Online--wagering Basketball Betting News

<< OVC still trying to leap playoff hurdle
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is so much for cornerback CJ James to bask in regarding Eastern Illinois' football 2009 season. From playing before 104,000 fans at Penn State to winning on the road at rival Jacksonville State to havin

<< Schiavone opener suspended in Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open champion Francesca Schiavone will have to wait until Tuesday to complete her opening-round match at the $220,000 Istanbul Cup tennis event. The top-seeded Schiavone was leading Brit Anne

<< Cubs' Ramirez earns NL weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending July 25. The 32-year-old slugger hit .360 and his four home runs tied for the lead in

<< Orioles' Scott earns AL weekly honor
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 25. Scott hit an AL-leading four home runs and added three doubles and eight runs

Celtics bring back Marquis Daniels >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics re-signed veteran guard/forward Marquis Daniels on Monday. Terms of the deal were not announced, per club policy. The seven-year veteran posted averages of 5.6 points and 1.

Nashville signs D Parent >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Ryan Parent to a two-year, $1.85 million contract. He will be paid $850,000 in the upcoming 2010-11 season and $1 million in 2011-12. The 23-ye

Dolgopolov, Chela win Umag openers >>
Umag, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov and eighth-seeded Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela were a pair of first- round winners Monday at the Croatia Open. Chela charged past Spain's Ruben Ramir

Ravens sign second-rounder DT Cody >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with second-round draft choice Terrence Cody on a three-year contract. The 6-foot-4, 349-pounder was the 57th overall selection in April's draft. He was a con

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.