Rick Osentoski / Associated Press
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every facet of life in recent months, including NFL contracts.
Albert Breer of SI.com reported Thursday that “an agent told me on Wednesday that a team executive recently contacted him and said they would not allow a deal to be finalized because the owner feared the season could be canceled. (if he worsens the pandemic) and he didn’t want to pay in cash that he may not be able to recover. “
Breer used the example of Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes, who accepted a three years, $ 42 million with the team this offseason that included $ 15 million in guaranteed money. But the Bengals are not allowing their team’s doctor to perform physical exams on their players in their private practice, and with the NFL facility closed, that meant Waynes was unable to have his physical exam with the team, and his contract was not. that is finished.
Therefore, he is still waiting for that $ 15 million.
It should be noted that Breer reported that Waynes is “quite sensitive to how his concern about a payment of $ 15 million could come out, understanding the labor situation in our country at the moment. In fact, that’s why he didn’t end up talking to me for this story. “
Other teams have taken similar tactics, apparently to avoid paying guaranteed money. There are no CBA rules against doing so, leaving players like Waynes stuck in limbo.
Waynes Agent, Brian Murphy told Breer that he had advised Waynes “not to do any soccer exercise, not to go out on the field, certainly not to do live exercises against other people. “
Murphy continued:
“He signed a good offseason contract to go to the Bengals, be the man in his high school, make a significant contribution, and so, under normal circumstances, he would commit suicide to be in the best shape possible. He did his best Zoom calls. Obviously, there is no physical activity there, and you really want to be in the best lifestyle, to be able to play the best football of your life, but because of the Bengals’ decision, you can’t do that.
“So yeah, you have to be creative, you have to find different ways to be at your peak. But assuming you’re not doing the exercises one-on-one, assuming you’re not fighting with other players, you’re just not going to be where I would otherwise be in a normal year. “
It makes sense, although it could also lead players to training grounds in less than optimal form and could lead to injuries in the future. Not a great situation for players like Waynes.
But with coronavirus cases nailed In certain parts of the United States, the imminent possibility of a delayed or canceled 2020 season cannot be ignored. That seems to have led some NFL teams to find creative ways to avoid paying money owed.
However, league and NFLPA players are unlikely to forget which teams did.
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