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Burrow Not Signing Yet


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10 hours ago, WRAPradio said:

I read he’s waiting to see what happens with COVID-19 before signing....what are the options?

It's not Burrow that's waiting to sign, it's the Bengals and nearly all of the NFL.  Until they are sure there will be a season they don't want to pay the signing bonuses.  Only Carolina has signed their first round pick to date.

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5 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

It's not Burrow that's waiting to sign, it's the Bengals and nearly all of the NFL.  Until they are sure there will be a season they don't want to pay the signing bonuses.  Only Carolina has signed their first round pick to date.

So what you are saying is...it is still safe for me to buy a Burrow jersey, cool

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3 hours ago, UncleEarl said:

It's not Burrow that's waiting to sign, it's the Bengals and nearly all of the NFL.  Until they are sure there will be a season they don't want to pay the signing bonuses.  Only Carolina has signed their first round pick to date.

But if they do not sign and there is no season, wouldn't they then be able to sign with anyone, the highest bidder, late next winter or whenever the college season was

scheduled to end?  They're not under contract and virtually free agents and would be able to sign with anyone.

Kind of seems that way and a lawyer could make a fortune arguing that case against the NFL.

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His rights are still held by the Bengals. 
 

There are no new by-laws (I know of anyway) which have any bearing as to pandemic-shortened/cancelled seasons. If there are no rules to adhere to (or violate), then there is nothing to challenge. 
 

Refer to Paragraph 1. 

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15 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

But if they do not sign and there is no season, wouldn't they then be able to sign with anyone, the highest bidder, late next winter or whenever the college season was

scheduled to end?  They're not under contract and virtually free agents and would be able to sign with anyone.

Kind of seems that way and a lawyer could make a fortune arguing that case against the NFL.

No, he would have to re enter the draft.  He is NOT a free agent since he has not accrued any years of service, is not UNdrafted, and has not been released.   

 

My guess is something would be done long before this occurred across the board with the other teams in the same situation.  I seriously doubt the league wants to add a bunch of high end players into next year's draft 

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13 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

But if they do not sign and there is no season, wouldn't they then be able to sign with anyone, the highest bidder, late next winter or whenever the college season was

scheduled to end?  They're not under contract and virtually free agents and would be able to sign with anyone.

Kind of seems that way and a lawyer could make a fortune arguing that case against the NFL.

Since it is all part of a CBA there isn’t much lawyers can do as far as damages go. 

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9 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

His rights are still held by the Bengals. 
 

There are no new by-laws (I know of anyway) which have any bearing as to pandemic-shortened/cancelled seasons. If there are no rules to adhere to (or violate), then there is nothing to challenge. 
 

Refer to Paragraph 1. 

 

9 minutes ago, SF2 said:

No, he would have to re enter the draft.  He is NOT a free agent since he has not accrued any years of service, is not UNdrafted, and has not been released.   

 

My guess is something would be done long before this occurred across the board with the other teams in the same situation.  I seriously doubt the league wants to add a bunch of high end players into next year's draft 

 

7 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

Since it is all part of a CBA there isn’t much lawyers can do as far as damages go. 

Ah.  I get it.  Like if the Bengals draft a guy who goes to the Canadian Football League and plays for a few years, the Bengals still own his rights if and when he comes back here.

They did that ages ago with Mike "Moonpie" Wilson who was the ORT for much of Anthony Munoz' career.

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53 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

 

 

Ah.  I get it.  Like if the Bengals draft a guy who goes to the Canadian Football League and plays for a few years, the Bengals still own his rights if and when he comes back here.

They did that ages ago with Mike "Moonpie" Wilson who was the ORT for much of Anthony Munoz' career.

Not exactly.  If the Bengals don't offer him a deal to sign (30 other teams are doing the same) they lose rights to him.   You cant draft a guy and not try to sign him.  Burrow's contract was already pretty much set in stone based on the current salary cap and rookie scale but that will all go out the window if teams can't have fans at their stadium.  No way the current salary cap holds up without fan revenue.  Teams earn an average of $7mil per game from ticket revenue (remember, ticket revenue in the NFL is shared).     That equals about 15% of total NFL revenue BUT keep in mind most teams make big money with parking ,concessions and apparel sales at the stadium which is NOT shared revenue.   Without fans, the owners are not going to spend up to the current projected cap which would be a significantly HIGHER percentage of total revenue given empty stadiums. 

 

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Pre pandemic..and no fans/revenue discussion of course:

 

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/06/what-happens-nfl-rookie-doesnt-sign-contract

 

Something (sort of related)

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-contract-projections-for-key-first-round-picks-plus-how-the-new-rookie-wage-scale-works/

 

Mentions nothing about shortened seasons, fanless games/revenue, etc

 

2021 Salary Cap could be affected however:

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/football-nfl-21-salary-cap-coronavirus-idUSKBN22I2HI

 

 

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2 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

Pre pandemic..and no fans/revenue discussion of course:

 

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/06/what-happens-nfl-rookie-doesnt-sign-contract

 

Something (sort of related)

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-contract-projections-for-key-first-round-picks-plus-how-the-new-rookie-wage-scale-works/

 

Mentions nothing about shortened seasons, fanless games/revenue, etc

 

2021 Salary Cap could be affected however:

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/football-nfl-21-salary-cap-coronavirus-idUSKBN22I2HI

 

 

The issue still is what happens if the actual teams do not offer contracts to the draftees due to Corona uncertainty which is the case right now.   Uncharted territory for sure.   

 

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Watching PFT right now. Florio saying he’s gone over the  CBA “extensively”, and cannot find any clause anywhere (unlike the NBA CBA) that says the NFL owners do not have to pay their players if no games are played. He further said it was clear that, if even one game was played, then every player gets paid—for the season—regardless as whether another one gets played. 
 

Bringing this up, as there would really be no downside for Burrow—or any other rookie—to sign deals now...if it indeed is the way the CBA appears. 

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27 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

Watching PFT right now. Florio saying he’s gone over the  CBA “extensively”, and cannot find any clause anywhere (unlike the NBA CBA) that says the NFL owners do not have to pay their players if no games are played. He further said it was clear that, if even one game was played, then every player gets paid—for the season—regardless as whether another one gets played. 
 

Bringing this up, as there would really be no downside for Burrow—or any other rookie—to sign deals now...if it indeed is the way the CBA appears. 

That is why 31 of 32 teams have NOT signed a contract yet.  I imagine the network’s lawyers were a bit more intelligent and have a no pay clause if games are not played. 

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1 hour ago, SF2 said:

That is why 31 of 32 teams have NOT signed a contract yet.  I imagine the network’s lawyers were a bit more intelligent and have a no pay clause if games are not played. 

But that was the point: the NFL CBA does NOT (from Florios look-see anyway) have a no-play/no pay provision. The NBA does. 
 

This would render any shenanigans by the owners with respects to contracts, as unenforceable under the CBA.  

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6 hours ago, membengal said:

 

It's just a cashflow issue.  The Brown family, along with other owners, want to make sure there will be a season before paying out signing bonuses.  If the Bengals signed Burrow tomorrow they would owe him $24M.  He will get his cash, but the owners are just hanging on to their cash a little longer.

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While it may seem a mere formality, the Brown family has to be aware how the media will take any small nugget at this time to try and discredit the changes taking place ... so just have him sign the damn deal, as you will have to pay him every single penny of it anyway -- even if the games are played with no fans or the season doesn't happen.

 

The Bengals don't get the media understanding of other teams on these kind of minor things because of the history. Why give them any ammo?

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7 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

While it may seem a mere formality, the Brown family has to be aware how the media will take any small nugget at this time to try and discredit the changes taking place ... so just have him sign the damn deal, as you will have to pay him every single penny of it anyway -- even if the games are played with no fans or the season doesn't happen.

 

The Bengals don't get the media understanding of other teams on these kind of minor things because of the history. Why give them any ammo?

If they were the only team dragging their feet this would be true.   They aren't and it's not like Mike Brown would care anyway.

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This makes the pay/no pay issue a little clearer (even if simply less muddy):

 

What the NFL's CBA and Standard Player Contract Would Mean for Canceled Games and a Lowered Salary Cap

 

Standard Player Contract
Finally, beyond the collective contract between the NFL and NFLPA, there is boilerplate language in every player’s Standard Player Contract (SPC).

 

Paragraph 6 of the SPC states that players will “earn their yearly salaries over the course of the applicable regular season, commencing with the first regular-season game played by Club in such season."

 

The NFL Management Council would likely take the position that players should not receive any of their yearly salaries unless and until the 2020 season begins, whenever that may be. Were the 2020 season shortened, the NFL would look to the above provision and prorate salaries according to number of games played. And in the unfortunate scenario of a canceled 2020 season, the NFL would likely take the same position, arguing that Paragraph 6 of the SPC expressly requires “the first regular season played by Club in such season” to be played.

 

Of course, Paragraph 6 only deals with salaries and not signing or offseason roster bonuses, which would appear to be safe (although per-game roster bonuses are obviously at risk).

It is everyone’s hope that we are not talking about Paragraph 6 of the SPC in a couple of months.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/05/12/nfl-cba-player-contracts-salary-cap-canceled-games

 

Appears--from the article's analysis--2021 for salaries and caps will be even more problematic...whether games are played in 2020 or not. 

 

IIRC, the NFL has to have concrete plans in place this month as to how they will pull off having any sort of season--and far beyond that of simply making a schedule. Once this is done, many things will be clearer for players/agents for contracts. Or, as I foresee, an avenue for litigation to the contrary of whatever the league decides. And, of course, everything will need NFLPA approval. This is, as noted, not a Mike Brown thing--rather a league-wide owner thing. 

 

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