Lockout Question - Player Contracts (1 Viewer)

[BassNBrew]

Just curious what happens with player contracts. Let's say play X has a 3 year deal begining in 2010. year 1 $8 mil, yr 2 $12 mil, yr 3 $10 mil plus a $10 mil signing bonus. If the 2011 season is lost, does the contract pick up in year 2 or year 3. If year 2 is considered a lost / unpaid year and the contract moves on to year 3, how is the signing bonus handled?

 

[BassNBrew]

Bump...

 

[RedskinsFan]

I'll add my question here instead of asking it in another thread. Sorry I don't know the answer to your question. This is along the same lines

I was wondering why we've yet to see any teams re-sign their own FA's this offseason? Looking over the transaction logs there has only been 4 players re-signed to there teams after Jan 1. I mention that day because the season ended for all teams not in the playoffs on Jan. 2nd. The four extensions were:

On January 3rd Shawne Merriman re-signed (two-year contract) with Buffalo.

On January 3rd Tennessee Titans re-signed Chris Hawkins (CB) signed (two-year contract).

On January 3rd Seattle re-signed Mike Williams to a 3 year deal

On January 14th Seattle re-signed Ben Obomanu to a 3 year deal

Why aren't more teams re-signing there own Free Agents right now? Are they not allowed to?

 

[Orange Crush]

Just curious what happens with player contracts. Let's say play X has a 3 year deal begining in 2010. year 1 $8 mil, yr 2 $12 mil, yr 3 $10 mil plus a $10 mil signing bonus. If the 2011 season is lost, does the contract pick up in year 2 or year 3. If year 2 is considered a lost / unpaid year and the contract moves on to year 3, how is the signing bonus handled?

NFL contracts are structured on a pay per game basis. So for every game missed in 2011 for the lockout, the players will lose out on 1/16th of their annual salary. You can find a sample player contract here.I'm not sure what you're asking regarding "how is the signing bonus handled"? The player received the signing bonus up front. The player doesn't have to pay any of it back -- he didn't do anything to prevent the playing of games. The team assumed the risk of that money not measuring up to the player's performance when they gave it to him. If you're asking how it will be handled against the salary cap -- what salary cap?

 

[Orange Crush]

I'll add my question here instead of asking it in another thread. Sorry I don't know the answer to your question. This is along the same lines

I was wondering why we've yet to see any teams re-sign their own FA's this offseason? Looking over the transaction logs there has only been 4 players re-signed to there teams after Jan 1. I mention that day because the season ended for all teams not in the playoffs on Jan. 2nd. The four extensions were:

On January 3rd Shawne Merriman re-signed (two-year contract) with Buffalo.

On January 3rd Tennessee Titans re-signed Chris Hawkins (CB) signed (two-year contract).

On January 3rd Seattle re-signed Mike Williams to a 3 year deal

On January 14th Seattle re-signed Ben Obomanu to a 3 year deal

Why aren't more teams re-signing there own Free Agents right now? Are they not allowed to?

Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com has a post about this regarding the Eagles and Michael Vick, saying that multiple league sources have told him that the Eagles cannot sign Vick to a new deal under the current labor agreement. This was the first I've heard of it, and I'd have to dive into the CBA to figure out why (and I'm not sure when I'll have the time to do that). But it is very curious how those other teams have signed players and not others. Or perhaps, those teams and players listed above have "come to terms on an agreement" but have not actually signed the deal? I don't know.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Just curious what happens with player contracts. Let's say play X has a 3 year deal begining in 2010. year 1 $8 mil, yr 2 $12 mil, yr 3 $10 mil plus a $10 mil signing bonus. If the 2011 season is lost, does the contract pick up in year 2 or year 3. If year 2 is considered a lost / unpaid year and the contract moves on to year 3, how is the signing bonus handled?

Hi BnB,I think what you're asking is a "year of service" question.If there is no 2011 season, then the contract extends for another year.For example, if Larry Fitzgerald is signed through 2013 due to signing a 4-year extension prior to the 2010 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more years. That means if there is no 2011 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more seasons - starting with 2012 and ending in 2014.That's my understanding.Now if there is an abbreviated 2011 season, I think that his deal would terminate after 2013, since he would have played the "2011 season" even if it was short.

 

[BassNBrew]

Just curious what happens with player contracts. Let's say play X has a 3 year deal begining in 2010. year 1 $8 mil, yr 2 $12 mil, yr 3 $10 mil plus a $10 mil signing bonus. If the 2011 season is lost, does the contract pick up in year 2 or year 3. If year 2 is considered a lost / unpaid year and the contract moves on to year 3, how is the signing bonus handled?

Hi BnB,I think what you're asking is a "year of service" question.If there is no 2011 season, then the contract extends for another year.For example, if Larry Fitzgerald is signed through 2013 due to signing a 4-year extension prior to the 2010 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more years. That means if there is no 2011 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more seasons - starting with 2012 and ending in 2014.That's my understanding.Now if there is an abbreviated 2011 season, I think that his deal would terminate after 2013, since he would have played the "2011 season" even if it was short.

Thanks Jeff. OC seemed pretty sure of himself. Hopefully he'll weigh back in on where he got his thoughts.

 

[Orange Crush]

Just curious what happens with player contracts. Let's say play X has a 3 year deal begining in 2010. year 1 $8 mil, yr 2 $12 mil, yr 3 $10 mil plus a $10 mil signing bonus. If the 2011 season is lost, does the contract pick up in year 2 or year 3. If year 2 is considered a lost / unpaid year and the contract moves on to year 3, how is the signing bonus handled?

Hi BnB,I think what you're asking is a "year of service" question.

If there is no 2011 season, then the contract extends for another year.

For example, if Larry Fitzgerald is signed through 2013 due to signing a 4-year extension prior to the 2010 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more years. That means if there is no 2011 season, he would still be under contract for 3 more seasons - starting with 2012 and ending in 2014.

That's my understanding.

Now if there is an abbreviated 2011 season, I think that his deal would terminate after 2013, since he would have played the "2011 season" even if it was short.

Thanks Jeff. OC seemed pretty sure of himself. Hopefully he'll weigh back in on where he got his thoughts.

Ah, I see what question was being asked now. The answer primarily depends on why there is no season. If it's a lockout, then that's (technically) the owners preventing the season from taking place, and the language of the standard player contracts look to say that while the player won't get paid, the contract itself won't be extended. However, if the owners declare an impasse and unilaterally impose their last offer, the players will be forced to strike. That's (technically) the players preventing the season from taking place, and thus the contracts would be extended a year if the full season is lost. The language of players' contracts may vary, though, and so there could be groups of players that have their contracts extended while the majority don't, and vice versa.

As for years of service counting towards minimum salary requirements, etc., that would be subject to the collective bargaining agreement and will definitely be one of the points of negotiation between the two sides.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

I'll add my question here instead of asking it in another thread. Sorry I don't know the answer to your question. This is along the same linesI was wondering why we've yet to see any teams re-sign their own FA's this offseason? Looking over the transaction logs there has only been 4 players re-signed to there teams after Jan 1. I mention that day because the season ended for all teams not in the playoffs on Jan. 2nd. The four extensions were:On January 3rd Shawne Merriman re-signed (two-year contract) with Buffalo. On January 3rd Tennessee Titans re-signed Chris Hawkins (CB) signed (two-year contract).On January 3rd Seattle re-signed Mike Williams to a 3 year dealOn January 14th Seattle re-signed Ben Obomanu to a 3 year dealWhy aren't more teams re-signing there own Free Agents right now? Are they not allowed to?

From what I can tell:Merriman signed on Jan. 1Hawkins signed a reserve contract as he was not on an NFL roster at the end of the 2010 season

 

[BassNBrew]

Ah, I see what question was being asked now. The answer primarily depends on why there is no season. If it's a lockout, then that's (technically) the owners preventing the season from taking place, and the language of the standard player contracts look to say that while the player won't get paid, the contract itself won't be extended. However, if the owners declare an impasse and unilaterally impose their last offer, the players will be forced to strike. That's (technically) the players preventing the season from taking place, and thus the contracts would be extended a year if the full season is lost.

The language of players' contracts may vary, though, and so there could be groups of players that have their contracts extended while the majority don't, and vice versa.

As for years of service counting towards minimum salary requirements, etc., that would be subject to the collective bargaining agreement and will definitely be one of the points of negotiation between the two sides.

This could get interesting. Players with salaries decreasing going forward would want the contract to extend while those with increasing salaries wouldn't want it to extended.