|
Here is how a Denver reporter addressed it:
Q: Aren't the Broncos both responsible for and entitled to the signing bonuses considering they are the ones who guaranteed them? Isn't that why the cap hit for trading or cutting a player goes up so much during the year it happens, 'cause all the bonuses come due?
A: The basics of the situation are:
The Broncos have traded Plummer's rights to Tampa. Plummer has also announced his retirement twice -- once in person and once on his website.
When a player retires with a few years left on his contract, especially a high-profile player who wasn't expected to retire, teams have taken to trying to recover some of the bonus money they paid out.
Plummer has three years remaining on his contract. And while he received his bonuses a couple years ago, those bonuses are charged on a pro-rated basis to the team's salary cap over the life of the contract. So teams have had some success recovering the remaining pro-rated portions in cash.
The Dolphins won the right against running back Ricky Williams to recover a signing bonus after Williams retired, and there have been a few others. For Plummer, it amounts to about $7 million someone will try to recover.
The Broncos did pay those bonuses and under most circumstances would have the right to that money. However, that right is something they could put into a trade, and it's believed they did just that with the Buccaneers.
Right now the Broncos get a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft if Plummer neither plays nor reports to the Buccaneers or anybody else before draft day in '08. But if he reports to Tampa or anyone else before draft day '08, the Broncos get a fourth-round pick.
To get the best possible pick -- and a fourth-rounder is about the best the Broncos were going to do, according to several personnel executives I spoke to around the league -- the Broncos are believed to have given the Buccaneers the opportunity to recover that signing bonus money in an effort to get Plummer to report.
Because if Plummer reports for the '07 season -- or any time before the '08 draft -- the Broncos get the fourth-rounder.
Now, the league operates under a collective bargaining agreement, and players certainly have the right to file a grievance for any situation like this and get a hearing. Plummer is almost certainly going to file one to see if an arbitrator can be swayed to let him retire without paying the money back.
Plummer said last Friday (March 9) that there "were some things going on'' that people might "speculate'' about. This is the situation he was talking about.
Also, he promised never to wear another NFL jersey in a game. However, it might cost him some money to keep that promise.
However, it's clear the Broncos want him to report to Tampa to get the best pick possible from the trade, and it's clear the Buccaneers want him to report as well because they were on the hunt for a veteran quarterback. Plummer would earn about $5 million in salary this season if he reports to Tampa -- his contract was traded with him.
Also, there were still plenty of folks who wanted a review of the cap situation for the Broncos with Plummer's contract overall. So, here it is:
-- Had they simply kept Plummer on the roster under his old contract, it would have counted $8.605 million against the cap this year.
-- Had they cut him before June 1, the cap charge would have been $8.556 million.
-- Had they designated him a post-June 1 cut -- each team can designate two players this way -- or released him after June 1, the cap charge would have been $2.852 million this year, $5.704 million in '08.
-- By trading him, the cap charge is still $8.556 million because the Broncos are still responsible for any pro-rated portions of previous bonuses remaining on the deal. That all counts in the year of the trade. Plummer had three years remaining on his deal, and the charge of those bonuses is $8.556 million to the Broncos salary cap.
-- Since they have traded his rights, they are still responsible for those charges because his contract is now on the books with the Buccaneers.
-- Had he retired as a member of the Broncos, the cap charge would still have been $8.556 million.
__________________
|