Dear Leaguemates,I’m writing to propose that we update our RFA policy to reflect recent changes in the way the NFL is dealing with the Player Conduct Policy. Though only 5 players on Immersion rosters were affected this year (see below), it seems reasonable to consider that this will continue to be an issue moving forward. I’ll justify my proposal using the Josh Gordon saga (sorry, Ben).As you know, Gordon has been suspended for the entire 2015 NFL season. He was also suspended for the entire 2014 NFL & Immersion seasons, only to have his suspension reduced to 10 games. Here’s the interesting thing: Gordon’s NFL contract has “tolled” – meaning that his contract has been frozen at 2 accrued years – because he did not play enough games in 2014 to count toward free agency. Additionally, since Gordon‘s NFL suspension is without pay, his NFL salary doesn’t count against the Browns’ cap in 2015.
Something similar should happen in the Immersion
We don’t have rules for this in place in the Immersion, per se, but according to Section II, Subsection E, 8d, a HOLDOUT player has to come back and play 7 games so that he can accrue time toward free agency. Because of his 2014 suspension, Gordon only played 3 games for the (r)EvoLUtion and other players, like AP or Ray Rice, didn’t suit up at all. Thus, I suggest that Gordon should not be considered an RFA this year, but rather should remain in the final year of his rookie deal. Similarly, other suspended players should have their contracts tolled as well.
Furthermore, due to his 2015 suspension, I suggest that Gordon will again be unable to accrue time toward free agency. Therefore, Gordon would start the 2016 NFL/Immersion season (assuming he’s reinstated) under contract with the (r)EvoLUtion for $6.33 in the final year of his rookie deal and would only become an RFA following that season (assuming he survives 7 games un-suspended).
If we were to go fully into the NFL model, Gordon‘s contract should not count against my salary cap in 2015 either. However, a) we’ve already established the precedent of having suspended player contracts counting against the cap and b) the logistics of figuring out which player was suspended with pay (e.g., Gordon) versus which player is suspended without pay may be more work than it’s worth. Thus, I propose that all players under contract count against their owner’s Immersion cap.
What if an owner doesn’t WANT those players back? Do player contracts still toll?
I don’t think that they should, particularly this season. I can imagine scenarios where Ryan and Jeremy might not want to see Peterson’s and Rice’s massive contracts tolling. Since we kept the suspended players’ salaries on the books, it seems fair that owners could choose not to toll their players’ contracts even though they were suspended.
Mechanics – How do we implement this?
If an owner rosters a player that is suspended (NOTE: none of this applies to injured players) such that the player does not play in at least 7 Immersion games, the owner can report that player to the commissioner’s office at the end of the season to ask that the player’s contract be tolled. When updating to the new league year, the commish puts in the same contract info as the suspended year. Players not reported to the commish will not have their contracts tolled.
2014 Players on Immersion Rosters Eligible for Tolled Contracts:
Justin Blackmon – Fransburg
Josh Gordon – Fransburg
Adrian Peterson – Bestine
Ray Rice – Holley
Daryl Washington – Bestine
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
Does this seem like a reasonable approach to a new issue with the NFL and the Player Conduct Policy?
© 2015, Adam Franssen. All rights reserved.
My initial thought is probably what you might expect from me – no. It’s fun to emulate the NFL, but we’re getting into the realm of minutiae that starts to turn even me off.
In the curious case of Josh Gordon, you knew you were taking a risk when you traded for him. Aaron Hernandez killed a few people and poor Timmy couldn’t even get off the hook for that.
Just my initial thought.
I hear what you’re saying about Gordon, but that doesn’t really set the rule – I mean, NO ONE would’ve accused Ryan or Jeremy of “taking a risk” on Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson.
I agree that we should keep the cap hit but allow tolling contracts. There should be some accountability for signing high-risk players.
Okay, just a quick comment. I think if we’re talking about “accrued” time, we should change it from 7 games to 6, since we reduced the schedule from 14 games to 13 games a couple seasons ago. Our players are still held out for the first 7 weeks, and can only return for the final six weeks.
In any scenario, I believe the cap hit should count.
I don’t have any qualms with the logic of this, but I will say this: “It’s easier not to.”
Keeping track of the contracts is a pretty big endeavor. So let’s say Gordon doesn’t become an RFA. What happens to his contract next year? Is it $6.33 again? I mean, he’s out of contract, so it seems unfair from a cap-hit stance to freeze him at the same price for 2 suspended years. So he made $6.33 in 2014, and should he make $6.33 in 2015 and then another $6.33 in 2016 before he becomes an RFA? To me it seems that the owner is paying a cap hit for the trouble of employing a dipshit, but it’s not the same penalty as someone taking a cap hit for an injured or just plain shitty player.
So, I guess I would need to see how that’s worked out. I agree that cap hits should still apply given the precedent of other owners having to pay for murderers and whatnot. But it doesn’t seem fair to me to freeze a player’s salary.
I do like putting the onus on the owners to report their tolled players, though.
Right. Since owners have to report it should be really easy.
I don’t think I like this.
Players that are injured and don’t play 7 games still have the season count toward their becoming a free agent. A suspension I would classify as similar to an injury. The holdout to me is different, because it is a player making the choice not to play.
Also, I think you are slightly off in the interpretation as things relate to Gordon. His NFL contract was for 4 years–the upcoming season would be his final season, but due to his indefinite suspension, the Browns will have him for one year once he’s allowed to play again. In the Immersion his contract was only for 3 years, which means it was already completed.
It sounds like you and Hammond are getting at the same very reasonable point with the suspension vs. holdout vs. injury thing. My intention wasn’t to create a new process. Rather, this proposal would be set up the same way the NFL has it: players with injury accrue time toward free agency, players holding out do not, and now, suspended players do not accrue time toward free agency. I’m simply proposing we follow that model.
For the second part (Gordon’s contract), that is interesting in that it addresses the 2015 suspension. It does not address the 2014 suspension. In other words, since Gordon, Peterson, and Rice didn’t play enough games to count toward the Immersion’s free agency during the 2014-5 season, none of their contracts advance, either. That logic leaves one year on Gordon’s Immersion contract, 2 years on Rice’s contract, and 3 years on Peterson’s contract.
Gordon is, of course, suspended again for the 2015 season, which means that his contract will toll again and he will, if all goes well, play the final year of his Immersion contract in 2016.
In Peterson’s case (let’s ignore Ray Rice since video footage and age have ensured that he’ll likely never play another NFL down), he WILL play in 2015. So, his Immeresion contract would stand at year one of a 3 year pact, starting at $70. Ryan will have had to eat a $70 cap hit in 2014 for 0 production, but will at least get his player on the field for $70 (instead of $77) in 2015.