BADOLBILZ Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9315877 Seems the Vikes put in a provision that guarantees all $49M to Hutch if he isn't the highest paid OL on the team after his first season. Walter Jones would be higher paid, so in order to match, Seattle would basically have to guarantee all of Hutchinson's deal. It's going to arbitration. For those that remember, that's the same type of clause the Colts put in the contract when they signed Wil Wolford away from Buffalo. Wolford's said he had to be the highest paid offensive player, and of course the Bills had Jim Kelly so they didn't match. I thought that loophole was closed, but only AFTER the Bills got screwed, then got screwed again when the league awarded the Bills a lousy second round compensation pick for a star LT who was awarded to the Colts by the league, while giving Arizona a first rounder for losing UNRESTRICTED free agent safety Tim McDonald. Ahhh, good memories.
PISSCHUNK Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 yeah, i was thinking about that as well. seems as if the cowboys got a mid second that year for one of their departures and that pick turned out to be larry allen, well before we could pick. i think we chose sam rogers or lonnie johnson at the close of the second round. that was a total goat-f*ck! late
dave mcbride Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 thought the same thing. isn't that illegal now? then again, maybe the new collective bargaining unit has something in there about this issue. i don't think any of us know the details.
MRW Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Damn, that still pisses me off! I've made my peace with the Super Bowl losses, but that Wolford deal... grr!
Webster Guy Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 From Profootballtalk: 'HAWKS MAKE SHREWD MOVE ON HUTCH In lieu of matching the offer sheet signed by guard Steve Hutchinson with the Vikings and then taking their chances in an arbitration, the Seattle Seahawks have opted instead to seek a ruling from a Special Master on the propriety of a poison pill provision before deciding whether to match the deal. According to The Associated Press, the NFLPA said on Friday that the league has filed a claim on the Seahawk's behalf alleging that a term making the entire contract guaranteed if Hutchinson is not the highest paid member of the offensive line circumvents the CBA. So, in essence, it's the NFL and the Seahawks against the NFLPA and the Vikings. "They say the clause circumvents our collective bargaining agreement. It is our belief that it does not," NFLPA general counsel Richard Berthelsen said. The first question is whether the issue will be resolved by a Special Master or by an arbitrator. The jurisdiction of the Special Master isn't entirely clear. In the grievance regarding whether the Jets properly had matched the offer sheet signed in 2003 by Chad Morton, an arbitrator presided. In the grievance regarding whether the Cowboys improperly cut quarterback Quincy Carter as discipline for a drug issue, a Special Master was used. The primary difference is that an arbitration ruling cannot be appealed, but a Special Master decision can thereafter be appealed to the federal court system. On Saturday, a hearing will be held to determine whether the Special Master has jurisdiction over the matter. The fact that the league believes the Special Master should resolve the issue suggests that the league thinks its chances of prevailing are worse in arbitration. Per the report, the last time this issue arose was in 1993, the first year of free agency. The Colts signed tackle Will Wolford to an offer sheet that required him to be the highest paid player on offense. If the Bills had matched, they would have been required to increase Wolford's salary above the wages paid to quarterback Jim Kelly. The league thereafter amended the CBA to preclude offer sheets containing terms that would require the team matching the offer to pay more than the team that made the offer. But this one is different. Matching the offer sheet won't require the Seahawks to pay Hutchinson more money than the Vikings would pay. Matching would merely require the Seahawks to guarantee the contract. Stay tuned. The Seahawks apparently will match the offer sheet if they win, and they won't match it if they lose. Until then, both the Seahawks and the Vikings are caught in limbo with their remaining cap dollars.
PatPatPatSack Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 Until then, both the Seahawks and the Vikings are caught in limbo with their remaining cap dollars. 634973[/snapback] Actually it looks like only the Vikes are caught in limbo. Since the Seahawks can opt out of the whole thing at any time. In which case if it drags on, the Vikes outsmart themselves if they lose. Strikes me as a chump move though however it eventually plays out.
bbb Posted March 20, 2006 Posted March 20, 2006 We got a 2nd rounder for Wilford? I could have sworn we never got anything - they kept putting it off and it never happened. I was pissed at Wilford about that one. What good did it do him, except get him off the Bills? Since nobody on the Colts made more than him, I don't think that escalator ever made him a dime. So, why did he sign it?
BADOLBILZ Posted March 20, 2006 Author Posted March 20, 2006 Until then, both the Seahawks and the Vikings are caught in limbo with their remaining cap dollars. 634973[/snapback] Strikes me as a chump move though however it eventually plays out. 635031[/snapback] New owner, chump move, consistent with a trend.
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