Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Chargers exec John Spanos does not regret going public in Joey Bosa contract stalemate

SAN DIEGO -- He'd do it the same way all over again.

That's basically the sentiment expressed by John Spanos, San Diego Chargers president of football operations, when asked if he would do things the same way if he could go back in time in his team's month-long contract stalemate with rookie defensive end Joey Bosa.

Last Wednesday the Chargers' front office released a public statement, announcing the team had pulled the its standing offer to Bosa, expressing frustration with the contract impasse and detailing the team's new offer to the rookie first-round selection.

Spanos took the statement a step further in a report published in the San Diego Union-Tribune, stating that Bosa's camp was being unreasonable and calling the fact that the two sides had not yet come to terms "asinine."

Going public was an unusual move by the Chargers, an organization that generally keeps things in-house. Spanos took pride earlier this year in pointing out that few draft analysts had the Chargers tabbed to select Bosa with the No. 3 overall pick.

While criticized by some, the Chargers ultimately signed Bosa to a four-year deal on Monday.

Spanos made his comments in a conversation with Judson Richards and Nick Hardwick of Xtra 1360 Fox Sports Radio, which you can listen to here.

"Obviously, it was a difficult decision," Spanos said. "Any time you're in a tough negotiation, everything you do is a difficult decision. And let me be clear: It's certainly never our preference to make any public comments. It's not how we've operated in the past, I would say, and only [on] the rarest of occasions.

"In fact, I've probably been involved in hundreds of player negotiations and contract agreements, whether it's helping out or leading, throughout my lifetime, and that's the first time I've ever said anything public.

"So that shows you how rare that is. It's not what we prefer to do -- only, I would say, when we're forced to do it. The bottom line is if someone were to tell me that's why we got it done, then, yeah, I would do it again, because our goal the whole time was we wanted him here. And we were going to do whatever it takes to get him here."

Spanos was asked if he felt going public during the negotiation would deter other players from signing with the Chargers in free agency. "No, I don't see that at all," he said. "We've never had a problem in that regard. In fact, if anything, we've been fortunate that it's been just the opposite.

"I think this has been a very desirable place for a lot of free agents. If you look over that last 13 years, we're up there near the top as far as games won. And we're in San Diego -- who wouldn't want to live here? So I know we pay for it a little bit on the tax end, but I tell people it's a weather tax, a cost of living tax. And it's worth it at the end of the day to be happy and live in a great place."

Spanos went on to say that he doesn’t believe the franchise was lacking in its due diligence -- such as talking to a representation of the player it planned to select before the draft, to figure out parameters of an agreement. He believes it was more important for the Chargers to keep the players they desire a secret.

"If you look historically, we've never had an issue signing a player under this CBA," Spanos said. "It's never happened to us. So this was really a rare case where I think all of the moons lined up, unfortunately, in the wrong spot that led to this.

"But I don't think it was ever anything that could have or should have been on anyone's radar. And furthermore, we take pride in doing our work and keeping it in-house. And that certainly is a benefit to us, because when it gets out what players we're looking at, that could be detrimental. So the privacy aspect is very important. It's something we strive for."

Now that Bosa is at Chargers Park, Spanos said, the team's focus is getting the Ohio State product ready for action as quickly as possible.

"Joey's obviously a very talented player," Spanos said. "You go No. 3 in the draft for a reason. He has a very unique and special skill set.

"I still stand by the fact that I think every player needs training camp to get ready for the season. But I will say this: Now that he's here, he's going to work very hard to get ready for the season. I do believe that it's 100 percent true that he has been working very hard. I think for a player to go through his situation and coming in this late, we're in probably the best scenario you could be in, given that situation. He's as ready as a player could be. He's going to work as hard as a player can work. So I do think he'll be able to help us this year."

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