James Cook on IG Live - "15 mill year" EDIT: Scrubbed his IG and Doubled Down on Twitter

[Kirby Jackson]

This thread has gotten so good. 🤣🤣 The delusion and entitlement knows no bounds. 

[HerdMenatlity1]

On 2/13/2025 at 10:40 PM, HerdMentality said:

Hey Joe Marino. I know you're here. You stole my intellectual property.

I just changed my screen name. Hope you don’t mind. 😂😂😂😂

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

Don’t have time to read 39 pages but has the idea of franchise tag been mentioned? 15 mil has got to be close to the number and there’s a lower franchise tag as well. 
 

then you’re not locked in long-term. I’ll have to look into the compensation levels 

[Dablitzkrieg]

6 minutes ago, Rock-A-Bye Beasley said:

Don’t have time to read 39 pages but has the idea of franchise tag been mentioned? 15 mil has got to be close to the number and there’s a lower franchise tag as well. 
 

then you’re not locked in long-term. I’ll have to look into the compensation levels 

Franchise tag is 13 million.  Why would you franchise a guy on a Rookie deal?

[DrDawkinstein]

10 hours ago, HerdMentality said:

He's branded it for his business interests - after staring at my user name for 5 years. No way it's an original thought.

 

I mean, maybe reach out first?

 

https://herdmentality1960.substack.com/p/what-to-expect-from-the-herd-mentality?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

 

 

I love this crazy and strange twist this thread is taking. Some peak offseason posting and we're only in February.

 

At this point I'm starting to think that YOU are Joe Marino and using these posts to draw attention to your own site. Because no one would really think they own their username. If anything, Scott owns all our content since he owns the servers and pays for the service.

 

Also, you have a lot of other people to sue considering there are "Herd Mentality" boardgames, books, etc

 

But I appreciate the bit of entertainment in the slow part of the year. Please keep us posted on how this goes.

[Warriorspikes51]

RB's are more undervalued than they should be IMO 

now it's possible Ray Davis puts up very similar stats running being our top tier OL and 6th OL set 

[BarleyNY]

2 hours ago, Rock-A-Bye Beasley said:

Don’t have time to read 39 pages but has the idea of franchise tag been mentioned? 15 mil has got to be close to the number and there’s a lower franchise tag as well. 
 

then you’re not locked in long-term. I’ll have to look into the compensation levels 

Making Cook play out his deal and then hitting him with a tag next offseason is certainly a reasonable course of action if a deal on an extension isn’t reached. Extensions on rookie deals (and fifth year options) usually include the dollar amount and remaining year(s) of the current contract and add new years at current market value to that. Some current and future salary is then converted to a signing bonus to give the player some cash up front. So there is a lot of incentive for both sides to get a deal done. That should happen ad long as both parties are reasonable. 

[Goin Breakdown]

Would the real Joe Marino please stand up, please stand up

[Mat68]

21 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

Your low end of $11M is not much different than the $10.5M AAV I used in my example, but it is significantly different than the $15M for which you had been advocating. I’ll stress that the $10.5M AAV is on new years only in my example. I thought would be a fair compromise and realistic MV. 

 

Cash is what matters to players. Structure is largely about cap management. I have no problem giving Cook a nice signing bonus this offseason and taking his salary down to vet min this season and next. I would try to limit guarantees to the first two seasons, but a partial in year 3 would be on the table for a longer extension. 

Im not advocating.  Im just not mad at a player asking for it. From his position he can make a case how strong a position is debatable.  15 mil a year is also the glass ceiling running backs are trying to break.  The final number is all fluff anyways.  Guarantees front loaded, outs after 26 and 27 would also make a 15 avp of total money earned much less in reality.  Beane has a number in mind but I would want them to prioritize an extension for Cook.   Not paying a rb is philosophy.  In a league with finite resources leaves you with premier players at not premier positions.  Yes, in a vacuum you pay this position over that and so on.  In reality it comes down to the player.  Cook is top 10 and approaching top 5 territory at his position vs the 45th best wr? An extension is cheaper vs playing it out cap wise . 

[NI Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I love this crazy and strange twist this thread is taking. Some peak offseason posting and we're only in February.

 

At this point I'm starting to think that YOU are Joe Marino and using these posts to draw attention to your own site. Because no one would really think they own their username. If anything, Scott owns all our content since he owns the servers and pays for the service.

 

Also, you have a lot of other people to sue considering there are "Herd Mentality" boardgames, books, etc

 

But I appreciate the bit of entertainment in the slow part of the year. Please keep us posted on how this goes.

I know this is off topic and i'm only adding to that, BUT ... just on the origins of Joe Marino's use of the 'Herd Mentality' name ... I can remember he had a 'Twitter Tuesday' podcast as part of his weekly Locked On Bills content, where listeners would submit questions/topics for discussion on the podcast every tuesday.

 

He was never quite happy with the name 'Twitter Tuesday' (especially as it was eventually often published on a day other than tuesday).  So, he asked his listeners to suggest (via twitter etc) a new name for this weekly episode of his podcast and Herd Mentality was suggested as part of that process, which he was delighted about from memory.  That was a few years ago now and the name has grown from just a name for the podcast episode to his substack etc.

 

Anyway- back on topic ... I like James Cook but not at $15m! I'd go $8/9m at the absolute max.

Edited yesterday at 03:55 PM by NI Bills Fan

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

If you can’t trade him that means nobody will pay a RB like him 15mil. He is a good RB but without the spy on Allen he would be getting stuffed. 8 to 10 mil is as high as I would go and I hate paying RB’s.

[BarleyNY]

32 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Im not advocating.  Im just not mad at a player asking for it. From his position he can make a case how strong a position is debatable.  15 mil a year is also the glass ceiling running backs are trying to break.  The final number is all fluff anyways.  Guarantees front loaded, outs after 26 and 27 would also make a 15 avp of total money earned much less in reality.  Beane has a number in mind but I would want them to prioritize an extension for Cook.   Not paying a rb is philosophy.  In a league with finite resources leaves you with premier players at not premier positions.  Yes, in a vacuum you pay this position over that and so on.  In reality it comes down to the player.  Cook is top 10 and approaching top 5 territory at his position vs the 45th best wr? An extension is cheaper vs playing it out cap wise . 

I never said I was mad at Cook for asking for more than he’s worth. That’s not a problem unless he escalates it to a problem. I simply pointed out that he’s not worth what he’s asking for. His size and limitations as a RB limit his role and snap count. That limits his value. 

Edited yesterday at 04:25 PM by BarleyNY

[Einstein's Dog]

51 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Making Cook play out his deal and then hitting him with a tag next offseason is certainly a reasonable course of action if a deal on an extension isn’t reached. Extensions on rookie deals (and fifth year options) usually include the dollar amount and remaining year(s) of the current contract and add new years at current market value to that. Some current and future salary is then converted to a signing bonus to give the player some cash up front. So there is a lot of incentive for both sides to get a deal done. That should happen ad long as both parties are reasonable. 

I imagine the FO is working as you outline above on an extension for Shakir.  And this is being done in the traditional Buffalo way, in private.

 

In contrast to what I imagine is happening with Shakir, now compare that to J Cook.  J Cook has taken to social media, and with an outrageous figure.  It probably sends a cringing message to the FO of what they will be dealing with in the future.  IMO, if I were in the FO I would be including J Cook in a package for either Garrett or Crosby.

[BarleyNY]

30 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

I imagine the FO is working as you outline above on an extension for Shakir.  And this is being done in the traditional Buffalo way, in private.

 

In contrast to what I imagine is happening with Shakir, now compare that to J Cook.  J Cook has taken to social media, and with an outrageous figure.  It probably sends a cringing message to the FO of what they will be dealing with in the future.  IMO, if I were in the FO I would be including J Cook in a package for either Garrett or Crosby.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the draft and other extensions. What they do at RB in the draft will tell us a lot. Beane has typically done extensions like Cook’s in or around September. Lotta time between now and then. 

[Nephilim17]

On 2/19/2025 at 12:46 AM, HerdMentality said:

do u know Joe's username here? b/c I'll dm him first if needed. but he can reach out to me. it's a brand issue and can be fixed np.

Just so I'm clear (and perhaps others who are confused)...

Are you suggesting that because you have the HerdMentality user name on a fan forum, Joe stole your "intellectual property" because he uses that same name for his substack community/forum?

You want Joe to give you money because he's "monetized" your user name? 

[BearNorth]

I think James also has Dalvin whispering in his ear.  Dalvin got a decent signing bonus in 2020 as a rookie deal extension, had 4 straight 1,000 yard seasons, and then went to the football purgatory known as the jets.  Dalvin made $41MM in 8 seasons in the league.

[BarleyNY]

2 minutes ago, BearNorth said:

I think James also has Dalvin whispering in his ear.  Dalvin got a decent signing bonus in 2020 as a rookie deal extension, had 4 straight 1,000 yard seasons, and then went to the football purgatory known as the jets.  Dalvin made $41MM in 8 seasons in the league.

It’s worth noting that James Cook’s agent, Matt Leist, has only negotiated two NFL contracts. One was Dalvin Cooks’.

[Beck Water]

On 2/18/2025 at 11:57 AM, Mat68 said:

The market dictates the price.  Rb is also a very depressed market.  With his age, injury history and career workload I think the next 3-4 years will be his best years.  Now as a fan.  Are the Bills better without Cook and a premium pick used for his replacement? Or are they better with Cook and a premium pick used to enhance the roster elsewhere?  I think thats an easy answer they are better with him.  Cheaper cap wise to do it now.  They have the money and ability to make it digestible in the short and long term.  If those 2 things are true why is Cook so bad for asking for it?  You dont think he is worth it ok.  The team isn't better without him and the they are just plugging holes on a boat my making new ones imo.

 

I don't think Cook is bad for asking for it.

 

But I think he's asking for more than the market.  It causes problems when you pay one player well over market.   You get other players who aren't FA looking over at him going "OK, what about me?"  What was it the Bills coaches used to tell guys "watch who gets paid"?  No one would object to Cook getting a market-value extension early, or even a high market value extension.   Way over market value?  Eh.

As @BarleyNY pointed out, $15M a year would make him the 2nd highest paid RB.  It's a point worth noting that the highest paid RB, Christian McCaffrey, is a total game changer and elite weapon in the run and in the pass game - and that his team has not received the desired ROI, as he played in only 4 games last season.

Edited 21 hours ago by Beck Water

[TheFunPolice]

I'd go 3 years, 40 million, 100% guaranteed. Then draft a RB next year and develop him and let Cook go to free agency after the 3 years. 

 

That way you get prime Cook years, he gets good $$, and you don't have a bad contract. 

 

A guy making plays all over the field for you and earning $13.3 million is never a problem. 

 

 

[Beck Water]

2 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

It’s worth noting that James Cook’s agent, Matt Leist, has only negotiated two NFL contracts. One was Dalvin Cooks’.

 

What do you feel this means, practically speaking?

 

7 hours ago, Rock-A-Bye Beasley said:

Don’t have time to read 39 pages but has the idea of franchise tag been mentioned? 15 mil has got to be close to the number and there’s a lower franchise tag as well. 
 

then you’re not locked in long-term. I’ll have to look into the compensation levels 

 

Bills don't need to franchise tag Cook at this point.  He just finished his 3rd year.  He's under contract for 2025.

Edited 21 hours ago by Beck Water