Reiss has interesting unknown tidbit on franchising Cassel

[spacecrime]

Ask Reiss: Moving parts - The Boston Globe

Quotes for the mailbag:

If Cassel does not sign the tender, he is technically not under contract to the team...

Because a player can not be traded unless he is under contract, if the Patriots were seeking to trade Cassel, they would presumably allow his agents to negotiate on a long-term contract with other teams. Cassel would sign the one-year tender with the Patriots as a technicality, that deal would be ripped up when he’s traded, and he’d join a new team with a long-term extension.

Interesting. If I was Cassel, and the Pats franchised me, I would sign that tender in a millisecond. 14 million bucks, guaranteed. But what if his agent thinks he can get more on the free market and tells Cassel not to sign. What happens then?

I still think the only way the Pats franchise him is if they are concerned aboutr Brady, but I LOVE all the permutations and possibilities. It is almost as much fun as having the Pats in the playoffs.

.....

Okay, it isn't nearly as much fun, but it is still better polls about do we keep Gaffney or go after Caldwell in March

 

[slash83]

If the Pats expect Brady back at 100% then it just might be too much of a risk to franchise Cassel and then he ends up signing the tender. That 14million could be used in alot of ways including extending our own players. If the Pats are truely worried bout Brady then its money well spend on Cassel.

If he does sign the tender hopefully they could trade him asap and free up the money to sign FA's and extend a couple of Pats players.

 

[Tucker]

okay, is this hypothetical scenario plausible?

can the Pats extend the franchise tag to him, tell him not to sign it and then have his agent seek a trade; sign a high priced FA which would put us over the cap limit once the Pats and Cassell find a suitable trading partner for a day or so it takes for the trade to go through?

Or would it not work at all because we'd be over cap for a short period of time?

 

[BelichickFan]

What's the unknown part of this ? This is Franchise Tag 101.

What happens if Cassel doesn't sign and looks for a long term deal ? He looks for the deal. If he gets it, he either gets an official offer and signs it then the Patriots can not match and would get two #1 picks. Or the new team can negotiate a trade for a lesser amount.

Nothing new here.

 

[pats1]

That's really not unknown.

 

[JDSal45]

What is unknown? This is how it was gonna work all along. Cassel's contact is UP. Even if they tag him, if he doesn't sign it HE IS A FREE AGENT. Now for some team to sign him, they'd have to give up two 1st rounders as compensation if the Pats don't match. What happens instead is Cassel's agent negotiates just as he would have if Cassel hadn't been franchised. When they have a preliminary agreement with some team, that team calls the Pats, says....okay....we're interested in Matt and reached a preliminary deal with him. But we're not gonna do it unless its for less than two first rounders....Pats say okay....we'd take X (whatever X is).

Its in everyone's best interest. Its really the same thing that happened with Tebuckey. There is no mystery, everyone knows what's going down. The Pats give Matt the blessing and say "go make your best deal...." Which is what he'll do with his agent. No way does he sign the $14 million franchise tag because he can get more guaranteed from another team.....a team that can build around him, where he WANTS to go and where he is a definite long-term starter. He is not gonna sign it. What for? So he gets $14 million guaranteed? Big deal Aaron Rodgers got $20 million in guaranteed money and Cassel will get in that range too somewhere else. Plus he'll be set to settle down somewhere AS THE STARTER with his wife where he wants to be in an organization he picked.

Option one....sign the tag, get $14 million but be in limbo for a year and possibly a backup (which you don't want)

Option two......don't sign it, get MORE Than $14 million guaranteed (like Rodgers did) and pick where you want to start your life with your wife AS A STARTER and no limbo.

Its a no-brainer. Any agent who took option one should be fired. And all sides will be happy....Cassel with the new deal of his choosing, the team HE chooses and the Pats, who'll get compensation.

J D Sal

 

[fair catch fryar]

Wasn't a similar scenario talked about when Samuel was franchised?

 

[maverick4]

Hold on, I thought if you franchised a player and he didn't sign, he would basically sit the year under your team's control?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Its a no-brainer. Any agent who took option one should be fired. And all sides will be happy....Cassel with the new deal of his choosing, the team HE chooses and the Pats, who'll get compensation.

J D Sal

The only other perspective is if he wants absolute safety...He has earned about $2 million total in the league and once he signs the tag, he is guaranteed $14 million......with the risk of the Pats revoking it should he get hurt before signing it....
I agree with you though regarding the likely outcomes....

 

[pats1]

Hold on, I thought if you franchised a player and he didn't sign, he would basically sit the year under your team's control?

Right. See Samuel, Asante - until he signed his tender just before the season.

 

[BradyBranch39]

Schaub's new deal with Texans finalizes trade

 

[tanked_as_usual]

its called mutual cooperation........as long as he doesn't sign the tender, he is free to negotiate with whomever he pleases.......if he signs the tender, then he is contractually bound to the pats and is no longer free to make his own deals

he does not have to sign the tender to be traded since teams can sign him to any deal they want while he is tagged......but they will give up 2 first round draft picks or whatever it is, but you get the point........everyone has options as long as he doesn't sign it.......

the whole thing is a mere formality

 

[JDSal45]

Hold on, I thought if you franchised a player and he didn't sign, he would basically sit the year under your team's control?

No. He can sign a deal. The thing is, a lot of teams won't give up the two 1sts. So if the original team is stuck in the mud about that and not willing to take less, then you are sort of at a impasse.

But if they will agree to a trade (and the Pats likely will with Cassel unless Brady isn't healthy)....then he can find a deal just like any othe free agent. Him finding a contract is the first part, then if the Pats are flexible, they can work out a trade with the team Cassel wants to sign with.

J D Sal

 

[Patsrock]

okay, is this hypothetical scenario plausible?

can the Pats extend the franchise tag to him, tell him not to sign it and then have his agent seek a trade; sign a high priced FA which would put us over the cap limit once the Pats and Cassell find a suitable trading partner for a day or so it takes for the trade to go through?

Or would it not work at all because we'd be over cap for a short period of time?

No it is not. Once you franchise Cassel that $14 million goes right on the cap, even he doesn't sign it. He counts on the cap the moment he is designated.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

its called mutual cooperation........as long as he doesn't sign the tender, he is free to negotiate with whomever he pleases.......if he signs the tender, then he is contractually bound to the pats and is no longer free to make his own deals

Unless, of course, the Patriots give him permission to do so, which they presumably would in this case.

You do raise an interesting, though not new, point--if Cassel signs the tender, the Pats can then declare certain teams off-limits for trade purposes (e.g., if he signs the tender, he can't make a deal with the JEST).

he does not have to sign the tender to be traded since teams can sign him to any deal they want while he is tagged......but they will give up 2 first round draft picks or whatever it is, but you get the point........everyone has options as long as he doesn't sign it.......

the whole thing is a mere formality

Actually, to be traded, he does have to sign the tender first--because the Patriots don't have the right to trade him until he signs it.

 

[spacecrime]

That's really not unknown.

What's the unknown part of this ?

I guess not to you guys, but what is new to me is that the Pats CANNOT trade him ANYWHERE if he doesn't sign.

All I have seen is that the Pats can franchise and tag whether Cassel agrees or not. I have seen it said that as long as Cassel does not sign the tender, he can be cut before training camp with the Pats being on the hook for the $14 mil. I have seen talk about what teams are off limits for a trade (from the Pats FO perspective). But I have never seen it posted here that Cassel cannot be traded if he refuses to sign his tender. Can you link to a post anywhere on the forum that has this info?

I don't you can because I don't think it ever was, and I think this bit of info is not only new, it's significance is being overlooked.

 

[jczxohn1]

No it is not. Once you franchise Cassel that $14 million goes right on the cap, even he doesn't sign it. He counts on the cap the moment he is designated.

Then, the only reason not to franchise Cassel is that, as insurance for Brady, he will have to be held until a reasonable period, i.e., Brady appears healthy, or face challenges from the NFLPA, and possibly the league under the urging of the Competition Committee or Rules Comm. Not to mention the cap space preventing moving forward on FA signings and extensions of our own players. On the plus side, franchising will allow a trade which should be more worth this year rather than a 3rd next year, allowing the Pats to recoup some value for carrying Cassel on their roster for 3 yrs of limited value until 2008. 3 yrs is a long time to pay a guy a 1/2 mil for carrying a clipboard, no matter how well prepared he appears to be. One other advantage to franchising is that even if Cassel is given the go-ahead to negotiate his own deal with a suitor, BB would still hold veto power on a deal in opposition to the Patriots interests, such as in the division.

 

[BelichickFan]

I guess not to you guys, but what is new to me is that the Pats CANNOT trade him ANYWHERE if he doesn't sign.

It's kind of moot because he will sign at some point. And to be traded he pretty much has to agree to be traded in which case he'd happily sign in order to get the trade accomplished. If he doesn't sign he can still work out a contract with a different team to expedite a trade.

 

[Patsrock]

I guess not to you guys, but what is new to me is that the Pats CANNOT trade him ANYWHERE if he doesn't sign.

All I have seen is that the Pats can franchise and tag whether Cassel agrees or not. I have seen it said that as long as Cassel does not sign the tender, he can be cut before training camp with the Pats being on the hook for the $14 mil. I have seen talk about what teams are off limits for a trade (from the Pats FO perspective). But I have never seen it posted here that Cassel cannot be traded if he refuses to sign his tender. Can you link to a post anywhere on the forum that has this info?

I don't you can because I don't think it ever was, and I think this bit of info is not only new, it's significance is being overlooked.

I have always known the guy has to sign to be traded. The only thing the franchise tag does is guarantee the Pats get compensation for him either via trade or not matching an offer.

 

[BelichickFan]

All I have seen is that the Pats can franchise and tag whether Cassel agrees or not.

Regarding Franchise and Trade without Cassel's agreement, I have made the case we could do that if he signed the tender if we traded him for almost nothing just to free up the cap space as teams would obviously not want to give up much for him in that situation. That is an end case which wouldn't happen, just a technicality. And, technically, he could just sit out the year but in his situation - having played for league minimum his whole life that's not going to happen when he could sign for $14M. It's an unreasonable possibility.