Quote:
Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33
I'm not talking about a new contract negotiation, I'm talking about an existing contract. Once the contract is signed the team can't renegotiate it down. They can turn a salary into a signing bonus and lower a cap hit in the short term, but that winds up in the player getting more guaranteed money.
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Why do you say they cant renegotiate a contract down? Telling a player to drop their 5 mil base salary down to 2.5 or 3 mil or else they will be cut has made many players do exactly that, renegotiate a lower priced deal. Not just one that saves cap money this year but works out to be more guaranteed money for the player.
If the owners can outright cut a player under contract, they can absolutely ask him to take less money. In the NFL, any player contract can be negotiated up or down at any given time. The team just has to be able to account for guaranteed money in previous and current contracts under the salary cap. They also have to be prepared to cut the player if he wont renegotiate down like they want. Teams are allowed to cut the salary or cut the player if they dont agree to a salary cut. Now, the salary cut has to be negotiated and agreed upon by the player, the team just cant announce that the salary is being halved without an agreement by the player. However cutting the player holds no obligations other than fitting his accelerated guaranteed money under the cap.
As a point of reference, Chris Cooley offered to cut his salary to stay with the Redskins. Why would he do that if he knew it was illegal in the NFL to do so? Because its a perfectly legal thing to do in the NFL. It wouldnt have affected any guaranteed money, only his base salary, but it would have been a cut in pay on an already negotiated contract none-the-less. And they would not of added extra years or any extra guaranteed money on the deal had it happened.