Mr. Spikes and his rights?

[Ottawapatty]

Hey all,

Takeo Spikes is a little unhappy that the Bengals have taken steps to put the Franchise Tag on him! Do you blame him? Do you think the team has made a smart move buy doing this? Is an unhappy Spikes better than no-Spikes at all? What do you think?

Also, is this possible under the NFL contract rules and laws. Remeber Federov with the Wings a few years back? It was the same deal the Wings could keep him by matching anyone else's offer. So the Hurricanes made him an offer with a huge pay-out for reaching the Conference finals (at that time unlikely for the 'Canes, but almost a certainty for the Wings). Therefore the Wings had a tough decision to make and it was a great opportunity for Carolina.

So Spikes says he wants to go to a competitor. Could his contract be written up to have him recieve a large bonus should the team not make the play-offs and then go to a team (ie the Titans or Packers or Bucs or -- hopefully -- the Patriots) who are almost a certainty to make the play-offs and not pay the bonus, while there is no way for the Bungles to promise that and therefore would be unlikely to sign that kind of a contract.

Is this possible?

Does anyone know?

What do you all think?

Peas and Love,

Matt

 

[pookie]

So Spikes says he wants to go to a competitor. Could his contract be written up to have him recieve a large bonus should the team not make the play-offs and then go to a team (ie the Titans or Packers or Bucs or -- hopefully -- the Patriots) who are almost a certainty to make the play-offs and not pay the bonus, while there is no way for the Bungles to promise that and therefore would be unlikely to sign that kind of a contract.

Is this possible?

Does anyone know?

What do you all think?

Peas and Love,

Matt

That would be very interesting to see a contract that would pay a bonus if the team you're on doesn't make the playoffs. Interesting, but it would probably be volatile and have some negative affects. Picture it. Spikes is thinking in week 13 or so, "Hmmm, if we lose 2 more games, I get 4.5 million bucks. What can I do to get my massive bonus?"

 

[freak]

I don't think that would work.

A bonus of the sort you are talking about, is like an incentive bonus. Incentive bonuses fall into two categories.......

1. Likely to be earned
2. Not likely to be earned

As this relates to TEAM incentives, here is what the CBA says:

http://www.nflpa.org/members/main.asp?subPage=CBA+Complete#art24

* Any team performance will be automatically deemed to be “Likely to be earned” if the Team met or exceeded the specified performance during the prior League Year, and will be automatically deemed to be “not likely to be earned” if the Team did not meet the specified performance during the prior League Year.

Thus, your example would not work for the Pats. The Pats did NOT make the playoffs last year, and thus such an incentive bonus would automatically be considered "likely to be earned."

And as the CBA says, "Any and all incentive amounts, including but not limited to performance bonuses, shall be included in Team Salary if they are “likely to be earned” during such League Year based upon the player’s and/or Team’s performance during the prior year.".

So such a bonus would be included in the Pats salary cap.

As for the othe teams you mentioned.... TB, GB, Tenn......it would not be considered likely to be earned. The reason is because they DID make hte playoffs the year before. But the team signing such a contract takes a HUGE risk. If they don't make the playoffs, the bonus is paid, and thus added onto the next year's cap. And those teams are really only one injury away from golfing in January...Favre, McNair, BJ.

I also have my doubts whether such an incentive would be accepted by the NFL in the first place. But supposing they did, I can't see anyone actually doing it.

BTW.........

Spikes was slapped with the transition tag, not the franchise tag.

Which means that the Bungles only have the right of first refusal.

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Mr. Spikes and his rights?

That would be very interesting to see a contract that would pay a bonus if the team you're on doesn't make the playoffs. Interesting, but it would probably be volatile and have some negative affects. Picture it. Spikes is thinking in week 13 or so, "Hmmm, if we lose 2 more games, I get 4.5 million bucks. What can I do to get my massive bonus?"

Yeah I would agree with Pookie on that one. That's not the way it works. Bonuses are incentives -- no incentive in losing.


However, I am not sure why Spikes would be upset. He gets a salary equal to the top ten at his position last year OR he gets the trade he wants. The Bengals use the transition tag -- it is not only a little bit cheaper it requires no compensation. While not extremely likely, the Bengals did leave the door open for some team to go after Spikes. If they franchised him he would stay in Cincy for certain. And the Bengals only have to offer him a one year deal so he could be back in free agency next year and $5 million richer. Pro athletes are such a bunch of whiners.


(This is from Cincinnati.com)

The franchise tag guarantees Spikes' 2003 salary would be the average of the top five at his position, which for 2002 is $5.52 million. The Bengals would have the right to match any offer and would receive two first-round draft picks as compensation if Spikes signed with another team.

A transition tag, which gives the team some hold on a top free agent by allowing the club to match an offer sheet, would give Spikes the average of the top 10 linebacker salaries — $4.57 million. A transition tag requires no draft-pick compensation.

 

[pookie]

So let me get this straight. Spikes has been given the transition tag, not the franchise tag, I got that much.

Now, he is still on the market, but Cincy has the right to match any offer and he is forced to stay with them if they do. What if the offer from another team is less than the average of the top 10 players at his position in 2002, but more(or less) than what he got paid last year? Can the Bengals match that lower offer and pay the "transition" player that much less or do they have to honor the percentage thing with the transition tag and pay him the 4.57 mil? What did Spikes get paid in '02 and does my question make any freaking sense?

 

[Guest]

So let me get this straight. Spikes has been given the transition tag, not the franchise tag, I got that much.

Now, he is still on the market, but Cincy has the right to match any offer and he is forced to stay with them if they do. What if the offer from another team is less than the average of the top 10 players at his position in 2002, but more(or less) than what he got paid last year? Can the Bengals match that lower offer and pay the "transition" player that much less or do they have to honor the percentage thing with the transition tag and pay him the 4.57 mil? What did Spikes get paid in '02 and does my question make any freaking sense?

Think of it this way: By using the tag the Bengals are trying to steer other parties away from negotiating with their player -- by making it costly for them to do so. To do that they are essentially setting an "opening bid" for the player -- one based on the average of the top 10 players at that position the year before. They are "buying" the right to match any salary in excess of the tag value by committing to paying the tag -- even if no other team makes an offer. It is an assurance to the player.

If a team steps up to the franchise tag -- for slightly more money (avg. of top five salaries) -- they also get draft compensation for that player.

Does that make sense? I'm not sure I explained it as simply as I could have.