Schefter: Sean Payton's Contract Voided

[Crush]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/85...fl-sources-say

Within the past year, the multiyear contract extension the Saints announced for Sean Payton in September 2011 was voided by the NFL, making the suspended head coach a free agent after this season and casting questions on how long he will remain in New Orleans, according to league sources.

Payton is expected to become the NFL's most sought-after head coach after this season and there already is speculation in league circles that he could wind up returning to Dallas, where he worked as the assistant head coach from 2003 to 2005, during which time the Cowboys brought in quarterback Tony Romo, who attended the same college, Eastern Illinois, as Payton.

Just as Payton's role in the bounty scandal has been an ongoing saga with the NFL for the past year, so has his contract.

As recently as March, when Payton was visiting NFL offices to appeal his yearlong suspension in the bounty scandal, he asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the status of his contract extension and was told it was unsatisfactory as it initially was constituted, sources said.

At issue in the contract was one specific clause that would have enabled Payton to walk away from the deal if general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended, fired or left the New Orleans organization, sources said.

The league believed that any such language in Payton's contract would set a bad precedent for other coaching contracts and rejected the deal well before Loomis was suspended for the first eight games this season for his part in the bounty scandal.

Dating back to roughly the start of this year, the two sides engaged in numerous subsequent conversations to try to resolve the issue but never did.

In the interim, the league has granted Payton permission to work for Saints owner Tom Benson's NBA New Orleans team, and the suspended head coach has been doing some spot work there to earn income.

Some in the league office believe Payton's contract could toll -- meaning the last year would be put on hold, tying him to New Orleans for the 2013 season -- but there is no evidence to confirm that possibility. Until now, the league has not been asked to review or rule on the contract, according to sources, though some believe it eventually could.

To others, there is no issue. Payton will be a free agent. Some believe Payton's strong relationship with Benson will be enough to keep him in New Orleans long term.

But others are more skeptical, knowing that the suspended head coach has undergone some personal changes in his life that have included going through a divorce and spending plenty of time in Dallas.

When Benson initially announced last year the extension for Payton that never got league approval, he said: "I am very pleased to announce this contract extension today for Sean that will run through the 2015 season. Our goal is to continue to build a tradition of winning here in New Orleans and Sean represents that tradition."

[DJ's left nut]

Do not want.

Almost 50 years old, has already won a SB with a previous team and has been out of football for a year.

The game has passed him by.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Do not want.

Almost 50 years old, has already won a SB with a previous team and has been out of football for a year.

The game has passed him by.

...

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Do not want.

Almost 50 years old, has already won a SB with a previous team and has been out of football for a year.

The game has passed him by.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

That was with Pioli and Cassel here. The new guy coming in gets to pick his QB and knows how desperate we are to give him more power.

Bonus for Payton is that we don't have to wait until end of season to start negotiations. That's huge. Remember how we had to wait until the super bowl to get Haley?

Again, the only way I see him leaving his handpicked Hall-Of-Fame QB would be to go home to Dallas.

(btw, Jerry Jones would easily outbid Clark Hunt for Payton's services.)

Sorry, but get it out of your head; Sean Payton ain't coming here.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Do not want.

Almost 50 years old, has already won a SB with a previous team and has been out of football for a year.

The game has passed him by.

hahaha!!

Good shit there!!

[htismaqe]

Kevin Harlan just said on the radio that there are unreported (or only discussed on the fringe of the mainstream football media) "character issues" with Sean Payton, unrelated to Bountygate.

[AussieChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Kevin Harlan just said on the radio that there are unreported (or only discussed on the fringe of the mainstream football media) "character issues" with Sean Payton, unrelated to Bountygate.

Really?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by AussieChiefsFan

Really?

Yep.

[AussieChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yep.

I'm gonna wait for this to gain more legitimacy and ground. I'm not gonna judge till then.

[ChiefMojo]

Not going to stop Jerry Jones!

[notorious]

Is there any hope that the NFL is digging through Crennel and Pioli's contacts and they find a reason to void them?


Please?

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Kevin Harlan just said on the radio that there are unreported (or only discussed on the fringe of the mainstream football media) "character issues" with Sean Payton, unrelated to Bountygate.

He likes to get high and have sex.

Those are his 'character' issues.

[JASONSAUTO]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Kevin Harlan just said on the radio that there are unreported (or only discussed on the fringe of the mainstream football media) "character issues" with Sean Payton, unrelated to Bountygate.

issues like stealing pills...

[Bump]

if Clark gave a shit, he'd make an effort here. But he doesn't, so he won't.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

issues like stealing pills...

Oh yeah, I forgot about the painkillers deal.