By now, fans will have heard about the recent crisis regarding the NFL and its 2nd round picks. With training camp less than a week away, 30 of 32 players still haven’t signed their contracts, including all three of the Chicago Bears’ selections, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, and Shemar Turner. The primary issue is, unsurprisingly, money. Players want their deals to be fully guaranteed. Owners do not. It shouldn’t be surprising after another news bombshell revealing collusion inside the NFL to prevent this.
What many don’t understand is how this started. Players doing a mass holdout didn’t fall out of the sky. Something triggered it. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports finally provided some details. The man primarily responsible is Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio. Wide receiver Jayden Higgins, the team’s 34th overall pick in the 2nd round, wanted his deal guaranteed. Not wanting to haggle over a few hundred thousand dollars, Caserio agreed. Unfortunately for the league, this immediately caused 35th overall pick Nick Emmawori to demand he same from Seattle. The chain reaction went from there.
Basically, every player picked after Higgens said if they can guarantee his deal, why can’t you guarantee mine?
The Chicago Bears don’t want to be the ones to blink first.
This is clearly a league-wide issue. Both sides are waiting for the other to make a move. It’s a game of chicken. All the players need is for one owner to throw up his hands and guarantee a deal. All the owners need is for one player to shake his head and accept the deal offered. They say deadlines spur action. It feels like something will break. Most veterans around the NFL report on July 22nd. If Chicago Bears rookies aren’t around by then, their odds for getting playing time once they eventually do start dropping considerably with each passing day. Is a few hundred thousand dollars worth maybe not getting to play at all this season? We’re about to find out how far guys are willing to go with this.
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