Jaw Breaker wrote:
KDdidit wrote:
He wasn’t holding out for stupid ass reasons his rookie year. Bears management was trying to put provisions in his contract to screw him over on guaranteed money if he got suspended a game for any helmet to helmet hits that season, even though he had no prior issues with it. Eventually they came to a compromise that any suspension totaling 3 games would trigger it.
I had forgotten about that strange clause. Was that a thing with any other team or just the forward-thinking Bears? Just like asking Bruce Arians to do a mock press conference.
I remembered it vaguely correctly
Quote:
At some point in July, the Bears caved to that initial request, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune, agreeing to tailor the language in Smith’s contract to protect his guaranteed money in the event of an illegal-hit suspension. (The Bears are not alone in this; the Bills, Jets and Giants have all made similar compromises in contracts regarding the helmet rule this season.) But after that agreement, the holdout continued over language regarding protection from losing guaranteed money in the event of a suspension for on-field behavior, like getting into a fight or arguing with officials.
Smith does not have a history of any on-field behavior infractions, so this seemed to be a standoff to set a precedent for both sides—the Bears for future players and CAA for future deals and clients. Haugh reported that only four teams in the league have written contracts with protections as far as what Smith sought. CAA also represents Sam Darnold, who held out from Jets camp for three days, and Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, who held out for 31 days in 2016.
It’s not clear yet whether it was the Bears or Smith’s camp who initiated the compromise. As reported by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Smith’s guarantees are only voided if he’s suspended by the NFL for three or more games for anything that happens during a play (this has only happened to one player—Vontaze Burfict—in the last decade). If Smith is punished for something happening after a play, the rookie’s guarantees will void only if he’s determined to be the aggragator of the situation or if he’s suspended two games or more.