Quote:
Originally Posted by wazu
Per Google AI:
Seems like vast majority of teams and players have no problem coming to an agreement pretty quickly on this stuff. Would be very on-brand for the Bengals to be pricks about it.
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This is true, primarily.
There is a minimum active/inactive salary for players with zero credited seasons, then there is a maximum allocation based on draft-slot determined percentage of the league-wide rookie compensation pool.
There are some small exclusions, like minimum offseason workout incentives and community relations.
They have a little leeway to move some money up/down on player contracts, but they can't exceed the rookie pool allocation in the aggregate or at the individual level, and they can't go under the minimum in any year of the contract. Base salaries cannot increase by more than 25% from one year to the next.
Then there is the matter of guarantees. A rookie contract cannot be guaranteed for skill or injury or both in years 3 and 4 unless the entire contract is guaranteed for the same. Performance incentives can't be guaranteed at all. If the 5th year option is exercised for a 1st rounder, then his 4th year becomes guaranteed by default as does the 5th year.
On the guarantees, it circles back to what you have here...
Signing bonus payout schedules are a big hangup. Despite people thinking a player gets a "bag" up front, that's really not entirely the case. Sure, it's all guaranteed at signing, but they usually disperse it over a period of time because businesses do have to worry about, you know, cash flows and investment income.
Guarantee voids also factor in... They can absolutely write in voids of guarantees if a player does stupid shit. Let's say Rice had his contract guaranteed for years one and two, and he had a void clause, his 2nd year could have very well had the guarantees voided.
With offsets, any guaranteed money left to be paid on a deal if the rookie gets released at some point can be offset by the new deal he gets from another team, given that clause exists.