Penny Pinching Continues for Budget Conscious Broncos

[DukeWoody]

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_8629051


Let there be no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley.

The latest hint occurred Wednesday when budget cuts led the Broncos to dismiss three employees not directly involved in football operations, according to multiple NFL sources.

Let go Wednesday were Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations; Pamela Krotchko, manager of Denver Broncos charities; and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com;.

The first hint the Broncos were cutting back was after they lost three of coach Mike Shanahan's top assistants — defensive head coach Jim Bates, offensive head coach Mike Heimerdinger and general manager Ted Sundquist — and replaced them in-house.

Then there was the Broncos' judicious spending both in the free-agent market and while re-signing their own players. And now the organization has been forced to cut people who worked behind-the-scenes.

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
__________________

[SonOfLe-loLang]

Thanks Bush, Greenspan et al!

[Dukes]

Now everyone go out and buy something broncos related to help Pat out!

[Rulon Velvet Jones]

What the ****?

Pointless firings, all of them. What are they saving? Like 80k combined, tops?

[worm]

Getting ready for that CBA vote and subsequent lock-out. Have to build up that warchest.

If players were smart...they would be cutting back on their expenses right now also.

[montrose]

No more Andrew Mason!

[scttgrd]

Looks like tough times all around. I can't imagine Bowlen signing a big check to Robertson in light of things going on at Dove valley.

[DukeWoody]

I suspect there will be new unis for this season to follow..

[Punisher]

Damn they let go Andrew Mason I'm going to miss his Blogs and Vids on Denverbroncos.com I wonder who's going to be the Voice for Bronco TV ???

[SonOfLe-loLang]

What the ****?

Pointless firings, all of them. What are they saving? Like 80k combined, tops?

Youve never worked for corporate america, have you? consider yourself lucky

[That One Guy]

Wasn't that the guy that did Mason's Morcels or something like that? His blog thingies were generally pretty good.

Couldn't Bowlen just hire Williamson and then fire him instead?

[Kaylore]

Let go Wednesday were Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations; Pamela Krotchko, manager of Denver Broncos charities; and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com;.
Wow. Paul Kirk and Mason? I always figured that Kirk was going to take over of Jim Saccomono. He kind of was next in line but I guess they figured him redundant.

Andrew Mason is kind of a surprise too. He was developing as writer and worked very hard. Makes me wonder if that whole Broncos TV thing is going to be taken down. Either that or they replaced him with someone new. They're making it sound like they have no money at Dove Valley.

[silverwing]

Damn they let go Andrew Mason I'm going to miss his Blogs and Vids on Denverbroncos.com I wonder who's going to be the Voice for Bronco TV ???

Windows narrator ???

[DukeWoody]

Wasn't that the guy that did Mason's Morcels or something like that? His blog thingies were generally pretty good.

Couldn't Bowlen just hire Williamson and then fire him instead?

:rofl:

[Punisher]

Windows narrator ???

LOL ROFL! Ha!

[Punisher]

The biggest surpirse is Mason... so all you wantabe writers get your Resumes ready and try to get a job at Denverbroncos.com

[Broncoman13]

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_8629051


Let there be no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley.

The latest hint occurred Wednesday when budget cuts led the Broncos to dismiss three employees not directly involved in football operations, according to multiple NFL sources.

Let go Wednesday were Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations; Pamela Krotchko, manager of Denver Broncos charities; and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com;.

The first hint the Broncos were cutting back was after they lost three of coach Mike Shanahan's top assistants — defensive head coach Jim Bates, offensive head coach Mike Heimerdinger and general manager Ted Sundquist — and replaced them in-house.

Then there was the Broncos' judicious spending both in the free-agent market and while re-signing their own players. And now the organization has been forced to cut people who worked behind-the-scenes.

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
__________________

Go ahead Fonataine, tell us how we have so much money to spend and we're all just being Chicken Little, the sky is falling...

I told you this was going down a month and a half ago... where you at?

[rovolution]

Mason got axed.

Damn.

Really liked the guy and his Broncos TV pieces.

It will be a shame to see him go.

[That One Guy]

The biggest surpirse is Mason... so all you wantabe writers get your Resumes ready and try to get a job at Denverbroncos.com

No thanks, I don't much like being fired, personally.

Also, PFT ran this article last week. He didn't link to the original story it came from so you can't get all the details unless you go through a laborous Google search and who has time for that? In the name of efficiency, here's the summary. Eventually, these people have to keep a business sense or they wont get very far.

LEAGUE OWES $9 BILLION
Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2008, 9:20 a.m.
The NFL, which has been without question the most popular professional sport in America, is nevertheless awash in debt.

According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, the league had more than $9 billion in debt as of October 2007.

That’s an average of more than $281,000,000 per team.

The disclosure came in a letter from NFL outside counsel Gregg Levy in support of a decision by the league to reduce the per-team annual debt ceiling. The union has filed collusion charges regarding the move, alleging that the league essentially has limited the amount of money that will be available to pay bonuses and other lump sums to players. The Levy letter has been made public because it has been filed in connection with the collusion charges.

But the salary cap (and floor) are still in place. Regardless of how the money is paid out, every team is required to spend at least $100 million per year on players, with that number going up every year.

And the debt figure really is high, in our estimation. Major league baseball clubs owe a total of $3.1 billion, and NBA teams cap their debt at a total of $175 million per team. NHL teams can borrow up to one-half of the value of each franchise (so they can borrow like 500 bucks, right?).

[Dudeskey]

Getting ready for that CBA vote and subsequent lock-out. Have to build up that warchest.

If players were smart...they would be cutting back on their expenses right now also.

crap, I didn't think about it from that angle...

[cutthemdown]

I've been saying for a long time Broncos have too many coaches. I don't know about these firing but Broncos IMO know what they are doing. By cleaning house, saving money, clearing cap space, it gets broncos back to a starting point where they are not behind the 8 ball so to speak. This team not talented enough at this point to take on the elite afc teams so there is no reason to spend a ton of money on FA. Especially since I think this was a very weak class. These big money deals to avg players don't even help you win it's been proven.

[rovolution]

I've been saying for a long time Broncos have too many coaches. I don't know about these firing but Broncos IMO know what they are doing. By cleaning house, saving money, clearing cap space, it gets broncos back to a starting point where they are not behind the 8 ball so to speak. This team not talented enough at this point to take on the elite afc teams so there is no reason to spend a ton of money on FA. Especially since I think this was a very weak class. These big money deals to avg players don't even help you win it's been proven.

these "cuts" were of employees not even involved in the football operations portion of the business

[24champ]

Kaylore get your resume and march down to Dove Valley. :wave:

[BroncoBuff]

It's a lot more than $80, but prolly less that $150k....

$150k is a drop in the bucket compared to Shanahan's salary ... it would have been a wonderful thing for him to do, return some to keep people employed.

[elsid13]

It's a lot more than $80, but prolly less that $150k....

$150k is a drop in the bucket compared to Shanahan's salary ... it would have been a wonderful thing for him to do, return some to keep people employed.

I would bet when add overhead and benfits you're looking at good 700K to 800K.

[telluride]

Andrew Mason will be missed.

Sometimes this franchise really pisses me off. Mason's salary is literally nothing compared the money they've blown of late.

[That One Guy]

Andrew Mason will be missed.

Sometimes this franchise really pisses me off. Mason's salary is literally nothing compared the money they've blown of late.

Come on, you can do better. Tell us how Shanny is so pathetic he's turned the website writer into the next scapegoat. Geez, even tell us how Shanny recommended Mason as the writer and now that it's failed it's just another f-k up in a long line of Shanny decisions. You have it in you, blame Shanny somehow! We know you can do it!

[broncofan2438]

Well, that sucks

[Kaylore]

Getting ready for that CBA vote and subsequent lock-out. Have to build up that warchest.

If players were smart...they would be cutting back on their expenses right now also.

It's funny that even after this post there are people saying this is evidence its the great depression.

[worm]

I would bet when add overhead and benfits you're looking at good 700K to 800K.

Exactly. Burdened rate is much different than just looking at salary.

[DeuceOfClub]

Too bad about Mason.

They should consider hiring Boob, “He is a class A writer and will work for Peanut Butter”

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Too bad about Mason.

They should consider hiring Boob, “He is a class A writer and will work for K-Y Jelly”

Fixed it for you

[SonOfLe-loLang]

It's funny that even after this post there are people saying this is evidence its the great depression.

Its not like there werent wealthy people during the depression.

[s0phr0syne]

The firing of Mason is horrible; that guy runs a really great site. You could tell he really put a lot of effort in making that site as informative as possible within the bounds of being an "official" site.

Check out some of the other official sties and you'll quickly see that denverbroncos.com is one of the better ones--thanks in no small part to Andrew Mason.

[Kaylore]

Its not like there werent wealthy people during the depression.

...um, ok?Uhh

[Punisher]

Kaylore get your resume and march down to Dove Valley. :wave:

Yea Kaylore is the man for the Job i would love to see him Hosting Bronco TV :approve:

[ro_50]

Wow, I actually like Andrew Mason's work. I'm sure he will land on his feet in no time.

Just like most of ya'll have said, how much money are they saving by cutting a managing editor of the team's web site and director of media relations?

They are penny-pinchers.

[yerner]

really what the hell is going on there? there is no more luster on this organization. if that even makes sense.

[rugbythug]

Wow, I actually like Andrew Mason's work. I'm sure he will land on his feet in no time.

Just like most of ya'll have said, how much money are they saving by cutting a managing editor of the team's web site and director of media relations?

They are penny-pinchers.

Please, you have to pinch pennies I don't care how great a business is if you have unproductive employees you won't stay great very long.

[DukeWoody]

Please, you have to pinch pennies I don't care how great a business is if you have unproductive employees you won't stay great very long.

The fact is Mason was VERY productive and did one hell of a job for the Broncos running his site...This was uncalled for and frankly i find it to be a discustingly distastful move by the organization...all in the weak attempt to pinch a few pennies....

LAME!!!

[Los Broncos]

That sucks for them, i kinda liked Mason.

[That One Guy]

The thing that gets me the most is that in a multi-billion dollar business, is there REALLY no easier ways to cut corners? Clean half the building every other day rather than the whole thing every day... something, but these people were moderately well known, established personnel. Usually cost cutting measures seem to start with either trimming fat at the top or cutting those insignificant at the bottom. Someone will have to replace Mason, it's not like they're going to just give up on the webpage. I just don't see this as a huge cutback.

[broncogary]

Maybe Bowlen needed a new fur coat.

[That One Guy]

Maybae Bowlen needed a new fur coat.

Couldn't he ask his wife or sister to loan him one?

[broncogary]

Couldn't he ask his wife or sister to loan him one?

If he owned the Chiefs, they could be one and the same. LOL

[rugbythug]

The fact is Mason was VERY productive and did one hell of a job for the Broncos running his site...This was uncalled for and frankly i find it to be a discustingly distastful move by the organization...all in the weak attempt to pinch a few pennies....



Says the man who has never run a business

[DukeWoody]

If he owned the Chiefs, they could be one and the same. LOL

That there is sum f**ken kind of hilarious!!!:spit: Ha!

[DukeWoody]

Says the man who has never run a business

Yaeh, you're right...I would never fire my productive people to penny pinch...that's counter productive, in MY buisness this is law and to be honest it's none of YFB..

[RunSilentRunDeep]

Paul Kirk is a class act and very good at what he does. He'll be missed.

[dlow187]

This would explain y TICKET PRICES WENT UP :cuss:

[Northman]

Yaeh, you're right...I would never fire my productive people to penny pinch...that's counter productive, in MY buisness this is law and to be honest it's none of YFB..


Just from curiosity, what part of the Bronco organization do you work for in order to make the determination that Mason was productive? Your quick to make the assertion that Bowlen is pinching pennies yet you dont know the entire reason that Mason was let go. Maybe Mason wasnt as productive as you think he was.

[SoCalBronco]

Wow. Paul Kirk and Mason? I always figured that Kirk was going to take over of Jim Saccomono. He kind of was next in line but I guess they figured him redundant.

Andrew Mason is kind of a surprise too. He was developing as writer and worked very hard. Makes me wonder if that whole Broncos TV thing is going to be taken down. Either that or they replaced him with someone new. They're making it sound like they have no money at Dove Valley.

Yeah that's very surprising....Paul was very nice to us this year and Andrew is a very good writer for that site, this is very shocking. Their combined salaries costs them basically nothing in the grand scheme of things, this is very puzzling.

[DukeWoody]

Just from curiosity, what part of the Bronco organization do you work for in order to make the determination that Mason was productive? Your quick to make the assertion that Bowlen is pinching pennies yet you dont know the entire reason that Mason was let go. Maybe Mason wasnt as productive as you think he was.

I work for the MY PERSONAL OPPINION side of the organization....and furthermore 95% of the comments i've read on all the broncos BB HAVE said the same thing about Andrew Mason and his work...which is, he WAS very GOOD at what he did and that him and his work would be missed...

I suppose the brass could see it another way but I and many many others don't...

So as i stated before this is PENNY PINCHING BULLSH!T and i find it to be a very LAME firing...

Have at it cause i'm done with the DRAMA QUEEN CRAP for tonight

[wolf754life]

1st class all the way mr. bowlen...............

raise those ticket prices, sell the soul of mile high, corporate greed, bad karma....

and to top it all off, pay shannahan more money!

[brncs_fan]

Wolf and telluride have both gotten in on it now. Golden!

[~Crash~]

Just from curiosity, what part of the Bronco organization do you work for in order to make the determination that Mason was productive? Your quick to make the assertion that Bowlen is pinching pennies yet you dont know the entire reason that Mason was let go. Maybe Mason wasnt as productive as you think he was.

his story of our Gm getting the ax was pulled the other day I thought is was kind of strange...

[rovolution]

his story of our Gm getting the ax was pulled the other day I thought is was kind of strange...

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=7873

[Northman]

I work for the MY PERSONAL OPPINION side of the organization....and furthermore 95% of the comments i've read on all the broncos BB HAVE said the same thing about Andrew Mason and his work...which is, he WAS very GOOD at what he did and that him and his work would be missed...

I suppose the brass could see it another way but I and many many others don't...

So as i stated before this is PENNY PINCHING BULLSH!T and i find it to be a very LAME firing...

Have at it cause i'm done with the DRAMA QUEEN CRAP for tonight


Your entitled to your opinion sure, im just responding to a post in which you claimed it to be FACT. Your words, not mine. I simply asked at what level were you involved in order to make that statement. I have no problem that you THINK it was a lame firing. Some would agree with your sentiment. But evidently Mason's employer (that would be Mr. Bowlen) who would know best disagreed and thus cut him loose.

[~Crash~]

LCarrier-Md Says:

March 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
What about Patrick Bowlen? I’d have to vote him best Patrick!!

Andrew Says:

March 18th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Good call … I tend to think of him and address him as simply “Mr. Bowlen.”

LCarrier-Md Says:

March 18th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I had to look him up on Wikipedia to make sure he was truly a Patrick, since I’ve never heard him called anything but Pat on television. I certainly would be calling him “Mr. Bowlen” also if I ever had the chance to address him at all!

Andrew Says:

March 18th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
He deserves that kind of respect. I’m not just saying that because I work for his organization, either. Two world titles, five conference championships, eight division titles, 13 playoff appearances, 16 winning seasons and only four losing seasons in 24 years. Having grown up cheering for a perennial loser, I can say that you Broncos fans have had it made with Mr. Bowlen in charge of your team.

// / yardo Says:

March 19th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Andrew, sorry to see you go my blogging friend. You’ve provided us Bronco fans with some interesting and insightful articles. You’re a great writer and hope to see you writing again soon.

Keep us updated on your endeavors.

Broncofan1088 Says:

March 19th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Wow I am so mad / upset to see you go man. You where awsome and I’ve been reading your updates religiously since you began. I’m outraged that they fire you like this and would like to know the reasoning at least. Your a great guy and you did excellent work man. Take care and I hope you find an even better job.

this was some of his last posts kind of wierd he was talking about Irish names form bronco names of the past..

[DukeWoody]

his story of our Gm getting the ax was pulled the other day I thought is was kind of strange...

If the team had let only Andrew Mason go because of a detrimental story then there would be some water to that, but, 2 other people got the AX along with him...

Verdict, penny pinching bulls!t...JMO OK...

[HEAV]

Wow ****ty what happened to Mason and the others. Money tight in dove valley? I just don't see that... sorry.

[~Crash~]

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=7873

not the same one it was on his blog and it now is not there .

[DomCasual]

Too bad about Mason.

They should consider hiring Boob, “He is a class A writer and will work for axle grease.”

Fixed it for you

Fixed it for both of you. Mine has more of a Deliverance flare.

[minibronco]

WTF, andrew mason!?

[colonelbeef]

What exactly is leading everyone to immediately believe that these were cost cutting moves? Talk about jumping to conclusions. Please, if anyone has a link pointing to Bowlen or Shanahan stating that these cuts were related to the budget, show immediately, otherwise, all of you assuming this as fact and whining accordingly- shut your holes.

[Kaylore]

What exactly is leading everyone to immediately believe that these were cost cutting moves? Talk about jumping to conclusions. Please, if anyone has a link pointing to Bowlen or Shanahan stating that these cuts were related to the budget, show immediately, otherwise, all of you assuming this as fact and whining accordingly- shut your holes.

I thought about this earlier today. The writer of the story put that in, not the organization itself. For all we know they felt these people were redundant or had other better options available to take their place.

[PRBronco]

Poor Andrew Mason! :(

[colonelbeef]

I thought about this earlier today. The writer of the story put that in, not the organization itself. For all we know they felt these people were redundant or had other better options available to take their place.

Exactly. Now every move they make is going to be related to this budget shortfall somehow- a perception the organization won't necessarily argue against, as it's in their best interest to maintain an image of a lack of cash, in relation to their employees and fans- makes it easier to shortchange and over charge. However, from a financial perspective, if there was truly a budget crisis with the Denver Broncos (an extremely solvent business, with, once again, cash being thrown at it from all angles, from the stadium revenues to the best TV deal in the land to the best labor negotiators in professional sports) cutting 3 peons and then immediately relating it to lack of cash when there are literally 70 other employees making millions annually, makes no sense whatsoever. You think Bowlen is going to let go of useful people over a couple grand when his ****ing jet burns more than that in fuel cruising between Dove Valley and Hawaii every weekend?

some of you are quite naive.

[Bronco Jamus]

Some of you come up with some interesting points of view.

[TallyBronco]

I could not care less about these firings. If Andrew Mason is the media god that some of you are making him out to be, he'll be somewhere else very shortly. If he's just a dabbling goober who takes two days to edit his game stories, then he'll have to get lucky again somewhere else.

Fact of life: people get fired, sometimes for small potatoes like budget trimmings. I got fired twice in six months. Big deal. You pull yourself up and move on. Fight your way back.

Oh, wait, I thought I was writing to entirely competent, reasonable people for a second. I forgot that some posters here are like the precious snowflakes I used to teach: entitled to grades, to jobs, to safety from any and every danger, to happiness, and to every privilege that everyone else enjoys.

[wabbit]

The salaries of these folks are insignificant relative to the franchise budget, although their contributions have been positive, so their firings do seem odd.

This isn't cost-cutting or penny pinching...I have to believe Bowlen & the Broncos have the cash to do whatever they wish, but you have to wonder if the stock market crash and investment banking liquidity issues have hit home with Pat & his little empire.

I'll take the high road here and assume the FA market was weak and the salaries offered to the premier FA's were bloated, so the Broncos didn't want to play.

In addition, there can't be any doubt the big money FA failures play into the more cautious approach to the available talent...it certainly has triggered a rare public reaction from Bowlen.

Kind of a 'bank is willing, but the market was weak' thing...I hope.

[DomCasual]

What exactly is leading everyone to immediately believe that these were cost cutting moves? Talk about jumping to conclusions. Please, if anyone has a link pointing to Bowlen or Shanahan stating that these cuts were related to the budget, show immediately, otherwise, all of you assuming this as fact and whining accordingly- shut your holes.

It's almost as if all of you had a jump to conclusion mat.

Sheesh.

[DenverBrit]

These aren't necessarily budget moves, they look more like house cleaning moves.
None of us have any idea (Wabbit excepted) what is going on in Dove Valley.
Mason seemed to do a good job, but maybe it wasn't good enough, or maybe he was too close to Sundquist. We just don't know.
Only Wolfbreath and Telluride have the inside scoop, maybe we can coax it out of them? :spit:

[DenverBrit]

The salaries of these folks are insignificant relative to the franchise budget, although their contributions have been positive, so their firings do seem odd.

This isn't cost-cutting or penny pinching...I have to believe Bowlen & the Broncos have the cash to do whatever they wish, but you have to wonder if the stock market crash and investment banking liquidity issues have hit home with Pat & his little empire.

I'll take the high road here and assume the FA market was weak and the salaries offered to the premier FA's were bloated, so the Broncos didn't want to play.

In addition, there can't be any doubt the big money FA failures play into the more cautious approach to the available talent...it certainly has triggered a rare public reaction from Bowlen.

Kind of a 'bank is willing, but the market was weak' thing...I hope.

An excellent point.

[wabbit]

These aren't necessarily budget moves, they look more like house cleaning moves.
None of us have any idea (Wabbit excepted) what is going on in Dove Valley.
Mason seemed to do a good job, but maybe it wasn't good enough, or maybe he was too close to Sundquist. We just don't know.
Only Wolfbreath and Telluride have the inside scoop, maybe we can coax it out of them? :spit:


Hey, when it comes to the business workings of the Broncos organization, I'm not sure anyone besides Bowlen himself have any of the real numbers.

I can occasionally get some juicy information about goings-on relative to the football operations, but the money numbers and business pratices are something of a state secret.

I would imagine even Mike Shanahan only knows what Bowlen wants him to know.

[worm]

It's almost as if all of you had a jump to conclusion mat.

Sheesh.

I wouldn't bet against you being able to quote that entire script verbatim,

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Too bad about Mason.

They should consider hiring Boob, “He is a class A writer and will work for Peanut Butter”

I don't work for peanut butter, but I'd work for the Broncos. That'd be a fun job. I wonder if they would tolerate an in-house critic. That sort of thing doesn't fly at One Arrowhead Drive.

[Man-Goblin]

This reeks of an irresponsible post/article. While I've liked Klis' diligence in the past (after Schefter left), who is he to post an opinion without any quotes or ANYTHING to back up his statement that 'there is no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley'. This isn't a column; it is supposed to be a report of what is going on in the Broncos organization.

C'mon people. How could you possibly peg these firings/contract non-renewals on penny pinching without any quotes, facts, number figures...ANYTHING. I would assume the unfounded opinion in this article article will disappear and all that will show in tomorrow's paper will be the names that were let go.

[CBF1]

I could cash in my 401K and buy the team ROFL!

[DukeWoody]

For what it's worth here is an updated version of the original artical with quotes and a better explanation for the BS budget cuts...



Money tight, Broncos make staff cuts

Let there be no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley.
The latest hint occurred Wednesday when budget cuts led the Broncos to dismiss eight employees not directly involved in football operations, including Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com (http://denverbroncos.com/).
"It's a very, very difficult day when you have to eliminate jobs," said Joe Ellis, the Broncos" chief operating officer. "Especially when loyal, hardworking employees are involved. But our industry is like many others where downsizing and layoffs are required to make the business more effective."
The first hint the Broncos were cash-strapped this year was after three of coach Mike Shanahan's top assistants departed — defensive head coach Jim Bates, offensive head coach Mike Heimerdinger and general manager Ted Sundquist — and were replaced in-house.
Then there was Broncos' judicious spending both in the free-agent market and while re-signing their own players. And now the organization has been forced to cut people who worked behind-the-scenes.
Under Mason's leadership, the Broncos" website ranked among the league's top 10 in terms of number of hits. Kirk had worked in the Broncos" media relations department for 13 years.
"I've been proud to be part of such a fine organization," Kirk said. "I feel I've given everything I could during my time there. There are outstanding people there who are good friends and I wish them well." In a memo issued to each department Wednesday, Ellis notified employees of the cutbacks with the message, "It is important to note these decisions come at the expense of personal pain to individuals whose jobs were eliminated for reasons of business efficiency — not on the basis of performance."

[fontaine]

Go ahead Fonataine, tell us how we have so much money to spend and we're all just being Chicken Little, the sky is falling...

I told you this was going down a month and a half ago... where you at?

You do know that business operations have nothing to do with how much money we have under the cap right liongirl?

[Broncoman13]

I never mentioned the cap dumb****, I said we didn't have the money to go after high priced free agents. Go back and look at my comments. Sadly, your too stupid to even understand the situation we're in. Several people tried to explain it to you. I should have just listened when people said you were too stuborn to listen and understand what is going on.

[fontaine]

I never mentioned the cap dumb****, I said we didn't have the money to go after high priced free agents. Go back and look at my comments. Sadly, your too stupid to even understand the situation we're in. Several people tried to explain it to you. I should have just listened when people said you were too stuborn to listen and understand what is going on.


No liongirl you're still wrong, after just a few hours after Free Agency opened up you came out with these gems:

Quote:
Originally Posted by OSKIE!!!
I think you're on the right track... sucks too. Ticket prices are going up and we're going to field a pathetic team, especially on Defense!

Dude, we barely had the money to sign Lynch back... Boss Bailey is going to be for us this season. If that's being a drama queen so be it. Was hoping we could get a DT like Walker or Scott, but I don't think the Broncos have the money for it.

Since then we've aggressively pursued Robertson and we still are, who isn't going to come cheap, signed a veteran safety, a MLB, a number two WR, and word is we've got an offer on the table to Fernando Bryant who isn't going to come cheap. And the FO hasn't even gotten started on getting new deals for some of our youngers guys who'll be RFAs/FAs next year. Bowlen has the money, he's just choosing to be more careful where and how the spending goes.

But nevermind all of that, look into your crystal ball and tell us again how pathetic this team will be in the next season.

[Broncoman13]

A veteran safety, a MLB, a number two WR? Are you kidding me... a #2 WR?

Colbert couldn't play #2 in Carolina, but he's going to come to Denver and light it up right?

We've signed some stop gaps. Agressively pursuing Robertson. Wasn't that story when we found out he was traded the last time only to find out that he either had too many problems with his knee for the trade to go through or he wouldn't restructure. Here we are, nearly a month later and still no trade. How aggressively are we?

Fernando Bryant? How's he gonna help our DL? Niko was a good signing. Still kind of an unknown, but seeing how he played behind one of the best Mikes in the league, I'm willing to believe he has something to bring.

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense for the simple minded (yes Fontamed, that means you) but despite being under the cap by several million, we (Bowlen) still don't have the cash on hand to pay the bonuses and guarantees the players want in their contracts. We had the cap room to sign any of the big name free agents out there this year... we didn't have the cash to pay them the $20-30m in bonuses and other guaranteed cash.

The team has so far cut about 12 positions this offseason (that we know about). This could very well be posturing by Bowlen so that next year he can say, we can't afford to keep staff... no way can we accept the current CBA/FBA or what have you. Bottom line, we're offering pennies right now b/c our team is nearly $250m in debt. Sure the franchise is probably worth around $800m, but with that debt, you've lost close to a third of your corporations worth. How many companies wouldn't cut spending if they were in that situation?

[rugbythug]

This is so much ado about nothing. You let employees go when there job is not essential. The Broncos must have felt that they can run with out these three people no biggie. As for the lack of big signings. Which of these stellar free agents would people like us to overpaid for?

[Beantown Bronco]

These firings have nothing to do with "business efficiency" and everything to do with the fact that Bowlen caught them in the middle of a three way in his office the other night......and he wasn't invited.

[Broncoman13]

These firings have nothing to do with "business efficiency" and everything to do with the fact that Bowlen caught them in the middle of a three way in his office the other night......and he wasn't invited.


I knew eventually the truth would come out... fittingly the pivot man is the one to break the story!

[Broncoman13]

Dude, I'm sorry. This survivor game is having a weird affect on me! I didn't mean to call you a ****tardedqueerbaitingpivotwhore... the game made me do it. HATE THE GAME!

[DukeWoody]

This is so much ado about nothing. You let employees go when there job is not essential. The Broncos must have felt that they can run with out these three people no biggie. As for the lack of big signings. Which of these stellar free agents would people like us to overpaid for?

Actually there were 8 people released yesterday plus the 2 coordinaters at the end of the season and Sundquist....

Here is the updated version of the artical i posted yesterday...


Money tight, Broncos make staff cuts

Let there be no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley.
The latest hint occurred Wednesday when budget cuts led the Broncos to dismiss eight employees not directly involved in football operations, including Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com.
"It's a very, very difficult day when you have to eliminate jobs," said Joe Ellis, the Broncos" chief operating officer. "Especially when loyal, hardworking employees are involved. But our industry is like many others where downsizing and layoffs are required to make the business more effective."
The first hint the Broncos were cash-strapped this year was after three of coach Mike Shanahan's top assistants departed — defensive head coach Jim Bates, offensive head coach Mike Heimerdinger and general manager Ted Sundquist — and were replaced in-house.
Then there was Broncos' judicious spending both in the free-agent market and while re-signing their own players. And now the organization has been forced to cut people who worked behind-the-scenes.
Under Mason's leadership, the Broncos" website ranked among the league's top 10 in terms of number of hits. Kirk had worked in the Broncos" media relations department for 13 years.
"I've been proud to be part of such a fine organization," Kirk said. "I feel I've given everything I could during my time there. There are outstanding people there who are good friends and I wish them well." In a memo issued to each department Wednesday, Ellis notified employees of the cutbacks with the message, "It is important to note these decisions come at the expense of personal pain to individuals whose jobs were eliminated for reasons of business efficiency — not on the basis of performance."

[Northman]

Actually there were 8 people released yesterday plus the 2 coordinaters at the end of the season and Sundquist....

Here is the updated version of the artical i posted yesterday...


Money tight, Broncos make staff cuts

Let there be no doubt money is tight at Dove Valley.
The latest hint occurred Wednesday when budget cuts led the Broncos to dismiss eight employees not directly involved in football operations, including Paul Kirk, the Broncos' director of media relations and Andrew Mason, managing editor of DenverBroncos.com.
"It's a very, very difficult day when you have to eliminate jobs," said Joe Ellis, the Broncos" chief operating officer. "Especially when loyal, hardworking employees are involved. But our industry is like many others where downsizing and layoffs are required to make the business more effective."
The first hint the Broncos were cash-strapped this year was after three of coach Mike Shanahan's top assistants departed — defensive head coach Jim Bates, offensive head coach Mike Heimerdinger and general manager Ted Sundquist — and were replaced in-house.
Then there was Broncos' judicious spending both in the free-agent market and while re-signing their own players. And now the organization has been forced to cut people who worked behind-the-scenes.
Under Mason's leadership, the Broncos" website ranked among the league's top 10 in terms of number of hits. Kirk had worked in the Broncos" media relations department for 13 years.
"I've been proud to be part of such a fine organization," Kirk said. "I feel I've given everything I could during my time there. There are outstanding people there who are good friends and I wish them well." In a memo issued to each department Wednesday, Ellis notified employees of the cutbacks with the message, "It is important to note these decisions come at the expense of personal pain to individuals whose jobs were eliminated for reasons of business efficiency — not on the basis of performance."


Link?

[sirhcyennek81]

Thanks Bush, Greenspan et al!


Please be kidding.


:Broncos:

[broncofan7]

Has anyone thought that perhaps Shanny/Bowlen are tiding up things arround Dove Valley in that there have been leaks to the bloggers/writers in recent years that have lead to a less-than-favorable impression of the Organization and that they are eliminating people that he has held as perhaps being responsible for those leaks, Sundquist, Mason, etc. ? To justify the firing of Mason and the other staffers on the basis of finances for a multimillion dollar organization that has been nothing but profitable as recently as last year (See our free agent signings)is tantamount to the proverbial drop-in-the-bucket worth of savings---even if the savings are upwards of $500K, it still does not add up.

[Beantown Bronco]

To justify the firing of Mason and the other staffers on the basis of finances for a multimillion dollar organization that has been nothing but profitable as recently as last year (See our free agent signings)is tantamount to the proverbial drop-in-the-bucket worth of savings---even if the savings are upwards of $500K, it still does not add up.

So, if you are running a business that is making money, you would sit on your butt and not try to make even more money? What if you found divisions of your business that weren't making money and were advised that if you did away with those divisions, you would make even more profit? You wouldn't even consider it? You wouldn't be running that business very long, I can tell you that.

[worm]

Has anyone thought that perhaps Shanny/Bowlen are tiding up things arround Dove Valley in that there have been leaks to the bloggers/writers in recent years that have lead to a less-than-favorable impression of the Organization and that they are eliminating people that he has held as perhaps being responsible for those leaks, Sundquist, Mason, etc. ? To justify the firing of Mason and the other staffers on the basis of finances for a multimillion dollar organization that has been nothing but profitable as recently as last year (See our free agent signings)is tantamount to the proverbial drop-in-the-bucket worth of savings---even if the savings are upwards of $500K, it still does not add up.

You might want to cut back on your movie watching.

Just saying...

[fontaine]

A veteran safety, a MLB, a number two WR? Are you kidding me... a #2 WR?

Colbert couldn't play #2 in Carolina, but he's going to come to Denver and light it up right?

We've signed some stop gaps. Agressively pursuing Robertson. Wasn't that story when we found out he was traded the last time only to find out that he either had too many problems with his knee for the trade to go through or he wouldn't restructure. Here we are, nearly a month later and still no trade. How aggressively are we?

Fernando Bryant? How's he gonna help our DL? Niko was a good signing. Still kind of an unknown, but seeing how he played behind one of the best Mikes in the league, I'm willing to believe he has something to bring.


If you're so sure that we're going to field a pathetic team this season then why are so trying to hard to justify it liongirl?

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense for the simple minded (yes Fontamed, that means you) but despite being under the cap by several million, we (Bowlen) still don't have the cash on hand to pay the bonuses and guarantees the players want in their contracts. We had the cap room to sign any of the big name free agents out there this year... we didn't have the cash to pay them the $20-30m in bonuses and other guaranteed cash.

The team has so far cut about 12 positions this offseason (that we know about). This could very well be posturing by Bowlen so that next year he can say, we can't afford to keep staff... no way can we accept the current CBA/FBA or what have you. Bottom line, we're offering pennies right now b/c our team is nearly $250m in debt. Sure the franchise is probably worth around $800m, but with that debt, you've lost close to a third of your corporations worth. How many companies wouldn't cut spending if they were in that situation?

Bowlen so far has spent nearly $17million on Signing Bonuses and Guarantees and we've yet to hit the draft and address the DL. Is that offering pennies and cutting spending?

More importantly Bowlen has met each and every single FA we've brought in personally to see what kind of person they are and he's continued to stress that he wants to get rid to the bad/dysfunctional elements from the team including players and coaches/personnel rather than saying he just is saving money.

If you want to jump to conclusions about the motivation, and drive Pat Bowlen has regarding his committment to winning versus pinching pennies based around a few blogs and your own opinions then go right ahead then. It's about what I would expect from a guy who declared we would have a pathetic team just hours into FA when we didn't bother landing the biggest fish in the FA pool.

If there was a FA out there that would cost $15-$20 million just to sign and Bowlen genuinely believed he would be a difference maker and be worth it by helping us win then I believe Bowlen would spend that money in a heartbeat. Like he has in the past numerous times. The difference now is he's realized he's not getting bang for his buck and wants to spend the money wisely.

[broncofan7]

So, if you are running a business that is making money, you would sit on your butt and not try to make even more money? What if you found divisions of your business that weren't making money and were advised that if you did away with those divisions, you would make even more profit? You wouldn't even consider it? You wouldn't be running that business very long, I can tell you that.

Absolutely--but if you looked at the press release--it was based off of financial reasons only--which is why I think they are feeding us a load. I would like to see the combined salary savings of the 8 people released from employment but I would bet that it is not more than 1% of their total budget.

"What if you found divisions of your business that weren't making money and were advised that if you did away with those divisions, you would make even more profit?"

Let me know when denverbroncos.com goes away ;)

[broncofan7]

You might want to cut back on your movie watching.

Just saying...

speculation is fun isn't it?

[DukeWoody]

Link?

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_8629051

[Broncoman13]

If you're so sure that we're going to field a pathetic team this season then why are so trying to hard to justify it liongirl?



Bowlen so far has spent nearly $17million on Signing Bonuses and Guarantees and we've yet to hit the draft and address the DL. Is that offering pennies and cutting spending?

More importantly Bowlen has met each and every single FA we've brought in personally to see what kind of person they are and he's continued to stress that he wants to get rid to the bad/dysfunctional elements from the team including players and coaches/personnel rather than saying he just is saving money.

If you want to jump to conclusions about the motivation, and drive Pat Bowlen has regarding his committment to winning versus pinching pennies based around a few blogs and your own opinions then go right ahead then. It's about what I would expect from a guy who declared we would have a pathetic team just hours into FA when we didn't bother landing the biggest fish in the FA pool.

If there was a FA out there that would cost $15-$20 million just to sign and Bowlen genuinely believed he would be a difference maker and be worth it by helping us win then I believe Bowlen would spend that money in a heartbeat. Like he has in the past numerous times. The difference now is he's realized he's not getting bang for his buck and wants to spend the money wisely.


The only part of your post I really agree with. Look around Fontamed, there's several threads talking about the Broncos cash-strapped franchise. Is everybody to INCLUDE Bowlen making this up?

You're right though, if Bowlen thought he could pay a player 15m in bonuses and get a difference maker he would bite the bullet and futher that debt b/c he knows that the money will come back in the end IF he is winning games.

Its not just the Broncos that are in trouble financially, there's a lot of teams (the Faiders apparently aren't one of them) that are in the same boat.

Last but not least, you're a ****ing idiot if you think I WANT the Broncos to lose. I wouldn't buy season tix if I thought they were going to lose. I think the Broncos can win 8 or 9 games this season based on our offense and what defense I believe we have at this point. Shore up the D and we can move that to 12 games (we'll win 6 or 7 at home this year!).

[DukeWoody]

Oskie grats on your 10000....:thumbs:

you probably didn't even realize it went by with the intense throw down action you and fontain been having all day...

[fontaine]

The only part of your post I really agree with. Look around Fontamed, there's several threads talking about the Broncos cash-strapped franchise. Is everybody to INCLUDE Bowlen making this up?



Right, so I'll go ahead and believe some blogs and posts on a message board compared to the $17million Bowlen has dished out in cold hard cash this offseason.

You're right though, if Bowlen thought he could pay a player 15m in bonuses and get a difference maker he would bite the bullet and futher that debt b/c he knows that the money will come back in the end IF he is winning games.

Its not just the Broncos that are in trouble financially, there's a lot of teams (the Faiders apparently aren't one of them) that are in the same boat.

When do you think the Broncos went into Debt? Or do you think it just happened in one offseason compared to last year when we spent dozens of millions on signing bonuses? Also where did you get that figure of the Broncos being in $250 million in debt? Link?

Last but not least, you're a ****ing idiot if you think I WANT the Broncos to lose. I wouldn't buy season tix if I thought they were going to lose. I think the Broncos can win 8 or 9 games this season based on our offense and what defense I believe we have at this point. Shore up the D and we can move that to 12 games (we'll win 6 or 7 at home this year!).

Whatever man, you know you said the team will be pathetic. You're completely entitled to change your mind, no one's going to rake you over the coals for it but please STFU with the chest thumping.

[DukeWoody]

Oskie grats on your 10000....:thumbs:

you probably didn't even realize it went by with the intense throw down action you and fontaine been having all day...lol
<!-- / message -->

[BroncoBuff]

Some of you come up with some interesting points of view.
No they don't. They're silly ...

If anybody really thinks Joe Ellis is lying, they're not much better than the mhgaffney conspiracy theorists. If Pat had big market losses, or if the franchise merely wanted to "look" poor, they would stop signings like Wiegmann for more than Myers, and overpaying Boss Bailey and Keary Colbert. This is simple fat-cutting, cost-cutting in non-football areas. It's sad for them, but there's no conspiracy here.

[orange 4 life]

i rarely get time to check in here lately, but lemme make a quick hit and run post.

all i hear lately is talk of how rough things are and about our "rebuilding" process. media and fans alike bash our lack of playoff wins since elway retired, but rarely mention our consistent ability to put together winning seasons.

bottom line is that our team for 2008 has a long road ahead if we're to compete with the bolts for a division title or even compete with the second tier teams for a wildcard spot.
that said, the sky is NOT falling.
we have a good young group of players, we have a young qb who hopefully will continue to develop into the elite player we all think he can be, and we have some young talent on d-line that if overachieves could get our defense back to respectability.

bottom line is this could be a pretty good football team. i know the ADD generation cant remember anything before breakfast, but lets slow down long enough to remember that this team has always been competitive in shanahans tenure, and we have some good reasons to think this coming years team will be also.

i miss all you guys and gals, hope everyone is doing well, and GO BRONCOS!!
i look forward to seeing many of you this coming season.

jake

[DukeWoody]

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Good take Jake, i think we're 60/70% there...with a good draft and some positive development from the youngins we just may squeak out a wild card berth this year...Patience is deffinetly the key...

[wabbit]

No they don't. They're silly ...

...If Pat had big market losses, or if the franchise merely wanted to "look" poor, they would stop signings like Wiegmann for more than Myers, and overpaying Boss Bailey and Keary Colbert. This is simple fat-cutting, cost-cutting in non-football areas...

Not necessarily just cost cutting.

I personally do not believe for a moment the Bronco organization feels that Jason Elam is washed up, for example, and a year ago, the idea that he would be allowed to sign with another team for only a marginal raise would be unthinkable.

There's more here than non-football cost cutting...either Bowlen is fed up with the spiraling salaries & recent costly FA failures, or there really is a cash flow issue within the franchise...which seems curious given the revenue stream.

No-one really knows what's on the books, but it seems to me that the Broncos have pulled back spending in a big way.

[Cito Pelon]

No thanks, I don't much like being fired, personally.

Also, PFT ran this article last week. He didn't link to the original story it came from so you can't get all the details unless you go through a laborous Google search and who has time for that? In the name of efficiency, here's the summary. Eventually, these people have to keep a business sense or they wont get very far.

LEAGUE OWES $9 BILLION
Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2008, 9:20 a.m.
The NFL, which has been without question the most popular professional sport in America, is nevertheless awash in debt.

According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, the league had more than $9 billion in debt as of October 2007.

That’s an average of more than $281,000,000 per team.

The disclosure came in a letter from NFL outside counsel Gregg Levy in support of a decision by the league to reduce the per-team annual debt ceiling. The union has filed collusion charges regarding the move, alleging that the league essentially has limited the amount of money that will be available to pay bonuses and other lump sums to players. The Levy letter has been made public because it has been filed in connection with the collusion charges.

But the salary cap (and floor) are still in place. Regardless of how the money is paid out, every team is required to spend at least $100 million per year on players, with that number going up every year.

And the debt figure really is high, in our estimation. Major league baseball clubs owe a total of $3.1 billion, and NBA teams cap their debt at a total of $175 million per team. NHL teams can borrow up to one-half of the value of each franchise (so they can borrow like 500 bucks, right?).

Wow, that's very interesting. I guess that ties into what Bowlen was saying a couple months ago about how under the current CBA each team had to put 60% of gross (I guess) toward player salaries. I'm just now clicking on this thread so I'll read on and see what others have to say.

[Cito Pelon]

Well, Oskie, Font, Wabbit alluded to what cah posted - But the salary cap (and floor) are still in place. Regardless of how the money is paid out, every team is required to spend at least $100 million per year on players, with that number going up every year.

Here's what I think - the "floor" is the big deal.

If the team has to spend $100 million this year on player salaries alone, the 60% of gross revenue that Bowlen talked about months ago and is written into the CBA, then naturally the money spent on football operations has to be reduced. Therefore, the layoffs in football operations were the result.

[broncs2bowl]

andrew mason is gone?!?!?!