Another contract update…from Anson
I have no idea how credible any of this is, but I’d thought I’d share it with the Board. Most people seems mixed on this guy. He attaches a document for the contract negotiations.
https://twitter.com/tja4michigan/status/1613333338185691136?s=46&t=L6iZONsA2RKSdYCCliyqcg
January 12th, 2023 at 3:20 PM ^
Hmm.......call me skeptical.
A cryptic Twitter post from someone who a few days ago posted a slam on Warde for not going in with him on whatever NIL scheme he was pitching.....clearly from a person trying to cash in on his M connections in some manner.......can still taste the sour grapes from that one. No details or specifics, just "Warde bad, my NIL best!"
Now today, same person posts an update on contract status with an oblique invitation to determine for yourself who is the main obstacle to keeping Harbaugh at M, along with an anonymous and slanted word doc write-up casting Warde as the villain/obstacle for keeping Jim and Santa the hero.
Feels like a hit job to me, if you read through this with a less jaundiced view of Warde, he might just be doing what ADs do, making offer at level A, negotiating, talking with his boss/Santa, working out changes/compromising, making adjustments to the offer/contract and sending them for review as Offer B. etc., until you get it inked. Sounds about like a normal course of contract negotiations/business to me.
If Warde just gave the agent a blank check and didn't negotiate, there would be a whole different group heating tar and sharpening their pitchforks.
I don't envy him his job.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
A click-bait link to a click-bait tweet. You're more of a tease than your mom.
And I mean that with complete respect.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
Son...Mom never teases me!
Now get off the Blog, finish your homework and to bed with ya.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:50 PM ^
This makes sense.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:51 PM ^
This seems far fetched. I mean posting of a contract type doc publicly. I dunno… 🤔
January 12th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
Its not a contract. Its a google document that contains a roughly 2 page long description of the events surrounding the contract negotiations. I guess whoever wrote it didnt feel like breaking the details into a lengthly chain of tweets, and so just posted it as google doc.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
This has to be a joke. Not quite as many Gaga’s as the msu assault lawyer’s press release funny.
I genuinely hope that this is not legit.
‘I only flirted with them to make you realize how good you have it’
‘But they don’t want you.’
January 11th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
From all the "leaks", Warde seems to be an obstacle here, don't know why and maybe I am wrong, but he does not see, to be moving this in the direction that Jim, Ono, and most fans want.
January 12th, 2023 at 8:31 AM ^
Harbaugh -- extremely difficult to replace with an equivalent coach.
Warde -- probably below average AD. All that needs to be done is avoid a Dave Brandon hire to upgrade the position.
I think that I know which one I'd get rid of...
January 11th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
Damn it, double post. So we can always do....
January 11th, 2023 at 10:27 PM ^
You are forgiven
January 11th, 2023 at 10:35 PM ^
You get a bang for that...because, yeah......
January 11th, 2023 at 11:57 PM ^
God Bless America!
January 12th, 2023 at 8:14 AM ^
Strangely, I forgot the point of most everything. I feel drawn to this post though.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
Says something to the effect of Harbaugh not interested in money as much as he is appreciation.
Fine - build the man a statue, name a building after him, and let him drive around campus on a golf cart. Just put this to rest.
January 12th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Kill two birds with one stone. Just rename Schembechler to Harbaugh Hall or the Harbaugh Family Memorial Football Center
January 11th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
Three questions:
1. Does all of this dirty laundry have to be aired out in the open?
2. Why does Harbaugh want a lower buyout if he plans to stay at UM? I love coach and want him to stay for as long as he wants, but that doesn't sound like a fight you want to make if you want to stay at Michigan.
3. If any of this is true, what the fuck is Warde thinking?
January 11th, 2023 at 10:03 PM ^
The answer to #2 is while he may love coaching & living in Ann Arbor, what happens if his next AD or president are 2.0 versions of Dave "Let's watch film" Brandon and Mark "I hate sports" Schlissel?
That would be a great reason to leave town regardless of your love and loyalty to Michigan.
January 12th, 2023 at 1:56 AM ^
I hate Dave Brandon and all of the bullshit he wrought over the course of his disastrous tenure, but one thing I give him credit for is that he never held Stretchgate against Rich Rod. He made it clear that Stretchgate was not a factor in his decision to fire Rich Rod, even though he technically could have fired Rich Rod for cause and tried to get out of paying his buyout.
In light of that, if the reports that Warde is using the NCAA allegations against Harbaugh as leverage, then that's truly fucking shameful. Barring egregious conduct, no AD should ever side with the morally bankrupt NCAA against his own coaches in any way, shape, or form.
January 12th, 2023 at 10:01 AM ^
I have generally refrained from criticizing Warde, but if he's using the NCAA allegations against Harbaugh instead of going to bat for him then it's time for a change at AD. His handling of the Pearson saga is a second reason why my opinion of him has been fading rapidly
January 11th, 2023 at 11:15 PM ^
Leverage. Freedom. Seriously WTF.
January 12th, 2023 at 8:39 AM ^
I imagine Warde wants a higher buyout to discourage this annual bullsh*t.
Also, if an agent is indeed involved, these are big-boy negotiations. Handshakes and written on a napkin agreements are no longer a thing for "Team Harbaugh."
January 12th, 2023 at 9:09 AM ^
The buyout doesn't necessarily have to be used for Harbaugh to leave, but more over as future leverage. With the new TV contracts coming, it would not surprise me if the top coaches are all getting $12-15mil/year very soon. If Jim is stuck at $9mil (or worse) a higher buyout would make it more difficult to negotiate a higher contract, even if he has no intention of leaving.
January 12th, 2023 at 10:27 AM ^
I think the buyout should be commensurate with his annual salary level or an equivalent of it.
While I appreciate hearing about the pending contract talks, not really keen on knowing the lurid back and forth details --and personal positives and negatives. Apparently, there is disagreement. And they'll work it out.
But I can imagine that Mr. Anson may have already rocked Manuel's boat on this. Which explains why he's not too keen on his 501 (c) 3 tax exempt NIL collective fund-raising organization proposal under the umbrella but not under direct control of Michigan Athletics.
Part of that is the legal problem it might present given that Congress is working on a bill that would regulate how NIL orgs operate and run their business. A bipartisan bill was introduced in late September. I have no idea where it currently stands.
Some research indicates that currently the NIL college market is now estimated a $750m to $1b with a value expectation it will rise to between $3b to $4b over time. According to ON3 ratings, Michigan currently has the 18th and 33rd highest valued NIL players in Blake Corum ($881k) and JJ McCarthy ($683k). The highest valued player is Arch Manning, who has yet to play a down but has a NIL value of $3.6m.
At what point does this present an equity issue for players and coaches at the college level? Who knows?
But, there is no question NIL impacts every aspect of college football recruiting, from luring top high school players to portal transfers. ON3 reported that Ohio State now has 40 athletes on its men's football and basketball rosters under NIL agreements. When they ushered in their most recent signing class, 6 players were introduced to OSU fans as part of their NIL deals with checks cut on site.
I am not sure if that's what Mr. Anson had in mind with his NIL proposal, but that's where we are now.
January 12th, 2023 at 1:43 PM ^
The answer to #2 is that he still wants and has consistently been willing to go to the NFL if he gets an offer granting him enough general manager-like autonomy. Michigan isn't his end all be all dream job. I think that was pretty obvious when he left last year until the Vikings said no.
January 11th, 2023 at 9:59 PM ^
I don't really know what to make of Anson. I know he's billed as Harbaugh's close friend, but I wouldn't ever publicly tweet about my close friends' private thought processes, especially knowing that thousands of people are very interested. And I would hope they wouldn't publicly tweet about my private thought processes either.
This leads me to think that either:
(1) Anson is not nearly as close to Harbaugh as people seem to think, and his tweets are just his worthless speculation, or
(2) Anson is basically speaking on behalf on Harbaugh and tweeting out what Harbaugh wants him to tweet out.
January 11th, 2023 at 11:12 PM ^
Have you ever seen Thirteen Days?
In Thirteen Days, back channel negotiations are made between the Soviets and the US. Khrushchev turns to an old war buddy to do his back channel negotiations for him and represent the Soviets without technically being “official”. There’s a chance Anson is the guy Jim turns to try to influence opinion – his broker/back channel guy.
Although how the heck anyone green lighted leaking contract information without serious issues does make me question this, especially if Anson sort of just leaked who gave him the info. Sounds like a really quick way to get your source in trouble or canned.
January 12th, 2023 at 9:21 AM ^
I love that movie and fully understand the point you're making. However, Harbaugh doesn't strike me as the guy who sends "signals" through a third-party into the world of social media. I don't know him personally, but from everything I've seen on the outside looking in, that's my impression.
January 12th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
That's a fair point, but I'd slightly push back with this scenario:
Yes, Harbaugh isn't a back-channel third-party guy... possibly to the extent that he gets an agent to do that stuff because he's self-aware enough to know that isn't really his lane. Everything we've seen so far, seems to indicate that he has an agent this time around. This feels kinda like when he knew he had to add new wrinkles to the offense, so he hired Josh Gattis (who is probably as popular with us as Harbaugh's agent right now, if we're being honest)
January 12th, 2023 at 1:57 AM ^
Anson seems like a guy who needs to get back on his prescribed medication.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:35 AM ^
I vote we stop re-posting Anson stuff. Dude is a troll.
January 12th, 2023 at 9:08 AM ^
Well, that’s not really true that he’s a troll. I think the 13 Days reference about what Anson is doing is probably right.
January 12th, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
No, he’s a troll. He’s reposting some speculation and throwing in some of his own while claiming to be a close friend and insider. He’s throwing shade at the university to make this look like the university is at fault which is currently without factual support. He’s strategically doing this to shift the spotlight so Harbaugh doesn’t feel publicly pressured to sign a new agreement until his NFL options have been exhausted. Harbaugh already has a guaranteed date to the prom(M). He hasn’t asked her yet because he heard this super hot chick(NFL) might be dumping her boyfriend and he’s thinking he may have a chance.
January 12th, 2023 at 6:20 AM ^
These aren't Anson's words and he doesn't claim them to be. It's reposted from a 247 article that got this from a different source.
January 12th, 2023 at 7:37 AM ^
Yep +1 for clarity, but at the same time:
What the hell kind of close friend just reposts 247 rumors?!?
January 12th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
I've read the situation as Anson, based on his tweets, being more a PR guy for Harbaugh. Putting this contract situation on Warde via his tweets. He alludes to the source of the 247 post with some general identifiers, such that those in the know will know whom the source is. I don't follow the pay sites, but seems this stuff was floating around there, and Anson added it to what he was tweeting. That said, I can't imagine Harbaugh is oblivious to this taking place. I think there is truth to the desire for appreciation - this was noted in UM's pursuit of him to take over as coach. My feeling is the tweeting is to sway any negative public opinion away from him, and to Warde, more than contract leverage. Regardless, I just hope it is resolved quickly.
January 11th, 2023 at 10:00 PM ^
This is exactly how I have been reading the situation. Don’t know if it is true.
The most curious is the buyout negotiation. If Jim is so frustrated with all the recruiting challenges then he needs to agree to a high buyout to remove the flirting with the NFL negative recruiting issue. Put a clause in the contract to automatically adjust up the numbers to make him and assistants the highest paid in the B1G if he wins the league and no less than third highest if he doesn’t. He won’t need to flirt with his NFL mistress to get Warde to put out and we can recruit and be done with this crap.
and yes, why in hell is this cut and pasted from some random dude’s untitled phone notes. And why in the actual fuck is he telling us about he and his families COVID status. Doesn’t he know there are no politics allowed on this board?
I feel like I am in an alternate reality. This is so unbelievably bizarre
January 12th, 2023 at 8:40 AM ^
The buyout number is irrelevant to an NFL owner. Coaches get fired after one year and have a ton of remaining contract value. They are billioniares with football businesses that are worth billions. $10M is little more than a rounding error for these folks. The buyout number is only relevant to other college athletic departments.
Harbaugh will stay or go based on how he views his situation an Michigan -- and how he is treated.
If the above narrative is true -- the AD is using the NCAA charges against him, rescinded on the originally outlined contract terms, etc., it isn't a surprise that Harbaugh is considering his options. And he will do this EVERYTIME that the AD treats him like an employee instead of a member of the family.
January 12th, 2023 at 12:55 PM ^
From what I read that is exactly how the contract reads out as far as the compensation goes. $9M makes him a top 3 paid coach in the B1G. If he wins like he did this season he would then be the highest paid coach in the conference based on his incentive bonuses.
January 11th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
This Anson guy is quite the jockstrap-sniffer.
January 12th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
You were reading and posting on a sports message board at 10 PM. Glass houses and all that.
January 11th, 2023 at 10:03 PM ^
It’s absurd to think Harbaugh would let one of his “best friends” broadcast his ongoing contract negotiations.
January 11th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
There are probably more absurd things about Harbaugh than normal things. For better or worse.
January 12th, 2023 at 6:19 AM ^
This isn't Anson's info. He's reposting from a 247 article that uses a different source.
January 11th, 2023 at 10:05 PM ^
This is tabloid trash and should be treated as such
January 11th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
Seriously, why is this your take?
January 12th, 2023 at 4:43 AM ^
So you believe Nicole auerbach, the idiot um grad?
January 11th, 2023 at 10:06 PM ^
Question, does Jim have an agent now? The article states he does. He hasn’t in the past.
It was posted today that he made 10 million last year after winning the B1G. Where are they looking at, 12?
January 11th, 2023 at 10:30 PM ^
I asked that question a week ago on here, and apparently he hired an agent for the first time in years. That made me less anxious about the NFL talk. Seems like standard negotiating-through-media agent tactics.