Re: 2018 Detroit Lions: There Is Not Enough Fireball In The Country.
I like how you equate hell with playing for the Lions (not necessarily undeserved mind you).
Didn't the Lions do this with Barry Sanders too? Any other franchise that does that with their all-time greats?
The Lions didn't "do" anything with Barry or Calvin. All they did was enforce their rights in the contracts. Now, if the Lions had cut either of them, then the Lions can go pound sand in both cases.
Let's turn this around. What would stop any player from getting a big signing bonus up front, and then two years later say "I'm done. I don't want to play anymore, I'm keeping the money. Buh-bye!" These signing bonuses would dry up in a hurry. The players do NOT want that.
In the NFL, most
salaries are not guaranteed. That's the way the CBA has been negotiated forever. However,
signing bonuses are a way to get players guaranteed money up front, that the team can allocate over the length of the contract for cap purposes. If you sign a 5-year deal, the Lions can spread that bonus over the 5 year life of the contract. But it is also understood (and written into the contract) that bonus is for 5 years of performance. If you walk away after year 3, you owe the franchise for those two years that you decided not to play. If the franchise cuts you, well, they breached the contract, not the player, so the player gets to keep the money. However, any unallocated bonus money counts against the cap when the player ceases to play for that team, whether it be retirement or release by the franchise.