Clippwrs Basketball Betting News

<< Opening week in Arena Football
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The AFL on ESPN era kicks off this Sunday, March 4, with two marquee matchups at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC. ArenaBowl XX Champion Chicago Rush begin its first title defense after an improbable season-ending, six-ga

<< Kennedy tops crowded Johnnie Walker leaderboard
Phuket, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Brad Kennedy carded a seven- under-par 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Johnnie Walker Classic. There are 25 players within four shots of the Kennedy

<< Dumont's goal sends Predators past Sharks
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Dumont netted the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators past the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. After Ryane Clowe missed wide on San Jose's first attempt, Alexander

<< Flames edge Wild in shootout
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the Calgary Flames over the Minnesota Wild, 2-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Robyn Regehr scored for the Flames, winners of three straight

Rangers host new-look Penguins in key Atlantic showdown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will bring a few new faces to the rink this evening, when they head to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers. On Tuesday morning, the Pens convinced 40-year-old winger Gary R

Reeling Flyers resume road trip in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Biron is expected to make his debut in net for the Philadelphia Flyers when they visit the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Banknorth Garden. The Flyers, who have an NHL-low 42 points, have dropped five straight ga

Clippers, SuperSonics conclude home-and-home set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle SuperSonics play the finale of a home-and-home set tonight at KeyArena. This is the fourth and final meeting of the campaign between the clubs. The Clippers have won three strai

Stars shoot into Florida to battle the Panthers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars will conclude a brief excursion through the Sunshine State this evening, when the Pacific Division contenders visit the BankAtlantic Center to face the Florida Panthers. Dallas began the trip on a very goo

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.