Quote:Both sides are being petty. The money is GUARANTEED however it's sliced. Just sign the damn contract and get on the field. No reason to put your career at risk, which is exactly what he is doing. All this fighting over offset language makes me think that people in his camp think he has a real chance of busting and by missing all this valuable time they could be correct.

 

Exactly.  He gets the signing bonus regardless of how he does and what happens after 4 years.  He gets 85% of it up front and also earns his regular salary while he plays and/or is on the team.  He gets the rest of the signing bonus later.  Either way, he gets that money because it's guaranteed.

 

Me personally, if I was offered an entry level position at a job with a signing bonus of $17 million, I would take the 85% up front if the remainder was going to be paid out over the next 4 or 5 years, especially if my salary was going to be more than most people earn in a year.

 

The argument by his agent was "time based" meaning that if he had more money sooner he would have more money to invest.  How many 22 year olds (or there about) are interested or worried about investing money?

 

The bottom line is he's being stupid and is going to miss out on a lot more than he could have had.

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