Should Howie Roseman be investigated for adding fake contract years to player deals?

[ghst187]

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelp...re-using-fake-contract-years-create-cap-space

What do you think?

I hear Mueller has some spare time on his hands now....

 

[DHCBF66]

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelp...re-using-fake-contract-years-create-cap-space

What do you think?

Says in the article that it is legal....

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Yes, as Nightman indicated future base salaries are rarely ever guaranteed.

A 5 year contract with big base salaries in years 2 through 5 can always become a 1 year contract.

The automatically voidable clause described in the Darby contract doesn't really help the team. They could just cut the player without the automatic void. The agent/player might have wanted the voiding clause to assure that it's really only a 1 year contract.

The Ronald Darby contract
But what if you have a player like Darby, who has been hurt the last two years, and you’re reluctant to sign him to a long-term deal because of injury concerns?

Let’s take a look at Darby’s contract.

At first glance, it’s a five-year deal with base salaries of $1 million in 2019 and $15 million in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Yes, $15 MILLION per year.

The deal also includes a $3.5 million signing bonus that he received when he signed on March 19 and a roster bonus worth as much as $2 million in the form of $125,000 weekly bonuses for each game that Darby dresses for in 2019.

The cap hit for 2019 is a modest $2.825 million - that’s the $1 million base salary, $700,000 of the signing bonus (the first 20 percent of the $3.5 million pro-rated over five years) and an additional $1.125 million representing the likely-to-be-earned portion of the roster bonus.

What about those $15 million annual salaries from 2020 through 2023?

That’s a ton of money!

The small print in Darby’s contract states simply that the 2020 through 2023 seasons “void automatically” if Darby is on the Eagles’ roster 23 days before the start of the official 2020 league year, which would be sometime in late February.

In other words, if he’s on the team, he’s no longer on the team.

And the $60 million base salaries? They evaporate. They disappear.

All that remains is the $2.8 million remaining pro-rated portion of Darby’s signing bonus, which accelerates into dead money under the Eagles’ 2020 cap.

Then what's the point of inflating it to look like $15M per year 2020-2023? Giving them options if he has a Pro Bowl/top 5 type year?

 

[xwalker]

Then what's the point of inflating it to look like $15M per year 2020-2023? Giving them options if he has a Pro Bowl/top 5 type year?

The agent/player might have wanted the voiding clause to assure that it's really only a 1 year contract.

 

[Nightman]

Here is the question, are the Eagles paying the players more money up front to accept the bogus two years in their contracts? In other words, are the players taking more money to help the Eagles defer their salary cap problems? To me this would be kind of like a bribe. The players going along with a contract that automatically voids if the player is on the roster in exchange for extra money seems a little unethical even if its allowed under the CBA. Its kind of like a bribe. The player does not benefit from those final two years only the team does. Maybe its legal under the CBA, but its probably something they should remove.

There is no bribe or benefit to the player at all

It is simply an accounting tool to push off salary cap expenditures into the futures and has no bearing on the player's money or Free Agency

DAL added voidable years to Doug Free and BCarr midway through their extensions and I don't think either player even knew..... they aren't team options or anything similar... they can NEVER become real years unless the player agrees to a new extension

 

[MichaelWinicki]

He’s using the rules to his advantage.

We should be doing the same thing.

The Cowboys did do this at one point but not so much anymore.

 

[Nightman]

The Cowboys did do this at one point but not so much anymore.

It is how you end up with Dead Money for a player that leaves as a Free Agent

 

[erod]

Yet more proof that the salary cap is a myth.

 

[plymkr]

From the article:

But according to the CBA, the collective bargaining agreement between the NFLPA, the players’ union, and ownership, it’s completely legal.

The Lions used the technique in the contract for tight end Jesse James, the Panthers used it with center Matt Paradis and the Cards with Terrell Suggs.

Mara won't stand for this. Now that it's happening in the NFC east we can expect the mighty Mara to spring to action.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It is how you end up with Dead Money for a player that leaves as a Free Agent

That's exactly right.

And it was the kick in the butt the Cowboys received in like 2001 when about 1/3 of the cap space was taken by dead money from contracts to like Deion, Troy, Emmitt & Michael.

It was horrendous.

 

[JayFord]

Can we get edp445’s take on this

 

[Nightman]

Can we get edp445’s take on this

there is a good fan article on blogging the boys about this

 

[Bizwah]

If it's legal, then all teams have the same opportunity. No problem with this.

 

[Bigdog]

The only thing that bugs me about this is when the Commanders and Cowboys got hammered (moreso the Skins) for violating the "spirit of the league". To me, as long as you stay within the rules, creative management should be encouraged.

Skins and Boys got screwed.

Still don’t understand how you can be penalized for taking a risk and being smarter than the other owners. This country was built on people taking risks.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

Yet more proof that the salary cap is a myth.

It really isn't.

THe Eagles had to let good players go. Bennett. Jernigan. You think they wouldn't like to have them back?

 

[JayFord]

Still don’t understand how you can be penalized for taking a risk and being smarter than the other owners. This country was built on people taking risks.

The league is bias and anything cowboys they are coming down hard on us

They come down on Washington a lot too simply because they just don’t give a crap about that franchise

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It really isn't.

THe Eagles had to let good players go. Bennett. Jernigan. You think they wouldn't like to have them back?

Correct.

The salary cap can be manipulated.

But it is not a myth.

 

[conner01]

Won’t happen, although Jerry would get a 10m fine!

It was a different situation
And although I think jerry was right then, it really has nothing to do with this

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

He’s using the rules to his advantage.

We should be doing the same thing.

Didn’t we lose cap space last time we tried to use rules to our advantage?

 

[Idgit]

They aren't fake. They exist and are automatically voided if the contract is still in place by the time the clause activates. It's smart use of the language of the CBA.

Roseman is the primary reason that PHI has a Superbowl, finally. He added a ton of talent to that team for their run.