Hines out for the year

[Doc]

1 minute ago, FireChans said:

He ain't getting the salary, that's SOP.

 

The real question is if the Bills are trying to claw back his bonuses.

 

I believe the team can still pay the salary if they choose.

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

I believe the team can still pay the salary if they choose.

Because Hines suffered a non-football injury, his salary of $2.56 million gets wiped away, without question. Things get sticky on the question of whether and to what extent Hines owes money back to the Bills.

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nyheim-hines-bills-at-odds-over-financial-consequences-of-his-non-football-injury

 

They could maybe but SOP is not to.

Edited July 26, 2023 by FireChans

[Beck Water]

9 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

I believe the team can still pay the salary if they choose.

You are correct

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, BillsShredder83 said:

yikes. hope we meet in the middle. hate the agents posturing... its not about the $$ with us, its about the same cap 31 other teams are against. your client was on a jetski, and your posturing for hardball $2.5m after 48hrs. fly a kite dude. i like hines, but take a meet in the middle sum, and collect that lost $$ through the insurance policy these players usually have on their bodies (i think)

 

Yeah.  My "take" on it is that the lawyer knows full well the Bills would be within their rights, with Hines on reserve/NFI, to take a number of actions of increasingly hardball nature.   At a minimum, they are not on the hook for Hines salary, including apparently the $1M of it that is guaranteed for cap skill or injury. 

 

But, as you point out, the Bills now have to replace Hines.  Their first shot at this was to sign Darrynton Evans for $940k.

 

I think a reasonable "meet in the middle" approach for a guy who Beane says they want on the roster in 2024, would be to agree to pay him the $1M of his $2.56 salary that was guaranteed, and for Hines to agree to not pursue a grievance for the remaining $1.56M.  That lets the Bills backfill his position.

[Beck Water]

So I know Mike Florio is a polarizing guy, but I think when he cites "sources" he probably has them.

 

According to what Florio says, the Bills are playing hardball with Hines contract

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nyheim-hines-bills-at-odds-over-financial-consequences-of-his-non-football-injury

 

Quote

Because Hines suffered a non-football injury, his salary of $2.56 million gets wiped away, without question. Things get sticky on the question of whether and to what extent Hines owes money back to the Bills.

Earlier this year, Hines signed a revised contract that replaced the deal he signed with the Colts in 2021. The two-year, $9 million deal included a $1 million signing bonus, a $100,000 workout bonus for 2023, a base salary of $2.56 million for 2023, and $340,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

Hines has received $600,000 of his signing bonus. The Bills, per multiple sources, have proposed withholding the $400,000 installment due later this year, along with the $100,000 workout bonus that Hines earned in the offseason. That would represent reimbursement of half of the signing bonus covering the two-year contract.

The Bills also are willing to pay Hines $289,000 in 2023, which matches the highest amount that can be paid to a practice-squad player.

 

Some of what Florio says about the Bills pursing the signing bonus paid by the Colts seems bizarro land, though.

[Airseven]

On 7/25/2023 at 10:39 AM, The Jokeman said:

Washed? He rushed for over 700 yards last season and averaged 4.4 ypc.

Past performance isn’t a reliable predictor for these players approaching their mid-30s, particularly RB and other speed reliant positions. The cliff is close and it’s steep and injuries an ever-increasing factor.

[Bob Jones]

Harkening back to the “Ralph is cheap” years, what will T. Pegula do? One wonders….🤔

[JerseyBills]

 

[BuffaloBillyG]

For me it boils down to this. The Bills entered into a contract with Hines to perform a job. Hines can no longer fulfill his side of the contract due to something that happened away from the team and not involving football activities. The Bills now need to find a new player to fill that spot because Hines can't fulfill his obligation. If there is verbiage in the contract to recoup money, you do it.  That's just the business side of life. 

 

That said, I like Hines. Seems like a solid dude. Hope he recovers and goes on to play well in the future. Hopefully he has insurance and is able to recover any financial losses he incurres due to breeching his contract. 

 

 

[Beck Water]

10 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

 

 

And here we go with "JPAFootball" citing "ProFootballTalk" as a source instead of independently verifying the situation or keeping quiet.

 

It is contractual that in the case of a "non football injury", the team is not obligated to pay salary for the lost season, although they can, and sometimes do (it counts against the cap if they do).

 

I'm not sure where the stuff about "could possibly even owe the Bills money back" comes from.  No examples of other cases where this occurred have been given and it's stated as hypothetical.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Beck Water

[HOUSE]

On 7/24/2023 at 10:35 AM, The Wiz said:

The whole situation sounds like whoever he was with was screwing around, ended his season and potentially risked his future in the NFL.  

 

I don't think they will be friends much longer.

 

[The Jokeman]

8 hours ago, Airseven said:

Past performance isn’t a reliable predictor for these players approaching their mid-30s, particularly RB and other speed reliant positions. The cliff is close and it’s steep and injuries an ever-increasing factor.

As the 3rd RB I don't predict him getting tons of carries to begin with.

[Shemp]

I'm so sad about Hines. Not only is he a quality player, he's a quality man. The Bills d***ed around with his contract to fit him in and now they're d***ing around with his contract now that he's hurt. Shameful.

[SCBills]

4 minutes ago, Shemp said:

I'm so sad about Hines. Not only is he a quality player, he's a quality man. The Bills d***ed around with his contract to fit him in and now they're d***ing around with his contract now that he's hurt. Shameful.

Id hope the Bills offer him a settlement… I’ve heard them offering him what he would’ve made on the PS as an option?  
 

Id hope we’re not trying to void every last dollar this year and claw back money he’s already received. 
 

But there is no reason we should have to eat his full cap hit due to this. 

[Shemp]

The accident wasn't Hines' fault. He was standing still on jet skis and someone ran into him. He wasn't being reckless. Normal Joes use jet skis every day without incident and every player does something else in their leisure time. He should sue the drunk or whatever it was who ran into him on the jet skis to make up the difference.

[Don Otreply]

17 minutes ago, Shemp said:

The accident wasn't Hines' fault. He was standing still on jet skis and someone ran into him. He wasn't being reckless. Normal Joes use jet skis every day without incident and every player does something else in their leisure time. He should sue the drunk or whatever it was who ran into him on the jet skis to make up the difference.

concerning your first and last sentence, that has zero to do with the Bills organization, and is not relevant to the agreed upon, and signed contract that governs what happens in this sort of circumstance. 
They will come to an agreement and all the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands won’t change anything. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Don Otreply

[FireChans]

28 minutes ago, Shemp said:

The accident wasn't Hines' fault. He was standing still on jet skis and someone ran into him. He wasn't being reckless. Normal Joes use jet skis every day without incident and every player does something else in their leisure time. He should sue the drunk or whatever it was who ran into him on the jet skis to make up the difference.

Your job wouldn’t pay your salary if you got hurt on your leisure time.

[Paup 1995MVP]

On 7/25/2023 at 3:16 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah wide open spaces are pretty easy.   If he was out in the ocean minding his own business free-floating on his jet ski and someone drove up out of nowhere and nailed him that would be astonishingly poor luck.    Unfortunately most of the accidents happen in more congested areas or when multiple jet skis are riding with each other.........which is the circumstance at the beginning of many jet ski rides.   People often don't fully realize what it means to not be able to stop a vehicle immediately in a short area because they are used to being able to stop in short distances with their bicycle/car/motorcycle.

Very good analysis of what likely happened unfortunately to Hines.  

[hondo in seattle]

7 hours ago, Shemp said:

I'm so sad about Hines. Not only is he a quality player, he's a quality man. The Bills d***ed around with his contract to fit him in and now they're d***ing around with his contract now that he's hurt. Shameful.

 

Are they actually d***ing him around on the contract?  I personally don't know what's going on with his contract.  Beane hasn't said anything publicly and I don't know how much I trust Florio's sources.

 

But, I have to ask, why should the Bills pay Nyheim for not playing?  Nobody pays me when I don't work.  I'm not sure why he should get paid.  

 

Just asking.  

[NoSaint]

7 hours ago, Shemp said:

The accident wasn't Hines' fault. He was standing still on jet skis and someone ran into him. He wasn't being reckless. Normal Joes use jet skis every day without incident and every player does something else in their leisure time. He should sue the drunk or whatever it was who ran into him on the jet skis to make up the difference.

he was on a jet ski though. 
 

and common sense says that if your contract gives this freedom to the team you stay away from them. Even if you are personally safe, something can happen to you easily. It’s not worth the risk, unless you are incredibly over the top passionate about it.