Beason - what would make him a guinea pig?

That was reported as a deferred signing bonus payment.

 

I think the trump card in all this is that the Panthers could choose to just give all that money in up-front signing bonus if they were really that scared of an option bonus. That's what teams used to do before all the cap wrangling, so that's a perfectly viable alternative. Instead asking the player to accept a non-guaranteed roster bonus is idiotic and offensive, though.

 

Do you have a source for this? Even the agent is only saying "most" other teams.

 

If you doubt it, go look it up. I'll be glad to admit that I'm wrong if I am, but I'm not. And I imagine that he said "most teams" because not every team had a first round selection and the farther you go down in the draft, the less reason there is to spread the money like that. Furthermore, you're missing the point that we've given them too. Steve's extension includes one and that was after the Lelie ruling.

 

Cop Out!

 

Sure, but I'm tired of always being asked to do all the work. I've put up with that for years, but I'm sick of it. If someone wants to quibble over something, they should get off their own lazy ass and look it up instead of expecting me to do everything for them.

 

would you like cheese with that?

 

I'm going to explain again.

Their is no such thing as a "deferred signing bonus." The signing bonus is the amount paid when you sign. Period.

When the signing bonuses started to get bigger than the rooking cap allotment, teams started getting creative. In addition to the signing bonus, they would include a roster bonus that would be paid out at the either the end of that fiscal year or the beginning of the next. Agents and teams would combine these to indicate what the "guaranteed" money paid to a player was.


In fact, this payment is not guaranteed. But it's very likely to be paid unless the player does something stupid, and even then a team can go after even the signing bonus. So in reality, no amount of money is really guanranteed. Fuck up and you'll be left with a Klondike Bar.

Pretty soon, this tactic was used in all sorts of deals. The media reported that Freeney got 30 million guaranteed. He in fact recieved 15 million to sign, and another 15 million dollar roster bonus to be paid in Febuary. The Colts can cut him for any reason and not pay that second amount. But unless he does something stupid, the cap implications of cutting him would preclude that from happening. If Freeney gets caught with a dead woman or live boy in December, the Colts can cut him without paying him. And they can go after the signing bonus if they so choose. But this is all very unlikely.

Now you are correct, the Panthers don't want to pay out that money in year two because if he retires/kills someone/robs someone/becomes a peaceful pot smoking Buddist/urinates on the Mills statue/tells Richardson the 64 Colts were overratted, then they can't get the bonus money back. OK.

So their solution is to put it off to year three, and attach incentives. That way if the turf monster tears off his ligaments to his left knee, we won't have to pay him either. Beason's agent doesn't think this sounds quite fair. Neither do I.

 

Also, not everyone has signed a contract.

I'm willing to bet actual money that nobody else is trying to pitch incentives to replace bonus money.

 

Technically, though, while the 2nd bonus is a roster bonus in that they have to pay or cut, the bonus is scheduled as a signing bonus. It's not weighed one year, it's prorated.