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Monday, March 23, 2009

Stallworth part of new ownership group

The NFL owners approved three new partners to the Steelers' ownership group Monday, including former star wide receiver John Stallworth.

Stallworth, a Hall of Fame receiver for the Steelers, is President and CEO of Genesis II.

Also included in the new group are Bruce V. Rauner, Chairman of GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC, and the Varischetti family.

Rauner, Stallworth and the Varischetti family join James Haslam III, the Paul family and Thomas Tull as new partners with Dan and Art II to help maintain the Rooney family ownership of the Steelers.

The agreement among the Rooney family for closing the transaction was originally set to take place before March 31, 2009, but with the possible addition of new investors the closing will be postponed until May, 2009.

© The Steelers, as had been rumored, will open the 2009 regular season at Heinz Field Sept. 20 against the Tennessee Titans.

It's an attractive matchup, especially given the Titans' shenanigans after beating the Steelers in Nashville last December to claim the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

How'd that work out, anyhow?

© Surprisingly, the Steelers received only a fifth-round compensatory pick from the league on Monday.

Nobody truly understands the process through which compensatory picks are awarded and now I may understand it even less.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's Thurs the 10th right? I think a 4th rounder would have been a little easier to swallow. A 5th? Unbelievable.

ch3 said...

How the Hell did the Steelers get a 5th rd comp pick! This just does not make sense. Please explain this to me.

Anonymous said...

That is F-ing Bullshite.

We should have gotten a 3rd rd pick

F Goodell

Anonymous said...

Anybody worth their salt was predicting a 3rd, or a 4th at the worst. We lost a Guard to a highly-paid contract, who then started all 16 games and made the Pro Bowl. By most accounts and going by past instances, that merited a 3rd or 4th.

A 5th is just totally unbelievable. Losing Haggans would've been more like a 5th, not Faneca.

Glad to hear about the owners and the opening against the Titans. Is the full schedule released?

Anonymous said...

A 3rd rounder? You Mean like the Pats who got the highest compensatory pick in the draft? Plus a 5th round and a 6th rounder?


Seriously, Faneca made the pro bowl and we still get a 5th rounder? WTF

Dale Lolley said...

Pats, Cincinnati and Chicago got third rounders.

Dale Lolley said...

From NFL.com

A total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2009 NFL Draft have been awarded to 16 teams, the NFL announced on Monday. Cincinnati and Tennessee received the most compensatory picks with four apiece.

Under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.

The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 32 compensatory choices announced today will supplement the 224 choices in the seven rounds of the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25-26.

This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.

One club this year (Arizona) will receive a compensatory pick even though it did not suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents last year. Under the formula, the compensatory free agents Arizona lost were ranked higher than the ones it signed (by a specified point differential based upon salary and performance).

Thirty compensatory picks were awarded to clubs based upon the compensatory pick formula. By rule, two additional choices were awarded at the end of the seventh round to bring the total number of compensatory selections to 32, equaling the number of NFL clubs. The two additional picks were awarded to Detroit and Kansas City based upon the 2009 draft selection order.

Here is how the 32 compensatory picks are broken down by team: Cincinnati 4, Tennessee 4, Chicago 3, New England 3, Seattle 3, Dallas 2, Jacksonville 2, San Diego 2, San Francisco 2, Arizona 1, Detroit 1, Indianapolis 1, Kansas City 1, New York Giants 1, Pittsburgh 1, Washington 1.

ch3 said...

Dale, the Giants also got a 3rd; for freaking Gibril Wilson! Steelers got hosed big time. This doesn't make any sense.

Anonymous said...

I think this fiasco should force the NFL to release the "secret formula" on which this is based. The guy who predicts this every year did well this year also...well except for the Steelers pick. It makes no sense. Highest Oline contract...started every game...made pro bowl = 5th

Anonymous said...

PLEASE get to the bottom of this. Bouchette is saying that the Steelers themselves were expecting a 3rd for Faneca. The guy who knows more about this system than anyone outside of the NFL's secret formula society predicted the 2nd highest comp pick behind only Asante Samuel. They've probably got some good sounding explanation but I think the fans deserve to HEAR that explanation -- no more of this secret recipe BS.

Anonymous said...

I like how the Patriots got rewarded with several comp picks and the Steelers get screwed. You know the Patriots were caught cheating maybe you should punish them

It just sucks because the Steelers needed that 3rd more than any team because we dont sign free agents and let most of ours walk

Anonymous said...

Dale,

Can you tell us which players the Pats lost in Free Agency?

Anonymous said...

"The guy" (AdamJt13) who does the accurate predictions and who seems to have cracked the formula has the following to say about the NFL's screw job:

"The one surprise that I can't explain is the Steelers getting only a fifth-round pick after losing two players (Alan Faneca and Clark Haggans) and signing one (Mewelde Moore). Haggans and Moore had seventh-round values and should have canceled out each other. Faneca played 99 percent of the snaps for the Jets, made the Pro Bowl and got a huge contract ($7.8 million per season, plus a little more that doesn't count in the equation). He clearly had a third-round value, so I'm curious about why the Steelers got a fifth. Hopefully the media in Pittsburgh will look into it and get an answer."

Anonymous said...

Dale,

It's imperative that the media make an issue out of this mistake. That's right, i think it's a mistake...but either way, if the media can draw attention to this issue, maybe we can finally get some information on the "secret formula" to better understand comp picks in the future.

if they don't provide an explaination, then something is fishy.

Anonymous said...

From the league office,

"Pittsburgh was awarded a 5th round pick for free agency losses because the local media was penalized for giving out team secrets on the wildcat formation they used in the SB. Had this not occurred, Pittsburgh would have received a 3rd round compensatory pick."

Figures.

Patrick said...

I honestly didn't expect a 3rd, but definitely not a 5th (a 4th then obviously).

The formula does need to be public. There has to be some subjective imput and whovever's it is, must think Moore was a much bigger addition.

Only thing I can think of.

Any thoughts Dale?

Anonymous said...

Can anyone confirm the above post:

"Pittsburgh was awarded a 5th round pick for free agency losses because the local media was penalized for giving out team secrets on the wildcat formation they used in the SB. Had this not occurred, Pittsburgh would have received a 3rd round compensatory pick."

Really????

Anonymous said...

"Can anyone confirm the above post:

"Pittsburgh was awarded a 5th round pick for free agency losses because the local media was penalized for giving out team secrets on the wildcat formation they used in the SB. Had this not occurred, Pittsburgh would have received a 3rd round compensatory pick."

Really????"

yep, it's true. And we all know who to blame for that. ;)

Patrick said...

don't be ridiculous, that above quote is obviously not true

if that benefited anybody it was the cardinals and us readers, of course

Anonymous said...

Come on man. It was a joke. Of course the quote is not true. I got a good chuckle out of it.

Anonymous said...

For the poster who asked about who the Pats lost to net 3 comp picks:

Asante Samuel (3rd rounder)
Donte' Stallworth (5th rounder)
Randall Gay (6th rounder)

The full list of picks, along with qualifying players who figured into the equation is here:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f699b6&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Dale Lolley said...

Those are the ones Viz. And the Pats didn't sign anybody. Samuel got a huge contract and made the Pro Bowl, hence the third-round pick. Stallworth, however big his contract, was a bust in Cleveland. Barely played. Gay was a starter.

Anonymous said...

And despite the fact that Donte' Stallworth started only 7 games & played in 11 out of 16, and had a contract worth $ 3.3 mill. per year less than Faneca, the pick that the Pats got for him is the one RIGHT AFTER our pick for Faneca. I'm gonna be calling BS on this until the NFL can rationally & logically explain these shenanigans.