Santonio Holmes might have to move on from champagne tastes if his paycheck shrinks the way he thinks it might.
The Jets wide receiver said Wednesday he is willing to take a pay cut to remain with the Jets in 2014. Holmes signed a five-year, $45 million deal with the team in 2011 and famously tweeted a photo of himself chugging a $215 bottle of Cristal champagne.
But after two injury-filled, unproductive years, the Jets are unlikely to bring him back next season when he is scheduled to make a base salary of $8.25 million, plus an additional $2.5 million in bonuses. The Jets would save $8.25 million against the cap by cutting him.
That led to the question Wednesday whether he would reduce his pay if it meant playing for the Jets in 2014.
“Anything for the team,” Holmes said.
Holmes took a $3.5 million pay cut last offseason to shrink his base salary to $7.5 million this year. Even at a reduced price, though, Holmes has underperformed. Holmes has 18 catches for 395 yards and one touchdown. He missed five games with a hamstring injury. Holmes missed most of last season with a foot injury.
He was asked if he would understand why the Jets might want him to take a pay cut based on his production over the last two years.
“I wouldn’t agree with it because you can’t do anything about injuries,” he said. “They do occur. It’s the first time I’ve been injured in my career but, like I said, for the team sacrifices are to be made.”
Holmes hopes he’s not the only one back next season. He also gave head coach Rex Ryan his endorsement, saying he hopes he can finish his career playing for him.
“I would love to play for him,” Holmes said. “He brought me here, gave me an opportunity to play for him. I would love to play for him for the next couple of years and even retire here, he and I both.”
Holmes turns 30 in March and coming off these last two seasons it is hard to imagine him getting a ton of interest as a free agent. A league executive said it is clear his skills have diminished. Pair that with questions about what kind of teammate he is and he is not an attractive option for most teams.
“I do not think there would be a first-wave market or a quick-acting market for him,” the league executive said. “I think he’d have to wait out the immediate-strike deals and likely wait for the first-wave players to sign.”
How much could he get on the open market?
“I do not see him getting another big deal, but maybe a reasonable veteran deal with some fair money commensurate to what he is today, not yesterday,” the league executive said, “with some incentives in production and playing time.”
The Jets traded a fifth-round pick to the Steelers for Holmes in 2010. They thought they were getting a wide receiver who could score a ton of touchdowns. Instead, he has scored just 16 in four years.
He’s been a puzzle off the field, too. Holmes fought with quarterback Mark Sanchez in 2011 and has turned off plenty of teammates. He is a tough person to figure out. He was asked if he watched the Ravens-Lions game on Monday night, which directly impacted the Jets’ playoff hopes. When the Ravens won, the Jets were eliminated, but Holmes did not watch it or even try to find out the score on Tuesday.
“I didn’t find out until meetings [Wednesday] morning that we were eliminated,” he said. “It didn’t bother me.”
Asked what his reaction was, he said, “I don’t have any. They did what they have to do and we didn’t.”