What happens if..?

[kalibengal]

Wondering what is the protocol if the season gets canceled and how it impacts the Free Agents we are attempting to bring in and Draft Picks?
I would assume there are rules for when these unsigned deals expire.
Maybe I'll just text Roger Goodell

[George Cantstandya]

I don't know about free agents, but I imagine if the season gets canceled the NFL would have to work with the NFLPA to find a way for teams to retain the signing rights of 2020 drafted players through 2021.

Otherwise the 2021 draft, if there is one, might be filled with unsigned 2020 draftees. Many of which would be of much higher value than college players entering the draft in 2021. That is assuming if there is no 2020 NFL season there probably won't be a 2020 college football season either.

As it is now, NFL teams only retain the signing rights of drafted players until the next season begins.

A notable example of that was Bo Jackson in 1986. He refused to sign with the Buccaneers and entered the draft again in 1987 being selected by the Raiders.

[Wes Mantooth]

I tried to do a little research on this the other day. There's a couple of things I picked up:

-Players will not be paid their game checkes (bulk of their salary). They'll be paid their bonuses. (Signing, workout, roster, etc.)

-Fee agents waiting to finalize deals will most likely either be put "on hold" or their deals will be reneged and they will be released back into the free agency pool.

-If there is a season: the owners have proposed putting 35% of player salary into escrow, to be paid at a later date, to help offset losses. The player response to this has not been good.

I'm not sure about the rookies. As I understand it, one huge point of contention will be that if they were to finilize their deals would they accrue a year of service. Rookie deals are a huge advantage to the teams for salary cap management and spending. They're only 4 year deals (5th year option for 1st rounders @ top 10 of position). Without a season played the players are going to be hard pressed to win a battle over whether or not this year counts towards their 4 years.

I think things are going to get real interesting real quick. I'm sure there is so much going on behind the scenes that it not being made public. But if there isn't a season then I expect a lot of this to get really ugly.

[jfkbengals]

I don't know that anyone can say as it has never happened before.

I can say for certain though, each of the major team sports leagues will be addressing the issue in their next labor agreement if they do not already have a protocol in place. Hopefully it does not lead to work stoppages, as there is bound to be refusal to pay for being closed from ownership, and refusal to go unpaid by the players. In a perfect world, all of the leagues will begin to negotiate that stuff now as an amendment to their current deals so there is a plenty of time to come up with a good compromise for both sides.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-12-2020, 11:45 AM)jfkbengals Wrote: I don't know that anyone can say as it has never happened before.

I can say for certain though, each of the major team sports leagues will be addressing the issue in their next labor agreement if they do not already have a protocol in place.  Hopefully it does not lead to work stoppages, as there is bound to be refusal to pay for being closed from ownership, and refusal to go unpaid by the players.  In a perfect world, all of the leagues will begin to negotiate that stuff now as an amendment to their current deals so there is a plenty of time to come up with a good compromise for both sides.

Yep, I'd say there's going to be a lot of meetings and hand wringing going on if the worst happens.