| | By John Clayton
ESPN.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Franchise is a nasty word these days in the NFL. Running a franchise is tough. Being a franchise-caliber player isn't easy, either.
|  | | The Rams might name Kevin Carter their franchise player to keep him from leaving town. |
With great pleasure and some sadness, the Rams announced Monday night the signing of wide receiver Isaac Bruce to a seven-year, $42 million contract that included an $11.5 million signing bonus. This follows the seven-year, $46.5 million deal given to quarterback Kurt Warner.
As happy as Rams officials were in locking up Bruce, they lamented the implications on negotiations for Pro Bowl defensive end Kevin Carter. Bruce's deal forces the Rams to pull back a seven-year, $45 million offer -- including $12 million to sign -- to Carter, who is a free agent after the season. To keep Carter, they may have to place the franchise tag on him after the season.
"I've represented several franchise players through the years, and it's not a pretty sight," said Jimmy Sexton, Bruce's agent.
"It's a slap in the face," said Harold Lewis, Carter's agent.
The franchise designation was created to give teams leverage in keeping their top players, particularly the quarterbacks. The player receives a one-year offer that is the average of the top five cap numbers at their position. The rub is that salaries have exceeded the tender offer, so the $4.5 million or so that might be offered to keep Carter for a year doesn't come close to the $12 million to $15 million Carter might get for just signing a long term deal.
Franchise tags usually result in nasty negotiations and possible holdouts. That is where this negotiation may be heading, which is why champagne wasn't popping in the Rams owners' box. The Rams knew the price of success has its pitfalls. Win a Super Bowl. Lose or anger players. The salary cap limits the number of big contracts that can be given in one year.
The Rams realized they probably need to extend contracts to two of their top Pro Bowl players. It was first-come, first-serve and Bruce and Warner are the winners. Carter still has hope of getting a deal done before the start of the regular season, but it's unlikely. He has a $1.15 million cap number, so the most the Rams could creatively muster from his cap is a $5 million singing bonus -- $7 million less than he turned down.
"I want nothing more than to stay in St. Louis," Carter said on the eve of Bruce's deal. "My agent has been presenting any and every kind of scenarios for compromise. Every player wants to be compensated for the way he performs and not undersell his efforts. But that nasty franchise tag is silly."
Carter handled himself professionally Monday night in an exhibition game against Tennessee. He sacked quarterback Steve McNair and didn't slow down his efforts. No one would expect any less. Carter is one of the classiest and most talented athletes in the league. "I'm optimistic because I'm a positive person," Carter said.
Rams president Jay Zygmunt is a realist and he knew Bruce's signing could freeze out a deal on Carter this season.
"Obviously, the options are getting limited," Zygmunt said of attempts to complete a Carter deal soon. "We want to keep all our players. It's not realistic that you can do that. Basically you draft players, you develop them, you make them good players and then you can't afford to keep them. We are trying to, but it is a very tight situation."
Like Carter, Bruce wanted to stay a Ram. They have been through the losing years, the tough times together. This team may have some of the best team chemistry in football. The offense, which has most of the star players, works like a machine. The defense may not have as many stars, but their synchronized scheme works as long as they are strong on the edges -- defensive end, outside linebacker and cornerback.
Carter, outside linebacker Mike Jones and cornerbacks Todd Lyght and Dexter McCleon are among their unsigned starters after the season.
"Guys like Kevin come once every 10 years," Lewis said. "He's getting better and better each year. He's 26 years old and he's led in sacks for two consecutive years."
So as much as the Rams wanted to celebrate their generosity Monday, they had to take pause at what might be ahead for Carter.
"It isn't going to take that much more money than what they are offering right now to get it worked out," Carter said.
Bruce's deal, though, killed that offer for now.
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