Pelissero: Throwing more money at Brett Favre is a dangerous game
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MANKATO, Minn. -- Brett Favre has left the Minnesota Vikings with two choices.
Wait him out, or try breaking the bank.
A FoxSports.com report on Tuesday indicated the Vikings may do both, giving their 40-year-old quarterback all the time he needs and seeing if more money would sway Favre to return.
The former makes sense. The Vikings are hands-down a better team with Favre, and if he doesn't want to return until late August or early September or, hell, the Week 4 bye, the team has every reason to oblige.
There's a real problem with the latter, though. Multiple problems, actually. And that's why it's difficult to believe all the leverage Favre has at this juncture will translate into a fat raise, wired as owner Zygi Wilf might be to never let a price tag stop him.
For one thing, the Vikings continue to face revenue challenges in the Metrodome, and they've been deferring base-salary payments for years. In 2010 alone, according to data obtained by 1500ESPN.com, the Vikings have made $17.35 million in deferred payments to seven players, including $4 million to Favre -- one-third of his $12 million base salary from last season.
Another $4 million of Favre's 2009 base salary isn't due until Feb. 28, 2011, when the NFL could be on the verge of a lockout. And unlike scheduled bonus payments, laws require deferred money to be paid on time regardless of the league's labor situation.
Perhaps Favre's effect on ticket and merchandise sales could make up the difference, but pushing even more money into an uncertain future doesn't seem like a palatable resolution.
That's not the biggest issue, either.
Breaking from precedent, the Vikings have not been proactive in locking up a long list of starters -- receiver Sidney Rice, left end Ray Edwards, defensive tackle Pat Williams, kicker Ryan Longwell, linebackers Ben Leber and Chad Greenway -- who could become free agents after the season.
That suggests they, like many teams, are wary of committing large sums up front when there might be no football next year.
There also has been contract-related speculation swirling recently around Rice, running back Adrian Peterson and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe -- core skill-position players the team presumably wants to keep around long after Favre's gone.
That talented trio is owed a combined $6.29 million in base salary this season -- a little less than half the $13 million Favre would make if he plays a 20th NFL season under the last year of his current deal.
Most players seem to understand Favre's a unique case when it comes to avoiding training camp.
Money's a different story. Money talks.
Damn right there would be some unrest if the Vikings offered Favre $15 million or $17 million or even $20 million for four months' work -- seemingly strong-armed by the man who is forcing teammates to answer a thousand unanswerable questions for a second straight summer.
Nothing gets by agents, either, especially ones who have been told for months there's nothing left for their clients.
All this boils down to, what's Favre worth to this team? Not merely in money, but in what the organization is willing to sacrifice to bring him back.
Coach Brad Childress walked a tightrope last summer and made it to the other side because Favre delivered beyond almost everyone's expectations.
What happens if the Vikings dip back into Wilf's bank account to convince Favre to return again -- and this time, he falls flat on his face?
The team has made clear it doesn't think this is over by a long shot, and rightfully so. This is Favre, after all, and it's difficult to see this team as a Super Bowl contender with Tarvaris Jackson under center.
Putting money back on the table is a dangerous game, though. One the locker room will be watching if the Vikings decide to play.
