am sure Brooks will have a lot to look forward to when he choses to retire.

[Robert]

No opportunity makes me laugh. Key is with the ESPN football crew and getting his own show, Dilfer is on ESPN, Shaun King is on ESPN, Gruden worked for the NFL NEt. and is going to be an announcer on Mon night football, and Sapp works for the NFL NET. Not to mention Brooks and Ronde Im sure will have multiple opps. as well. Oh yea, and even Winslow who has not played a game in tampa is going to be daytona's honorary official. Albert, you my friend need to stop the bull and be honest with yourself. No, there is no opportunity for guys that play in the Tampa market. I am glad we did not land this guy. No 1 man playing football half hearted is worth 120 mil. Albert, you have fun with your over paid egotistic team and we will build a winner! As far as the fans go, Albert obviously has not been on this blog or known that we had a waiting list for season tickets that was years long at one point! Tampa, we are lucky we did not get this guy. Not only is he injury prone and lazy, he loves being around the water and seeing him at the beach would be a disturbing sight!

[Robert]

By the way, Albert you will be able to look out into the stands in DC and notice the people look just like yourself.

[Sim]

Becareful what you wish for, Albert. That sword has 2 edges.

[fldumkids]

He is correct and the ignorant comments by the loser fans here confirm. small market and small minds. Sucs are in for a horrible year. "coaching staff" just a bunch of piss ants on a log going downstream, with each one declaring he is steering....enjoy, sucs losers.

[WS]

Thank you Albert, for not taking the money. You did us a favor! Sorry, but you not worth that much cap space. Your mayor smokes crack.

[WordySanchez]

Well I certainly agree w/ most comments here, but would like to add this?

Can we now please hear the last about how Dominik isn't willing to pay free agents?

He's an idiot for purging a roster and making us look like a place to go for a career to die, but he was willing to pay.

[TriplePlay]

Like he would know this data anyway. I wonder what the Redskins offered his agent?

[Vince]

Love all my Tampa people getting defensive. I love the Bucs, hate the Skins and have lived in Tampa my whole life, but he is absolutely right. D.C. is a much bigger market with much more opportunity. Those of you that are pointing to Sapp and Key and Dilfer and King, you are naming guys that played during the best Buc era ever and Dilfer is as well known for the Ravens (same market) as the Bucs.

Truth is the Bucs are probably better off without Haynesworth, but he is right. The only time free agents wanted to come here was during a brief period of dominance. People criticized Hardy Nickerson's decision to come here. Tampa is a small market. Disagree? Why is D. Williams better known for his Skins success? Why isn't J. Wilder considered one of the best of his era? People know more about Riggins and "the Hogs" then Wilder and his line.

[North Carolina John]

Well, at least fldumkids LOOSER, we will be watching you scratch your _ss and wishing you had gone for the REAL players instead of the LOOSERS you have gotten. By the way, we WILL be kicking your butts in October because your whiney, cheese eating, woosy player will be sidelined because he will be afraid of competing against any REAL talent.

[Go Long]

It's Amateur Hour at One Buc now.

of course the 20% he is tallking about is no state tax in Florida. However, if you think that Dominick (or more pointedly THE GLASERS) now is off the hook because the Bucs offered more money....well, rethink that a little - IT'S CALLED RECRUITING! You have to SELL the player on the team - Make him come visit the facility (which is amazing) meet the coaches, etc. Haynesworth made prior comments about how they got rid of key vets (so he doesn't think much of how they do things)

The Bucs whiffed and is anyone really surprised? You hired 2 guys with no experience to do these things. Think Gruden couldn't have closed this deal knowing that the Bucs were OFFERING MORE AND have the tax benefit??! Please! That would have been a slam dunk. Maybe Morris and Dominick should have got on a plane and met the guy face to face! Amateur hour.

[bobbyd]

Go here and laugh.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/bucs/2009/02/reskins-outbid.html#comments

[John P]

Albert can say whatever he wants to - it's a free country. I'm glad the Bucs 'failed' to sign him though. Very glad. Not for his mouth - but the fact that he likely will not be the dominant force, and he will take part of the season off. No great loss, Buc Nation.

[bucsuck]

WOW! I didn't know there were so many crybabies down in Tampa. I guess it's OK for you guys to whine and little about not getting Haynesworth but this is pathetic! GET OVER IT! At least you resigned Clayton to a huge deal(what a joke) and got Winlsow(what an even bigger joke), they should fit in great down there with all this whining going on. Well, have fun down in Tampa where all the people are walking around in the beautiful sun and apparently crying over the Bucs not getting Haynesworth for the past 3 months!

P.S. - The reason people are silent in DC whenthe Skins lose a game is because we are actually PASSIONATE about our football team. As for the length of wait that the BUCS have for their season tickets, I know hat Albert saw in the Skins over the Bucs! How about DECADES long wait! Bet you guys don't know anything about that. We stick with our team through the thick and thin not jump ship and swim to Jacksonville or Miami when you start doing bad.

[tbbucs4755]

And here I always thought the Redskins were the east coast version of the Raiders... Thanks for clearing that up Albert. And yes Albert, the water in Tampa is just like the water in Nashville. Apparently the geography is just as strong as the mathematics at UT in Knoxville!

[B_town]

There must be a bigger market for face stomping in DC. That seems to be the only thing he's qualified to do in his life after football.

[TheBucStop.Net]

Smart Man he knew that Raheem was a liar and back stabber and that as so many other Buc players are starting to find out another Jon Gruden only this one is uneducated in schooling as well as speech

[George]

Hey BucStop, do just make up this shiznit? Where do you get that information?

Probably just another hater.

[George]

Haynesworth will live to regret the decision. So, he's talking about "market" and visibility... That translates to mony and fame... So clearly, winning was not his main objective, and it never is when a player signs with the SnyderSkins. Plan on losing fat-boy!

[joe hillman]

seems as though haynesworth may not even know what he's talking about.

http://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=12311

[Vince]

You have to love it when someone takes a shot at another man's "schooling" with a comment like this:

"Smart Man he knew that Raheem was a liar and back stabber and that as so many other Buc players are starting to find out another Jon Gruden only this one is uneducated in schooling as well as speech"

Classic . . . "uneducated in schooling as well as speech." Too funny.

[bucsuck]

You guys wish you had a forth of the fans the the Skins have! I also hear that the Bucs are the east coast version of the 49ers!

[Vince]

bucsuck:

I suppose we might wish the Bucs had a "forth" of the fans the Skins do. Or maybe we are all just thankful that we have more than a "forth" of the intelligence of Skins fans!

Tough day on the blogs for "schooling" . .

[DR]

Wow mOARon, I agree with you. This is good for the Bucs. $120 for this guy would have been ridiculous. Albert will have a hard time living up to his contract and he better be prepared to face the inevitable scrutiny these next few years. A guy who only plays 60% of the time shouldn't get a big contract like that. Snyder loves overpaying guys to the point where he can't win. Haynesworth can play good but still get criticized for not living up to his mammoth contract, and deservingly so.

[OAR]

Spin-DR, glad you see it my way this time, but you go on to say "A guy who only plays 60% of the time shouldn't get a big contract like that." and didn't have a problem with what the Bucs paid Kellen "Sarge"(BTW don't call him that) Winslow? You do realize he falls into that same 60% category. Spin away baby.

[TheBucStop.Net]

Hey Goerge every thing I say has been researched and checked out not just off the top of my head as most are Morris has lied several times he tried to cover up that he did not say Freeman would be the starter but if you remember Freeman himself said it was a smoke screen The man can not speak in a educated sense using such words as abreasted and others I would not know how to spell here is some Facts for you Freeman was to be the starter from day 1 of the draft just like he already knows who will be the starters even thoe training camp has not even arived yet Just like they are going to try getting out of paying RUUD all I said was Haynesworth was smart to not sighn here because of the lies being told to others like McCown he will get to compete no vet will take a chance on injury's in OTA's thats what Camp is for Thats when you turn up the flame.

[DR]

Of course mOARon, you again, can't seem to understand. You call me a spin DR and you constantly spin and misrepresent the facts. I'm not even considering injury time for playing time. If you know football, which obviously you don't, you would realize that Haynesworth takes 60% of the snaps when he is 100% healthy. That's what I'm talking about. As far as Winslow's injuries, last year's shoulder injury was his first concerning injury. The motorcycle injury (non football related) won't happen again, and the broken leg was a complete fluke. That could have happened to anybody. Winslow is probably the most in shape player on the Bucs and will be one of the best, if not the best player on the team. Order your Winslow jersey as soon as you can. And talk about a true hater, you won't let go of a comment Winslow apologized for six years ago. That's hating at its best!

[Vince]

TheBucsStop.net -- a little friendly advice: Stop, please. Stop. "Everything I say has been researched and checked out . . ." Too funny . .

[DR]

And really, Winslow's comments in college weren't bad. Desert Storm II wasn't nearly as bad a war as World War II and the Vietnam War and he was certainly not the first player to call a sports event a war. He was just unfortunate to not realize that America has gone to a politically correct wussy world where you can't say anything anymore. I refuse to take part in the "w"ussification of America and criticize a guy for saying what Winslow said. I wouldn't care if he said it again. He was talking about football and didn't disrespect anybody in the military at all. If that was offensive, than I feel sorry for you.

[DR]

Thanks Vince. The bucsstop.net, how can anyone take you seriously when you can't make a sentence?

[OAR]

Spin-Dr, your bringing up Desert Storm II as a comparison to what Kellen "Im a F'n Soldier" Winslow said? Too f'n funny!
Hey you can man crush on him all you want. I don't like or care for him or his attitude. He couldn't get a real player(not even his dad) to be the special guest speaker at his youth football camp at OneBuc. He had his agent speak(someone you spoke poorly about). What a footballer!

[OAR]

BTW One good year does not make you a stud.

[Vince]

DR-- Winslow's comment was not related to the war. It drew criticism because he said he did not care that the player he hit (in a great block) was injured. He said he did not care because it was "war" and he was an "F-n soldier"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82BPA5QAaQ

[DR]

And I agree that Winslow shouldn't care about the other player getting hurt. I plowed a player who was taken off on a stretcher. It sucked but you can't care. If you care about other players getting injured, you can't play football. Injuries, and unfortunately, very bad injuries, happen in football all the time.
Vince, I'm recalling the media's reaction to his comments and how they were offensive to military members.
I can't stand the media being so involved in sports. Interviewing coaches at halftime (after each quarter in basketball), and being in the locker room after games. Then asking classic questions like, "how do you feel after losing?" The media only reports the negative things that happen. Look at how Dunn, Brooks, Lynch, and company get little to no coverage for their greatness off the field and yet, even the littles negative thing gets blown up to be more than it is. Lebron James not talking to the media after losing to the Magic was a good thing to do. He had nothing positive to say, of course, and yet was portrayed negatively by the media. All they wanted out of James was a comment to put on the front page, like "James rips teammates" or something negative like that.
The media being in a locker room at the college level is ridiculous. Why report on "amateurs" in the manner that they do?

[aj]

Winslow does sound like a complete retard, but you can't worry about hurting someone. It's part of the game. Besides, he was just a kid playing at the U. I'm sure if he broke a guys neck or something really bad like that, he'd show some compassion.

[SkinsFan4Life]

1st of all, to all the Buc fans out there. YOU WISH YOU GOT HIM. its not your money what the F do you care how much he gets. NFL teams are not going to give a guy 100 million especially in this economy if the guy wasnt worth it, trust me, he is worth it.

You can bash him all day here but the bottom line is that had he signed with Tampa you would all be stoked.

Who cares why he chose the redskins, but it does say alot that he passed on an extra 20 million to play for a team that is talented. The skins play in the NFC East so 8-8 in that division is like 10-6 in every other division

you try playing the Cowboys Giants and Eagles 2 x a year
and see how far you go

And lastly, It shows that he is not all about money, he wants to succeed in the NFL and that is all that a fan can ask for!!

[BucFandango]

Skinsfan4life, you're an idiot. Why are you even here? Don't you juice bags have your own websites? Can't you see we're having a family argument here and you're not invited. Please stay up there in the cold, with the painted face warriors and crooked politicians. We don't care about your lousy team and all the bogus reasons you stated for losing year after year after year. Don't you people get tired of losing all the time? No wonder the Mayor was a crack head. The funny thing is that when that dummy Haynesworth left Tennessee and moved to DC, it raised the IQ of both places.

[Larry]

Read joebucsfan's take yesterday on the Hainesworth interview for the real inside.
www.joebucsfan.com/

[TriplePlay]

Vince, The Hogs, Riggans and the rest of the crew won a Super Bowl.

The Bucs players you identified didn't win squat.

If the football hall of fame had a category called "Good but not good enough" I'm sure a bunch of Buc players would be in there.

Good post though.

[bucsuck]

Vince says that he researches everything...well why don't you research how many Super Bowls the Bucs have won compared to the number Skins have won!

"News flash for Walter Cronkite. You think your too cool for school, but your not." - DERR-ICK ZOO-LAND-ER

BOOM!

BucFAGdango sounds like you have some issues of your own. Let me see since the Bucs came into the NFL in 1976 they have had 10 winning seasons and one season without even winning a game(1976 - which I am sure you know about) and since 1976 the Skins have had 16 winning seasons. So you may want to rethink who maybe tired of losing all the time.

SKINS NATION!

[bucs?]

amazing all of these ignorant comments by the sucs fans...all over a player who would not have made a difference at all...why not up in arms about signing a soft, has=been like clayton?..but all the fans in tampa are soft, just like their players and the few real fans are just ignorant white trash who could not have made it anywhere else in the country..STEELERS RULE, TOUGH PLAYERS, TOUGH FANS...AND PREPARE FOR A "NIGHTMARISH" SEASON, SUCS FANS...YOU AND THE NEW "LEADERSHIP" HAVE EARNED IT....HAHA...CLAYTON, WINSLOW...OH, AND DO YOU HAVE A D LINE IN PLACE YET??

[TheBucStop.Net]

Yeah thats why I run a Bucs website and a blog in Wordpress. And you guys just run your Cakeholes