millertime
Cheesehead
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Pro Football Talk said:PACKERS CAP SHENANIGANS THE CAUSE OF THE GOODELL MEMO?
Several readers have been trying to help us figure out the catalyst for the Friday memo from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell requiring all owners to submit a weekly statement in which they expressly state that they authorize any new contracts or renegotiations, and that they have read the documents.
Some of our readers thought that the e-mail might have been caused by the Antonio Bryant situation. Bryant has sued the league to block the imposition of discipline under the substance-abuse policy, and the paperwork and media reports suggest that Bryant was and/or is poised to sign with another team. But since the new procedure applies only to new contracts and not to mere negotiations, the Bryant case most likely isn't the reason for the change.
A couple of other readers have raised a much more intriguing possibility. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported that, on October 23, the Green Bay Packers recently signed tight end Ryan Krause from their practice squad. His one-year contract with a prorated base salary of $510,000 also included a $4 million "likely to be earned" incentive that kicks in only if Krause blocks more than six punts over the balance of the season.
It would be quite an impressive feat, especially since Krause doesn't play on the punt block team.
Because these types of incentives are characterized under the CBA as "likely to be earned," the cap charge applied when the deal was signed. If/when Krause doesn't earn the incentive, the money gets pushed into the next cap year.
It's a fairly common device. Earlier this year, the Vikings used the tactic to push $13.2 million in 2007 cap money into 2008 when extending the contract of defensive tackle Pat Williams.
But the NFL Players Association isn't keen on the practice, since it essentially takes money out of the pockets of the players and pushes it into a future cap year. "What you don't want is all that money taken out of the pool for other players who might get contract extensions during the season," a union source told Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports in September.
Our guess? After the Krause contract was reported, the union went bonkos. The league office looked into the situation, and Packers president Bob Harlan (since there's no specific owner of the publicly-held team) said that he didn't know that the front office had pulled of the cap maneuver. So, as a result, the league office has decided to intercept any future efforts by owners to rely upon the "I don't know nothing" defense by requiring all of them to affirmatively state that they are aware of any new contracts, and that they have read them.
TT is pulling some funny business. That Vikings deal makes since. They sign big name FA every year but always seem to have more cap space then the Packers.
