$$ Question

[combatbengal]

If you have a player under contract for another year or two and he doesn't make the team, do you buy out that contract?

[HoosierCat]

No, they just get cut and the contract is thrown in the trash, basically.

[DesperateDerelict]

Unless the money was guaranteed or part of a pro-rated signing bonus. The club owes him that, and the cap hit is for the current year.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

They only get what they have already been paid. That is why David Pollack spent so much time worrying about every penny of guaranteed money he could get. In the world of the NFL, if he's hurt, he might get a fraction of what he would have made in the form of an injury settlement. If for some reason it doesn't work out moving him from DE to LB, and they cut him (see Rheinard Wilson) he's out of a job with nothing but what he got.

[boomerman]

Boomer Esiason has always been very vocal about this "injustice". See his editorial about T O. Fans usually aren't aware that the team has no long term obligations in "long term" contract. If I'm not mistaken, this is unique to the NFL.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Boomer Esiason has always been very vocal about this "injustice". See his editorial about T O. Fans usually aren't aware that the team has no long term obligations in "long term" contract. If I'm not mistaken, this is unique to the NFL.

Not really. ANYONE employed in the State of Ohio can be fired, for no cause, with no repercussions. It is a hire and fire state. You may terminate anyone's contract without cause with no issues, and Ohio is not the only hire and fire state where state law says long term employment contracts aren't really worth the paper they are written on.

[boomerman]

I understand the hire and fire laws in Ohio. You made my point for me. An NFL team can terminate a contract whenever they want, but the player does not have that option. He can play, sit out w/o pay, or (and I hate to see it as much as anyone) try to renegotiate.