Hernandez filed grievances against the Patriots for over $6 million in salary, including a $3.25 million deferred payment of his signing bonus that is due March 31. The Patriots have a $7.5 million cap charge relating to the final three years of signing bonus proration from the $12.5 million signing bonus he received in his 2012 contract extension.
If Hernandez is charged in connection to the July 2012 double murder in Boston -- before him signing his extension -- language in his contract should give the Patriots grounds to recoup his entire signing bonus and end his grievance. Hernandez's contract contains a clause where he represents and warrants that there weren't any existing circumstances when he signed his deal that would prevent his continued availability throughout the contract. Committing or participating in a double murder should meet this standard. There's another clause explicitly stating that the Patriots wouldn't have entered into the contract except for Hernandez's representations. At a minimum, the Patriots would gain $3.25 million in cap space from the unpaid signing bonus installment. Any additional cap relief would come only from money that was recovered from Hernandez, which may not be any given his circumstances.