Bears 'optimistic' Roquan Smith will be in camp soon

Exactly, Smith wants all of the benefits of his overly inflated rookie salary, yet he doesn't want to pay HIS "insurance" premium should he violate the rules. In the meantime the dunderhead leaves his Mercedes unlocked so thieves can steal his bear issued IPad.

 

His “overly inflated” rookie salary? The same one that his own union and the NFL collectively bargained to make essentially non-negotiable?

 

If his salary slot is so non negotiable then why is he holding out? Obviously he picked the one agent that is trying his best to undermine the CBA.

 

And that's really short-sighted of him and his agent. This is the information he needs to be a competitive Bear but he's sitting at home sucking his thumb instead. That's not very smart.

 

For the record, the Philadelphia Eagles defense, as part of training camp, had a meeting with league officials to clarify the rule and they are even more confused now than before they clarified it.

Obviously, we don't know what specifically the language is in his contract. But, if it is in reference to this rule, then imho, it should be removed until the rule is at least understandable.

 

It isn't about his slotted amount of salary. It has nothing to do with the actual amount of the contract. It has everything to do with specific language written into the contract by the Bears legal team. It seems that this language is different than has been in the past and different than current other franchises contract language. This could set a precedent.

But, how I am reading it, they could void guarantees (mind these are guarantees protected in other franchises contracts) if he was subject to a suspension under the new helmet rule. A rule that no one understands at present.

Now, I don't know what you do for a living, but I am in sales. This would be similar to me signing a contract with my company that states, I have a pay structure that gives me bonuses for meeting certain criteria. However, no matter how much of that criteria is met, if I lose out on a single sale for a specific reason, then all bonuses for the remainder of the 4 year contract will be null and void and I will only receive my base pay until the next contract. I would never sign that.

 

I was going to mention this here unless someone beat me to it. Good hustle, Irish. The players, coaches AND THE REFS could not concisely explain the new rule and/or discern what is legal and what is not in several displayed examples.

 

Where the fuck have you been?

 

Because it’s not about his salary. Have you been reading any of these articles? Irish explains it well.

 

IMO the new rule isn’t all that complicated. It simply takes the existing rule where you can’t launch and hit another player with your helmet in the head and neck area and expands it to include anywhere on the body. It should actually help clear up some of the incidental helmet to helmet contact.

Of course the players are going to kick and scream and do anything they can to discredit the new rule. Claim that it’s confusing and the league is clueless. The refs know the new rules are going to make their job a little harder and so they act just as misinformed as the players. It’s all a show.

This season the media will blow up the few big plays that the NFL messes up and ignore the many many more that are called correctly. Somebody will get suspended for a play most will see as within the rules and their team will stand by them and not take any financial discipline. So as not to remove the players aggressiveness. EXACTLY WHAT THE BEARS DID LAST SEASON. When Danny Travathan was suspended for a game after a brutal hit on a defenseless receiver that went on to become the poster child for the new rule.

Smiths deal will be fully guaranteed. Smith wants immunity from the new helmet rules written into his contract. Nobody sees how BS that is?

 

Where are you getting all this? The current rules are vague at BEST and now they add another rule that could lead to ejection and loss of guaranteed money - and you’re FOR it?

Here’s a little perspective for you. And you’re wrong. Even the refs don’t agree on what th new rule is.

https://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1576904Eagles players left confused after meeting with refs on new helmet rule

 

Yeah I don't see the rules as being clear cut at all.

This is all brought to you from the league that's had 100 years to figure out what a catch is and still doesn't know....why would anyone think they are suddenly going to understand these new rules?

 

I don’t understand why they would mess with someone’s guaranteed money. Just fine them and be done with it.

 

I know it has nothing to do with salary, it has to do with the offset language. Coincidently, Roquon Smith chose to be the only athlete to hold out over contract language. None of the others saw fit to make an issue out of it. Hence my conclusion that we selected the one drama queen of the draft. It is what it is and this Bears team is still not going to be overly competitive this year but the guy needs to be on the practice field.

Now if what Irish is saying is true and the Bears organization is putting in offset language into the contract that no other team in the league is doing then I suppose all bets are off. It wouldn't surprise me the least that the cheap ass Bears ownership would try to do something like that.

 

While probably true, I would think that the union should be fighting this on behalf of ALL the players as we speak.

 

The NFL is about to fuck up the game of football (and fuck the players to death with nonsensical rules) in hopes of saving their asses over CTE and long-term health issues due to playing the game.

 

Took a much needed break from the team to level my head.

And my son is going away to college to play ball at ISU so focused on him for last few months because I'm pretty sure that when I drop him off next month, it'll be the last time we have some real family time with my brood.

 

Congrats on that brother.

 

Thanks, he made team at NIU, Illinois, UK, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan State. he was short listed at Penn, Purdue, Nebraska, and Indiana. But none gave him a baseball scholarship or anything more than a seat at the table. ISU gave him a position and a scholarship.

I wanted him to go to UK.... He was going to go to Purdue if he got into their engineering college. He didn't.

He didn't even get a look at NU because of his grades. 3.8 gpa doesn't get you into NU these days from New Trier...

And 3 of his team mates are at ISU as well.

I let him chose. Think he made right choice if he really wants to pitch.

Wish he would have tried for OSU. Think he would have made it.

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...dout-contract-dispute-rookie-guaranteed-money

While long, it's pretty interesting. Looks like this is larger than the helmet rule. Teams are adding vauge clauses to contracts that allow them to void contracts for a number of things. It looks like some other teams haven't put this in contracts.

I would think him losing his tablet could fall in that category already.