Titans RB and other young players can’t get the deals they deserve. Andrew Brandt
When the “opt-out” provision of the renegotiated 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) allowed for an uncapped 2010, the idea of a year without a salary cap was thought to be a potential windfall for the players. Teams like the Redskins and Cowboys, it was thought, would engage in unfettered bidding for all the best players, becoming the Yankees and Red Sox of football. Spending on players would rise dramatically. Well, not so much.
The 2010 league year – the much-hyped uncapped year – has been, at best, business as usual in the NFL. More realistically, it has been business as management would like it. With no spending floor, teams have not had minimum spending levels and have each set their own “cap” at a figure likely lower than before.
Veteran players with high salaries are being shed; restricted free agency saw one player (Mike Bell) change teams, and benefits to players that totaled roughly $10 million per team last year have been cut. Now, another unfortunate side effect of the uncapped year is rearing its head on some of the league’s top young players.
30-percent rule restrictions
The 30-percent rule, found in Article XXIV, Section 8 (b) of the CBA, states that renegotiations/extensions entered into in the 2010 league year may not increase per year from 2009 to 2010 or beyond more than 30 percent of the 2009 salary. For example, if the 2009 salary is $2M, the maximum available in 2010 is $2.6M, in 2011 it’s $3.2M, etc.
The theory behind the rule was to prevent the dumping of disproportionate amounts of compensation into a year with no cap to regulate spending. The rule was another quid pro quo for what was expected to be an uncapped windfall for players.
Especially affected are rising players in the middle of their rookie contracts, all structured with low salaries and previously paid bonuses. The latest player expressing some discontent with his situation is Titans running back Chris Johnson.
Johnson is not attending offseason workouts, but his frustration is probably more directed at the system than the Titans. The 30-percent rule is stunting potential deals for young ascending players such as Johnson; receivers DeSean Jackson, Steve Smith (Giants) and Sidney Rice; running backs DeAngelo Williams and Joseph Addai; linemen Ryan Kalil and Nick Mangold; and linebackers Lamar Woodley and David Harris.
Frustrating for teams
Team officials – assuming there was a budget for extensions, which may be rare -- are equally frustrated about not being able to lock up these young players, as it would make good business sense to do so now rather than later. Whether it’s simply a convenient excuse or reality, their hands are tied. As Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt told the Tennessean newspaper, “With all these deals, the 30-percent rule makes it very, very hard to do.”
Johnson made $385,000 in the second year of his rookie contract last season. Under the rule, he’s limited to an increase of $115,000 this year and each year beyond.
Signing bonus
There is one way around the 30-percent rule, but no team wants to use it. According to Article XXIV (7)(b)(iv) of the CBA, a signing bonus (or a payment that is treated as a signing bonus) does not count toward the rule.
In the event the Titans are willing to give Johnson a five-year, $40-million extension, they could satisfy the 30-percent rule in the salary portion of the deal by giving him roughly $37M in signing bonus. No team wants to structure a deal with 80 percent or more in guaranteed signing bonus, money that is essentially gone the moment the player signs the contract. Teams are much more willing to structure large base salaries that may be guaranteed in the future to allow for the possibility of recovery and forfeiture.
Although players are frustrated, agents understand. As agent Ben Dogra of the powerful CAA group, which represents a few players in this situation, including Williams, Addai and Panthers lineman Ryan Kalil, said, “For this year at least, your hands are tied.”
The rule is a true impediment to getting something done with a rising young player, as these deals likely will not happen until next year at the earliest. As a result, these players become further casualties of the uncapped year.
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What would be wrong with just restructuring a 3 year deal that is say 15 mil in guarantees, than re-do his deal in year 3??
It seems to me to be just another excuse by a big corporation to save some money
Just a thought!
Oh yeah I almost forgot PAY THE MAN!!!!!
Interesting detail, Andrew, I didn't know about the 30% rule before. I can kind of understand the rationale for this rule (it prevents teams from circumventing the salary cap by using the uncapped year as a dumping ground for salaries higher than the cap would've allowed). But, yeah, Chris Johnson making less than a 1/2 million is ridiculous. ...and, with the short careers that RBs have, he can't afford to play under this bad of a contract for even a few years. He just doesn't have the time to waste.
But the huge signing bonus route isn't the solution either. That would essentially be an NBA-style guaranteed contract. The last thing the NFL (or any sport) needs is to create even the possibility of a Stephon Marbury situation, where a guy sits out for no reason and/or dogs it on the field while still getting paid. An employer HAS to have the option of firing slackers, plain and simple.
But, again, Chris Johnson's getting the shaft, no question about it. It reminds me a little of Ryan Grant's holdout in '08. As a Packer fan, I understood his reasons and didn't hold it against him. A RB has to take a year off if it comes to that. History shows that, with very few exceptions, RBs have a ceiling of about 4 years of productivity once they're the feature back, and they can't afford to offer their services on the cheap for any of those years.
If I were Chris Johnson or his agent, I'd be like "I understand... 30% rule, sure... you're hands are tied; I get all that, and I don't hold it against you, but I just can't play at that salary. My services are too valuable of a commodity to offer them to you at that price. So, if you can't understand that and offer a fair contract to me, then we'll just have to sit here until the rules change or my contract expires. HOW you pay me can't be my concern - THAT you pay me is the important thing."
Of course extending Johnson five years with most of the money up front makes no sense, but what about extending him one year with a far smaller bonus? Wouldn't that accomplish the objective of giving him a nice raise without risking a ton of guaranteed money?
Of course, if I'm running the Titans, I wouldn't do it. He's under contract and is not likely to sit out. He coudl get hurt or lose effectiveness and next year could be a lockout, so why hand out a bonus now?
I agree meateater. It is too much to cut a signing bonus of that kind of magnitude. Too bad if he holds out...too bad for him and for the fans who will miss watching the most electrifying running back in the game.
Just read that Kolb just got extended for a year with a $12 m signing bonus. So that is one way teams are getting around the 30% rule. Nice April for Kolb.
Dan you should of been an agent! You missed your calling.Sure playing football is a short career,so is living and breathing.But what about the fan,nobody thinks of them. I t costs a lot of money to go to these games. Being at the games is the greatest thing to do if you are a sports fan,don`t you agree? The players want enough money so they can retire when they are 35 years old! Must be nice, hell I take home 125,000 a year but I worked my way up to this point [57 years old] to get here and still working every day.oh lets just get it in one huge chunk shall we? Lets just add to my Rolex collection / my hats that I can`t seem to figure out how to wear it straight on my head. Think I`ll sit at home until I get a pay increase that will show them ! [there goes my job] Maybe I missed my calling should of been a owner , gosh most likely would not of ever had a winning team but fans could come and watch for 1/2 price. Just like the Cubs. Maybe,possibility could afford to take the team out for a pizza!
Add a waiver for one exception on each team to get the 30% levied on his base and bonus. Then he's climbing the money ladder substantially enough to get some level of acceleration.
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Another piece of the puzzle DeMoMoney probably has no clue about. Still preparing for war?
On a separate note, anybody know where i can get some shoes or boots?
ED DAY, maybe when 70,000 people are willing to pay $100 and up to watch you work, you can compare your salary situation with a professional entertainer. Maybe if running backs could work until 57 like you (and me for that matter) then we could expect their salary increases to mirror ours. Want to make millions of dollars a year like a pro athlete? Then become one of the best in the world at a skill that's in demand.
What about roster bonuses, that wouldn't be up-front money? Would they fall under the 30% restriction? Why wouldn't teams simply use roster bonuses as "disguised salaries?"
Assuming this is the way the interview went, then I really can't fault him for asking that. Although with Dez, you would think he would ask questions about if he writes things down so he won't forget them - like forgetting to bring your cleats to your pro day.
Sound like we have a situation resulting from another badly designed and negotiated contract by an agent who lacks the foresight to do so. These agents, Drew Rosenhaus comes to mind first and foremost, lack the imagination and "what if" thinking to get a deal done with the upside performance bonuses to reward a player who could outperform typical rookie contracts.
This problem is so rampart across the NFL it's a cliche now and has been for too long. Agents should be schooled how to solve the problem and be credentialed and/or graded according to their ability to construct and negotiate the contracts described above, then players could choose accordingly. We would see less drama, more on-fileld playing and a clearing of the air that will give a more positive atmosphere for the NFL seasons to be enjoyed in.
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Apr 29, 2010
01:15 PM
80% of a deal being signing bonus is a brave new way of doing business. However, the number cited (37M) is, iirc, less than that given a 1.01 QB who never had taken a snap. In Stafford's case, expected to play w/o the semblance of an OL. Then, and now, btw.