mikeak":3jc9oqh6 said:
Hawkfan77":3jc9oqh6 said:
Scottemojo":3jc9oqh6 said:
Why some team didn't just throw a 7th rounder at him I have no idea.
This. I don't get it either. Basically no risk and you call his bluff.
No way he would sign a deal as 7th rounder. It is worse than signing a deal as UDFA as he would possibly be stuck for four years with no extension for a year.
It would have accomplished three things
1) Waste the 7th round pick
2) Ensure that he never plays for that team
3) Allowed him to go to the draft next year
Now every team feels they have 1/32 chance at getting him. Better than pissing him off with using a pick....
I'm still having trouble following this.
From my understanding, under the CBA, rookies can renegotiate their contract after three full seasons in the league (e.g. Russell Wilson -- under contract through 2015, but can renegotiate now). If La'el had been drafted in the 7th, it would've been a four-year contract that could've been renegotiated after three.
As a UDFA, he signed a three-year contract that can be renegotiated after two. Clearly in his favor...
However, if a team had drafted him, he would've only had two options: sign with that team, or sit out an entire year. Effectively, it would've broke down like this:
Drafted in 7th in 2015, agrees to sign:
- sign four year contract
- bigger signing bonus (up to $50,000; UDFA limit is $25,000)
- renegotiate after 3 years (2018)
Drafted in 7th in 2015, refuses to sign:
- would have to sit out an entire year
- can't go back into the draft (NFL said this isn't an option)
- signs a three-year contract as a UDFA in 2016
- smaller signing bonus
- renegotiates after 2 years (2018)
Either way I look at it, he can renegotiate his contract in 2018. Although a UDFA contract is one year shorter, he would've had to sit out the entire 2015 season to get one, so effectively it would've been the same. (Again, this is all in the hypothetical scenario in which he had been drafted in the 7th.)
There has to be something I'm missing, because the first option makes it seem like a no-brainer for both parties. It makes more sense for La'el, and it seems like a great gamble for a player of his talents. Teams take huge risks all the time (like Jesse Williams and his chronic knee injuries).
EDIT: after thinking about this a little bit more, there are two scenarios:
Scenario 1. La'el attempted to withdraw from the 2015 NFL Draft (i.e. immunity from being drafted); his intention was to instead declare for the 2016 NFL Draft. The NFL rejected this request.
Scenario 2. La'el planned to refuse to sign if he were drafted this year; he would sit out the full year, and reenter the 2016 NFL Draft.
I think the NFL explicitly refused the first scenario, but the second scenario would be fair game. That's what was confusing me. Can someone confirm that I'm understanding this correctly?