Ward says deal is imminent

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Either way, whether you agree w/ Ward's holdout or not, and Im not saying I do by any means.. the guy stuck to his guns and the Steelers compromised and negoiated w/ his agent during his holdout and still are talking ..so its gonna get done at some point and Hines will be alot richer. It's just the way sports is. It's a business and when your agent starts telling you how much you should be making and how much all these other players are making, it can make even the toughest guy get alittle jealous, envious, self righteous, or whatever you wanna call it.

Again Im not saying its right to hold out when you're under contract but even the mighty team player, the ultimate steeler, the guy who is a peoples champion... knows its a business and in the end is no different than anyone else.

[bigbensgirl7]

STEELERS BAFFLED BY WARD'S BELIEFS

A league source tells us that the Pittsburgh Steelers and shocked and confused by the notion that a long-term deal with receiver Hines Ward is "close."

Per the source, the only way the deal is "close" is if agent Eugene Parker plans to take the last offer the Steelers made before training camp, since there have been NO substantive discussions between Parker and the team since Ward showed up for training camp last Monday.

But since Ward says that Parker told him that a long-term deal was close, there are only three possibilities. Ward is lying to the media, Parker is lying to Ward, or Ward has misunderstood Parker.

Regardless, there ain't no deal that's close to being done.

WARD STILL MISINFORMED

Steelers receiver Hines Ward apparently was surprised to learn on Monday that teammate Casey Hampton has landed a long-term deal.

Hampton, a 2001 first-round selection, received a four-year extension worth $22.775 million, including a $6.975 million signing bonus. He was scheduled to make $989,065 in 2005, the final year of his rookie contract.

"Everybody worried about [Ward]," Hampton said, "and I just snuck in through the back door and got mine done."

Ward's response to the news? "Hmmm, congratulations."

But Ward still insists that his new own long-term deal is in the pipeline.

"All I can say is they're negotiating with my contract," Ward said.

Wrong, Hines. We've been told repeatedly over the past 24 hours that there have been no substantive discussions since Ward returned to the team on August 15 after a two-week holdout.

But if Ward is going to get a new deal, he'd better tell his agent, Eugene Parker, to get on the horn soon. The Steelers have a policy of not discussing contract extensions once the regular season starts.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

The deal may not be as close as we have all hoped for. It looks to me like Parker is misleading Ward...I don't know, but this is from a runor mill...so who knowws how much truth there is to this!

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Well you gotta think something is going on here. Parker is draggin his feet, but this all may be a smoke screen to take the heat off of ward from the media.. let them cool down as a deal is being worked.

Never know, but either way, if the Steelers can break a long standing rule of not negotiating while a player holds out, certainly they can break the one of not talking when the season begins.

[bigbensgirl7]

Here's one more from PFT

CURRENT OFFER TO WARD IS A BIG ONE

As agent Eugene Parker continues to use a Ouija board to negotiate a long-term deal for receiver Hines Ward with the Steelers, we're told that the team's current offer to Ward would place him among the five highest-paid receivers, based on the money paid in the first three years of the deal.

Consequently, some folks in the front office are getting a little antsy, we're told, regarding Ward's insistence that he wants to be paid among the top ten at the position. After all, he merely needs to sign the current contract to get straight into the top five.

Meanwhile, Ward continues to practice and prepare for the team's next preseason game, to be played on Friday night at Washington, without the security that a big signing bonus would provide. If, God forbid, he tears and ACL or blows an Achilles, he might as well change his name to Ian Gold.

[Prosdo]

I'm not really going with the PFT articles. Some of the stuff sounds a bit iffy. It's just like some of the other publications. They don't seem to have facts, but supposed sources.

[blairsummit]

hopefully ward gets the contract he deserves. i wanna see him in black in gold till he retires just like all of you.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

PFT drives me nuts sometimes w/ the articles they write and it turns out to not be entirely true.. so we really dont know what to believe.. all we can go on is, Ward says they are talking, the Steelers say they are talking..so we'll just hold our breath and wait to see...