A.J. Hawk is pretty much in the same boat Reggie Bush is.

No, Hawk doesnt need to give up any awards he received. But he might need to get a new contract if he wants to remain with his current team.

Hawk has a $10 million base salary with the Green Bay Packers for 2011, just a notch below the $11 million Reggie Bush is set to earn this coming season from the New Orleans Saints. Neither player figures to get that kind of base pay.

The question is what will the Packers get done with Hawk, the inside linebacker who has turned his career around after a slow start. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported the money becomes guaranteed for Hawk on the first day of the league year.

One thing is evident: Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy wants Hawk to return.

A.J. Hawk is a Green Bay Packer as far as Im concerned, McCarthy said. Im not going to get into business situations. You just hope theyll work out. A.J. as a football player and a person, hes exactly what youre looking for.

There is a business side of this. You want all your players back. Thats how coaches always view these types of situations. A.J. grew tremendously, not only as a player, but as a leader in our locker room this year. Thought had a heck of a year. Hopefully everything works out.

Follow me on Twitter: @BradBiggs

Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

"NFP" wrote:

Thompson has paid out big money before to guys like TE Bubba Franks and DE KGB when they had big number contracts. All the talk was he was going cut them if they didn't work out a new contract... and as it turns out Thompson just paid them their contracts until they could no longer play well enough to keep a roster spot.

"beast" wrote:

A.J. Hawk is a Green Bay Packer as far as Im concerned, McCarthy said. Im not going to get into business situations. You just hope theyll work out. A.J. as a football player and a person, hes exactly what youre looking for.

Packers LB A.J. Hawk likely to be cut if contract can't be reworked


Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports one of the agents for linebacker A.J. Hawk has told people that he and the Packers have gotten nowhere in renegotiating Hawk's deal, even though it appears the Packers are interested in retaining him. Hawk has a $10 million guaranteed base salary in 2011 that, if not reworked before the start of the league year, would result in the Packers releasing him.

Eh, I've heard that before from the Thompson-led Packers camp. KGB comes to mind, and they paid him. I am pretty skeptical about anything I hear about contracts.

Not saying it will happen, and not saying it won't happen, but when is the last time you heard anything credible from either Thompson or a player's agent regarding contract talks?

"bozz_2006" wrote: