This article in the Washington Post covers the run up to the incident I noted. It was written right after Burbank ruled.
In the days that followed Polian threatened to sue the league
I am not disagreeing about this.
before he and Condon hammered out new deals that would allow the Colts to get back under the cap if the CBA were not extended. Those deals resulted in Manning and Harrison agreeing to forego their 2006 roster bonuses although there was some language that would have eventually seen them recoup the money as I recall. When Burbank ruled against them it put the Colts $6M over the 2006 cap. They were allowed to restructure the contracts of Manning and Harrison and hold those in abeyance pending the clock ticking down on the CBA.
The above is the part I do not believe what happened. I do not believe for a second that teams would be allowed to hold contracts in abeyance.
When the compromise was reached and a new CBA agreed to those restructures were torn up because the roster bonuses could again be prorated. I distinctly recall we spoke of it here...
On March 6th Mike Chappell, of the Indianapolis Star, reports the Indianapolis Colts restructured the contract of WR Marvin Harrison, creating about $7.5 million in salary cap relief. His $14.4 million cap hit is now down to about $6.9 million. On March 8th the NFLPA and the owners reached a deal. Are you saying that there are postings on this forum that Manning signed a contract in which he gave up $9 million in roster bonus money??
http://blogs.indystar.com/coltsinsider/archives/2006/03/
QUESTION: Now that the Colts have restructured the contracts of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, do they have enough cap space to keep Edgerrin James?
-- from Decoby Askew, Indianapolis
ANSWER: It all comes down to whether the team believes James is worth the investment. If the answer is yes, the Colts will find a way to make it work. If the answer is no, he's gone and the team will be looking for a replacement. A lot hinges on whether the NFL and players union reach common ground on an extension to the labor agreement. An extension will bump the current salary cap of $94.5 million by nearly $10 million.
This is what I believed happened.
1.) The special master ruling.
2.) The Colts complained about losing the ruling.
3.) A couple of days later and before March 6th the Colts find a way to convert the roster bonuses into signing bonuses.
4.) The CBA is extended on March 8th.
Here's where we disagree - At that time of the roster bonuses conversion there was no agreement to extend the CBA so all contracts submitted had to be in compliance with the rules in effect on that day. You contend that the Colts were allowed to submit contracts that were contigent on a CBA extension. I do not believe that was true.