The NFL owners approved a new conduct policy earlier today, but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the guidelines. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains, many players and owners are questioning the specifics of the “paid-leave” protocol.
Most players have incentive bonuses/escalators built into their contracts, but that portion of money would be impossible to earn if a player is suspended. As Florio writes, many of these bonuses are based on playing time or compiled stats, and a player won’t be able to reach any of those milestones if he’s sitting at home.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweets that there’s also concern from the owner’s side, as the check-writers don’t want to be paying money for zero production. Furthermore, the teams currently get no cap relief for their suspended player, which is an added concern of the owners.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello briefly spoke about the issue with Florio:
“That is the type of issue we would be prepared to discuss with the union if the union were interested in engaging in discussions. They had no interest in discussing anything at the last meeting.”
Let’s check out some more notes from around the league as we wrap up this Wednesday night…
- Garafolo tweets a remark from commissioner Roger Goodell, who says there’s been “progress” on a Los Angeles franchise, but nothing’s “imminent.” “We continue to work to see if there’s a solution,” Goodell said.
- The owners will not discuss playoff expansion during this week’s meeting, but PFT’s Michael David Smith writes that Goodell plans on addressing the subject during March’s gathering. The league is reportedly interested in adding a seventh team from each conference.