K-Day has arrived - latest on Parker situation

Whether Parker has thrown his last pass as a ClemsonTiger remains to be seen

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Jul 20 12:43:34 GMT-04:00 2010

CLEMSON – K-Day is here.

July 20th was the date set by Clemson quarterback/baseball player Kyle Parker and the Colorado Rockies as the due date for a contract, and TigerNet has spoken with sources in Colorado and to Parker, and the belief in Colorado is that Parker will agree to terms today.

The Rockies selected Parker in the first round [26th overall pick] of last month’s amateur draft, and speculation has swirled since that time on whether Parker would return for another season of Clemson football.

The Parkers had set July 20th as a deadline for resolution in order to be fair with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the football team.

However, Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd is in the Dominican Republic, and Rockies Scouting Director Bill Schmidt normally doesn’t talk until the contract is official, so don’t expect a press conference or even an official announcement until later this week.

Keep in mind that the July 20th deadline is not a hard stop, and negotiations can continue past today’s date. If it goes past today, however, the chances of Parker returning to play football increase and the Rockies would then have until August 16th to sign him to a contract.

Here is what we have learned from sources close to Parker and the Rockies as of noon today:

• The initial number offered by the Parkers to the Rockies, in order for Parker to play just baseball and forego his football eligibility, was in the neighborhood of $3 million.

• The Rockies’ initial offer came in at somewhere between $2 and $2.5 million, but Rockies’ sources have indicated that the number was closer to $2 million [possibly $2.2 million]. However, negotiations are continuing.

• Sources close to the Parkers have said that if the number stays in the range offered by the Rockies, then Kyle could actually accept a lower contract [believed to be $1.5 to $1.9 million] and continue to play football.

Obviously, there is a lot of speculation out there as of now, and not a lot of hard facts, but TigerNet will continue to keep you updated as the day progresses.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has his annual golf outing with the media today, and we will speak with him around six this evening, and we will update with quotes from the head coach regarding this fluid situation.

As a redshirt freshman football player in 2009, Parker completed 205-of-369 passes for 2,526 yards and 20 touchdowns.