Peppers & Carolina don’t come to agreement

As Major League Baseball takes center as the only major sport (of course there is soccer (both men’s and women’s) and the WNBA) some news comes out from the National Football League. One of those tidbits, which comes from the AP through Philly.com, is about an ex Tar Heel, Julius Peppers. Yesterday was the dead line for the Carolina Panthers and the defensive end to strike a long term deal. Wednesday came and went and the two sides did not reach an agreement, tagging Peppers as a franchise player, which means he will be paid $ 16,700,000 for this upcoming season. It’s great money for the ex Heel, who has been to four Pro Bowls and will now have one of the highest contracts in the NFL.

Julius Peppers

The rules state that Peppers and the Panthers will not be able to be in negotiation until the end of the `09-`10 season. At that point the two parties will see if they can work out the differences that they could not up til yesterday, or else Carolina could once again put the franchise tag on Julius Peppers. With him being a force to be reckoned with on the field, I am sure that the long term (be it with the Panthers or some other franchise) will come. The DE was the Def Rookie of Year in 2002, four time Pro Bowl and twice a First Team All Pro. As I do with all the Heels, let me wish all the best to Peppers, for both the season ahead and then the negotiations that will follow.

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