Here's something I didn't know... Brian Westbrook owns a horse farm in maryland.
The first indications that you're nearing Brian Westbrook's other place of business are the yellow road signs that warn of horse, deer and tractor crossings.
These are country roads in suburban Washington, and as you wind your way around them, you eventually come upon a rickety wooden address post that lets you know you have arrived at "WESTBROOK FARM."
Westbrook says he rides 2 or 3 times a week and often brings less fortunate kids out to the farm to ride as well. It's a real working farm with people that pay to board their horses there and everything... but apparently the extra income from the horse farm isn't quite enough to make up the gap between what Brian is paid by the Eagles and what he thinks he should be paid...
"It is a business," Westbrook said. "You won't get rich owning a boarding facility like this, but I enjoy doing it. It's more a labor of love. When people get off work, they come out and relieve some of the stress. We have some show horses here, and you'll see kids come out and do some jumping and things like that."
In a separate article also done at his horse farm Westbrook addressed his contract situation directly.
"The contract thing is a sour point for me because when you deserve something you deserve something," Westbrook said. "What's right is right, and what's fair is fair."
"I tried to get this thing done in the middle of last year," he said. "I tried to get it done from January until now. It still hasn't gotten done."
He was pretty direct about what he thinks he's worth and just how good he is.
If LaDainian [Tomlinson] got paid $25 million guaranteed in 2003 and now it's 2008, the next person needs to be paid $30 million guaranteed," Westbrook said. "It works its way up. You can't sit here and say, 'I'm as good as LaDainian right now, and I'm getting paid five years after him. . . . So I'll take $15 million.' That doesn't make any sense."
The article is full of quotes and definitely worth checking out, but one last thought kinda bothered me..
"To me, it comes down to whether the team respects you," Westbrook said. "I look at it in dollars and cents. If you think you have a coach who is doing a great job, you pay him - the same way they did with Andy Reid a couple of years ago
The Eagles extended Andy Reid and gave him a raise in late 2004 for a job well done. Less than one year later they did the same for guess who?
Brian Westbrook. So if the Eagles extending Andy Reid in 2004 was an example of the team doing right, how is the Eagles extending Westbrook a year later a sign of disrespect? Not a great example there Brian. Kinda makes you like a horse's... well you know.