Jenson Button's contract negotiations

[Wanta996Gotta]

From PlanetF1 so take with pinch of Salt but Brawns comments add some viablity to it. Question i have is why are Brawn so skint after winning both titles???

Jenson Button's contract negotiations has taken a new twist with team principal Ross Brawn suggesting they are unlikely to match his salary demands.

Newly crowned World Champion Button is looking for a big increase after taking a pay cut at the start of the year following the demise of Honda.

However, his bosses at Brawn are yet to match his demands and McLaren are reportedly ready to pounce should the negotiations end in deadlock.

Team boss Brawn, who recently stated that he is "99 per cent certain" that the Englishman will stay, hinted that they will probably offer him more freedom to negotiate his own sponsorship deals instead of giving him a contract worth more than £6m a year.

"We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go," Brawn is quoted in The Guardian.

"Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations."

[plg101]

I don't think they are but suspect Brawn is more like Frank Williams in his negotiations in that he is refusing to pay a massive premium on a current WDC.

Button has been clear that he just wants to win, there are a surplus of good drivers in the market and Brawn will be using that as leverage. Freeing up Buttons personal sponsorship means less cash out of Brawn and more directly to Jens - makes sense.

Don't get me wrong - I hope he stays at Brawn, but I'm sure both sides know what they are doing.

[Marcia]

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

[Wanta996Gotta]

Marcia said:

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

Hmm, i didnt know that. Surely thats who everyone wanted to see? Very strange.

[FNG]

Wanta996Gotta said:

From PlanetF1 so take with pinch of Salt but Brawns comments add some viablity to it. Question i have is why are Brawn so skint after winning both titles???

Jenson Button's contract negotiations has taken a new twist with team principal Ross Brawn suggesting they are unlikely to match his salary demands.

Newly crowned World Champion Button is looking for a big increase after taking a pay cut at the start of the year following the demise of Honda.

However, his bosses at Brawn are yet to match his demands and McLaren are reportedly ready to pounce should the negotiations end in deadlock.

Team boss Brawn, who recently stated that he is "99 per cent certain" that the Englishman will stay, hinted that they will probably offer him more freedom to negotiate his own sponsorship deals instead of giving him a contract worth more than £6m a year.

"We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go," Brawn is quoted in The Guardian.

"Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations."

Surprised that this is still news on the F1 websites. It's been doing the rounds for about a month now.

Then again there's not a lot happening in the off-season until Kimi's decided whether to accept McLaren's offer.

To answer your question, I am sure Brawn aren't skint but RB is trying to get his driver for the lowest amount possible, and knows Button has few other options plus a stated desire to stay. Those things tend to hamper one's demands for more money.

I suspect he is trying to protect his workforce and maybe take some of those he sacked at the start of the year back on. That would also of course protect him from those people moving to other teams and giving insight to his championship-winning car...

I think he's being unfair, considering:

1) Rosberg is joining from Williams where he was on a reported £4.5m and is unlikely to take a pay cut

2) Button was on £3m and promised a return to his previous wage levels once the team finances were secured

3) Button is now a WDC and will attract a lot of attention and coverage

4) He's the team leader

5) Even getting what he's asking for, he'd be the lowest paid WDC on the grid

I am sure the rights to his own image are worth a fair bit, but I'd be surprised if that would put Button back on a par with Hamilton and Alonso in the earnings stakes.

And the retainer in F1 is as much about pecking order and being valued / rated as it is having the wedge to buy more planes or boats.

Pretty sure Button will stay with Brawn. His management team are probably sounding out sponsorship and endorsement deals at the moment to assess just how lucrative they are and how much of a benefit those are compared to a guaranteed salary.

I have to confess that a bigger salary and less need to fulfil personal sponsor requirements sounds a lot more palatable than having to do twice the number of engagements for the same amount of wedge!

[lozriva]

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

[Marcia]

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

Agree with that.

[heebeegeetee]

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

I agree, but who else is there? I'm sure Rb knows all he needs about Kimi, for instance.

[Wanta996Gotta]

heebeegeetee said:

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

I agree, but who else is there? I'm sure Rb knows all he needs about Kimi, for instance.

+1 - Who else could he get if not Jenson. Heidfield or dare i say it - Schumacher?

[belleair302]

My suspicions are that Brawn will be looking to M-B / Mobil or the other sponsors to 'increase' JB's salary in addition to what Brawn as a team will pay. JB will also charge sponsors for personal appearances and will possibly negotiate a few 'private' sponsorship deals too.

Many teams do NOT allow this , ie McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota etc, but with the economy changing time will be different in 2010/11.

[skinny]

Wanta996Gotta said:

heebeegeetee said:

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

I agree, but who else is there? I'm sure Rb knows all he needs about Kimi, for instance.

+1 - Who else could he get if not Jenson. Heidfield or dare i say it - Schumacher?

well apparently heidfeld was talking to honda / brawn over the winter, but i believe that was before honda pulled out (feels like ages ago doesn't it!!) and i can't see them taking him over the known and rated quantity, and WDC that is the button.

[Ken Sington]

Wanta996Gotta said:

Marcia said:

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

Hmm, i didnt know that. Surely thats who everyone wanted to see? Very strange.

When was this? JB was in China for the ROC last week.

[heebeegeetee]

Wanta996Gotta said:

heebeegeetee said:

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

I agree, but who else is there? I'm sure Rb knows all he needs about Kimi, for instance.

+1 - Who else could he get if not Jenson. Heidfield or dare i say it - Schumacher?

Ralf ??????!!!!!!!!

[flemke]

belleair302 said:

My suspicions are that Brawn will be looking to M-B / Mobil or the other sponsors to 'increase' JB's salary in addition to what Brawn as a team will pay. JB will also charge sponsors for personal appearances and will possibly negotiate a few 'private' sponsorship deals too.

Many teams do NOT allow this , ie McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota etc, but with the economy changing time will be different in 2010/11.

It would not surprise me if the Button signing were being held up by the Merc/McLaren/Brawn negotiations.
On the one hand, if Merc buy into Brawn and badge their car for '10, there is no way that they would be unwilling to pay an extra couple of £m to retain Button and the #1 on the car.
On the other hand, if Merc are unwilling to accept McLaren's buy-out terms, perhaps throwing in Button as part of the deal would make it happen.

Btw, it was my understanding that Hamilton's new contract gave him more control over his image rights than had been the norm for McLaren.

[E30M3SE]

Wanta996Gotta said:

Marcia said:

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

Hmm, i didnt know that. Surely thats who everyone wanted to see? Very strange.

Anthony Davidson was the only driver that the regional news program for the BBC in the area showed, no Barri either.

[Wanta996Gotta]

E30M3SE said:

Wanta996Gotta said:

Marcia said:

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

Hmm, i didnt know that. Surely thats who everyone wanted to see? Very strange.

Anthony Davidson was the only driver that the regional news program for the BBC in the area showed, no Barri either.

If not disrespectful then very strange that Button had better things to do that appear at the Brawn parade.

[plg101]

Wanta996Gotta said:

E30M3SE said:

Wanta996Gotta said:

Marcia said:

I find it strange that JB was'nt on the Brawn parade bus that went through Brackley,everyone else was there,you'd have thought he'd have wanted to be there.

Hmm, i didnt know that. Surely thats who everyone wanted to see? Very strange.

Anthony Davidson was the only driver that the regional news program for the BBC in the area showed, no Barri either.

If not disrespectful then very strange that Button had better things to do that appear at the Brawn parade.

As noted above, he was at the Race of Champions in China on the 3rd/4th November - I guess he then simply needed rest after a few insane weeks - and rather than fly back to the UK, and then back to his partner in Japan, he just went to Japan....?

[Mini1275]

lozriva said:

I think RB is right to hold out, i wouldn't pay a huge premium for JB. He is a good driver yes but there are better in F1. Button should be wanting to stay with Brawn and not the other way round.
Brawn are the reason JB won the WDC not the other way round...

Absolutely agree, well said

[anonymous-user]

If that were as clear cut as you suggest, Barichello would have been an easy second in the championship, he wasn't, Vettel beat him. You always need a good car to become champion, but the car is a wasted if you don't have the right quality of driver in it too.

Jenson has been burned in the past with his contracts, so i think it's to be expected that he isn't going to rush into a deal. This is all childs play compared to the negotiations McLaren and Senna used to have, in 93 they only managed to settle the deal in the end by tossing a coin, Senna lost which cost him millions.

[Wanta996Gotta]

johnfelstead said:

Jenson has been burned in the past with his contracts,

Do you mean burned by the quality of the team or do you mean burned financially? I would guess he is loaded considering the types of deals he was on.