The NFL Players Association has advised agents for the Vikings’ 11 draftees not to sign contracts yet because of specific language in the proposed deals that the union believes violates the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Vikings began organized team activities Tuesday without a single pick signed, but all 11 practiced under injury protection agreements.
NFLPA assistant executive director George Atallah said the union supports rookies eager to start their NFL careers but advises them to be aware of what they’re signing.
“We … want to make sure they don’t agree to bad contract language that is not allowed under the collective bargaining agreement,” he said.
Sources said issues in question have to deal with offset and anti-tampering clauses.
Offset language addresses how much money a team might pay a player if he is waived with guaranteed money left on his deal and then signs with another team. A player, for instance, would want the ability to be paid by both teams while teams would want a commitment not to extend beyond paying any possible difference in the salaries.
While offset clauses are allowed in rookie contracts, a source said there has been an accusation that the Vikings are “conflating offset language with prohibited terms.”
The Vikings signed two of their 11 draft picks on Thursday, but a league source said the drama swirling around language in the rookie contracts isn’t over.
While fifth-round pick Rodney Adams and seventh-round pick Ifeadi Odenigbo signed Thursday, indications are that they did so without resolving the language of the contracts, which has become such a dispute that the NFL Players Association advised Vikings draftees against signing until it was fixed.
That language is part of the reason that nine draft picks remain unsigned, though with Adams and Odenigbo completing their deals, the others might follow soon as well.
The Vikings, meanwhile, contend that they are not breaking any rules and that the language isn’t different from previous years.
Interesting. Appreciate the links and topic, Moth. I'd need more information to formulate an opinion though. Obliviously, it's created quite the stir with the NFLPA, but them not liking how verbiage in the contracts are worded is much different than the Vikings actually doing something against the rules and punishable. Might be misleading, but #### ethics...amirite?
Seems like this isn't a big issue, I'm sure no one misses the days where it was a big unknown whether rookies would show up to camp or not. Is Cooks the only unsigned left? I think Coley and some other late rounder may be out there but it would be career suicide for them to hold out.
Edit: Lee and Tocho also signed. Cooks and Coley only two left. Some details:
•Hodges: four years, $2.55 million, $145k signing bonus
•Elflein: four years, $3.34 million, $936k signing bonus
•Lee: four years, $2.48 million, $83k signing bonus
S197 wrote:Seems like this isn't a big issue, I'm sure no one misses the days where it was a big unknown whether rookies would show up to camp or not. Is Cooks the only unsigned left? I think Coley and some other late rounder may be out there but it would be career suicide for them to hold out.
Edit: Lee and Tocho also signed. Cooks and Coley only two left. Some details:
•Hodges: four years, $2.55 million, $145k signing bonus
•Elflein: four years, $3.34 million, $936k signing bonus
•Lee: four years, $2.48 million, $83k signing bonus
According to espn Cook is the only one left but is close to signing
RB Dalvin Cook received a four-year, $6.35 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2.76 million.
In other news.
Former LSU star running back Leonard Fournette was taken fourth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. His contract is projected to be worth $27,165,687, including a signing bonus of $17,887,563.
Dalvin Cook
If scouts just watched football games, Dalvin Cook would be the number one running back coming out in the 2017 draft. That is not hyperbole. Cook was a dominant talent on a Florida State team going through changes on the offensive side of the football. It wasn’t just one game either. The Orange Bowl this year was his coup de grace, but he had a ton of big games over the past two years. He is big enough to run between the tackles and athletic enough to play in the passing game. He’s almost a cross between Fournette and McCaffrey.
Still, Cook has fallen out of the first round in some mock drafts. Most of this is due to his poor testing. Of course Fournette tested horribly in the vertical at the combine but hasn’t had the same issues. This is kind of odd. Again, Cook has the ability to be a three-down back. He carried an entire offense is a power-five conference. He is great on a football field and still is dropping. Someone is going to get a steal in the draft.
808vikingsfan wrote:RB Dalvin Cook received a four-year, $6.35 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2.76 million.
In other news.
Former LSU star running back Leonard Fournette was taken fourth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. His contract is projected to be worth $27,165,687, including a signing bonus of $17,887,563.
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the NFLPA is weighing whether or not to file grievances that could potentially void over 160 rookie contracts. Given that only 253 rookies were drafted this past April, that’s a pretty significant chunk of those deals, though it isn’t clear whether the contracts signed by undrafted free agents could potentially be affected as well.
According to Graziano’s article, the language includes things as clauses that require players to submit to multiple offseason physicals at the team's request (the CBA only permits two), “automatic repayment" clauses that allow teams to take money for things such as fines and tickets directly from the paychecks of those players, and language dealing with the “legal tampering” period of free agency.