RFA, The Poison Pill and the Revenge of Logan Mankins

[Patler]

(ii) For Restricted Free Agents with four Accrued Seasons (in Uncapped Years):

(1) Right of First Refusal: one year Player Contract with Paragraph 5 Salary of at least ... $1,176,000 for the 2010 League Year, ...;

(2) Right of First Refusal and Draft Selection at Player’s Original Draft Round: one year Player Contract with a Paragraph 5 Salary of at least (a) the amount set forth in Subsection (b)(ii)(1) above; or (b) 110% of the player’s prior year’s Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater; in addition, if option (b) applies, all other terms of the player’s prior year contract are carried forward unchanged (this Subsection is subject to the rules of Subsection (c) below);

(3) Right of First Refusal and One Second Round Draft Selection: one year Player Contract with a Paragraph 5 Salary of at least ... $1,759,000 in the 2010 League Year, ... or (b) 110% of the player’s prior year’s Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater; in addition, if option (b) applies, all other terms of the player’s prior year contract are carried forward unchanged

(4) Right of First Refusal and One First Round Draft Selection: one year Player Contract with a Paragraph 5 Salary of at least (a) ... $2,521,000 for the 2010 League Year, .... or (b) 110% of the player’s prior year’s Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater; in addition, if option (b) applies, all other terms of the player’s prior year contract are carried forward unchanged; and

(5) Right of First Refusal, One First Round Draft Selection, and One Third Round Draft Selection: one year Player Contract with Paragraph 5 Salary of at least (a) ... $3,168,000 for the 2010 League Year, ..., or (b) 110% of the player’s prior year’s Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater; in addition, if option (b) applies, all other terms of the player’s prior year contract are carried forward unchanged.

[Lurker64]

Considering that Collins's base salary for 2009 was $3,045,000, I don't see any way they don't tender him at the first and third level.

[pbmax]

From that section, it certainly seems like 2 and 3 are the same for Collins, except for $600,000 of salary. He was a second round pick, correct? Of course, unless you are Al Davis and have Marcus Allen on the roster, you probably don't want to tick off your players that way.

[Fritz]

The first and third tender makes the most sense and is not an untenable salary at all. If someone wants to give up a first and third, wow. That'd be a gamble, as good as Collins is.

I'd like to see the Packers keep this guy at the end of the day.

[MadScientist]

Given his salary last year, the only one that can apply is the 1st and 3rd.

Since this thread has poison pill in the title, has there been any change to the league rules about writing contracts for RFA's that make it impossible for the original team to match the offer. I'm thinking of those contracts that have things like $10M bonus for playing more than 4 games in a given state, etc.

[pbmax]

Given his salary last year, the only one that can apply is the 1st and 3rd.

Since this thread has poison pill in the title, has there been any change to the league rules about writing contracts for RFA's that make it impossible for the original team to match the offer. I'm thinking of those contracts that have things like $10M bonus for playing more than 4 games in a given state, etc.

Nope, and that is exactly the point. With more attractive players in RFA, a lack of quality and numbers in UFA and the availability of terms to guarantee success of any tendered deal (poison pills) all it will take is a team willing to part with some draft picks.

One thing no one has mentioned is that I am sure owners will want to reign in this provision. There are two basic things the NFLPA lacks that the baseball union has and those are guaranteed contracts and arbitration. Arbitration is a mechanism that works like a conveyor belt to move free agent gains in baseball to young veterans. Because as soon as a FA signs a monster deal, then agents can use that salary data in arbitration hearings.

Young veterans in the NFL do not have such a mechanism. They are faced with the RFA restrictions.

But the poison pill contracts contain something that no NFL team wants to see. Completely guaranteed money, should someone match an offer. Much more likely is the opportunity that a player might get their home club to offer nearly guaranteed money in order to fend off an even more unfriendly tender offer. I could see a bad GM falling for this.

Once that genie is out of the bottle, the battle will get fierce. The only holdup is whether the player needs to sign the tender offer from a competing club. I assume they do, but if they don't, then the player/agent wouldn't have time to shop it around and then the original team has no time to do a backdoor deal for better terms.