H
HardRightEdge
Guest
Here’s the problem with franchising a player with the intention of trading him: The player has all the leverage in that situation. In order to complete a trade the player has to cooperate with the team interested in acquiring him by agreeing to a contract with that team. Jennings could refuse to do so - or threaten to refuse – and the Packers would be stuck paying him the guaranteed tag amount and have that entire amount go to that season’s cap.
As you note, the player has leverage, and that leverage ends up diminishing (if not wiping out) trade value...potential trading partners have no guarantee they will be able to negotiate out of the tag contract into a more reasonable multi-year deal.
Flynn's tag cost was $14.4 mil. Nobody would want to take that on. To illustrate the point, SEA was the high bidder in free agency, or close to it, signing Flynn to 3 years for $19.5 mil plus incentives. Had Flynn been traded to SEA and they offered him that deal, he could have said "no thanks" and played for the one year under that tag cost.
It's not hard to see the chilling effect on trade value for a guy that's been tagged.
So, how did NE manage to make a sweet tag-and-trade of Cassel to KC, the frequently cited precedent in the Flynn discussions?
Given Mr. Belichicks track record of playing fast and loose with rules, particularly in the time period surrounding the Cassel deal, it is not a stretch to think there was something rotten in Denmark. It is not hard to envision a 3-way conversation between Belichick, KC and Cassel's agent in advance of applying the tag, whereby Cassel and KC had a handshake deal on the multi-year contract he would eventually sign.
This is a great way to take out the risks and everybody gets what they want. One problem...this kind of back door dealing violates about a half dozen league rules.
If you tag a guy, the lessons would be (1) you better be happy to play him and pay him for that one year or (2) be prepared to cheat.
As for Flynn's future, there is a fair amount of bad quarterbacking in this league and the draft pickings this year are slim. Don't be shocked if Flynn is starting somewhere come 2013.