Raiders trying to pull back the cash?
It's been in the news recently that the Raiders wanted some of their money back. After the way JaMarcus Russell played these last three years, can you blame them?
Word has it that the thought pattern regarding this call was that the bonus paid to Russell before he played his first game, was to be ear-marked over the lifetime of his contract.
So in a sense, no full contract, no full bonus.
Makes sense, in a contractual world.
To put it in perspective, if a guy was given a contract to build a bridge and only built half of it, would you give him the full amount?
Probably not.
Would you let him keep the money it took to lure him into town in the first place?
No, i'd go after that too.
If anyone hasn't noticed it yet, none of the first round picks have signed. Sure, it's still early in the summer, a few seventh and sixth round picks have been picked up.
But who wants to bet that two forces are at work behind the scenes?
First and foremost, is the idea of a salary cap. Agents would throw a hissy fit at the thought of robbing them, er....the players of money they deserve.
Secondly though, is that storm cloud on the horizon called the 2011 season. While the players would want to play, the owners might force a lockout, to try and rein in the spiralling contract out there.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how the rookie money is becoming obscene. Sure, if you're Peyton Manning, no sweat. But if you're Ryan Leaf or Russell....you don't want to get locked down.
As it is, would you want to sign a rookie for 48 million dollars, and then have him sit for next season, while the owners and the NFLPA get into it?
I wouldn't.