Branch's Fines if he holds out till game 10

[Garbanza]

IF he shows up before game 1, the fines will PROBABLY be waived.

But if his holdout contunues beyone the first regular season game. I doubt if the fines will be waived. An example has to be made.

I don't think any of the media, who were once players, have dealt with a situation like this. Also, they have not dealt with a guy like BB.

DeOssie and Smerlas have both played for BB - not as HC, however. Oh, and I am sure former players have seen their fair share of hold outs and what really goes on beyond the fans eyes and ears.

 

[lobster]

Branch should be made to pay the fines in full before the first regular season game, and then the Pat's would donate the money to charity in Branch's name. Perhaps they could have a little ceremony at half-time.

 

[SBPatsFan]

Fines in the CBA are specified to accrue per day but after looking at the CBA and doing the math on what Galloway was fined for his holdout into November in 1999, it looks like fines are only for missed days during training camp/preseason. Once the season starts the mechanism appears to shift to forfitting game checks (though my interpretation of this might be incorrect and fines might continue into the season).

If correct that means Branch could be fined up to max of $96,000 per week missed during training camp/ preseason only. So even if he holds out till game 11, fines might max out at the end of the 6 weeks of training camp/preseason. Pats would have option of fining him anywhere from $0 up to a maximum that would be a bit less than $600,000. And, according to profootballtalk.com, NFL fines come out of after tax dollars. When Profootballtalk.com has discussed holdouts in the past, the assumption is a tax rate of ~40% which means Branch would need to make ~1 million to pay fines of $600,000.

Pats can also, according to CBA, withhold game checks and go after a pro-rated part of his signing bonus from the rookie contract if holdout lasts into the season. They can also impose smaller fines for missing mandatory off-season workouts. Again, the Pats don't have to do these things, but they are allowed to should they choose. Hope this helps.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Branch should be made to pay the fines in full before the first regular season game, and then the Pat's would donate the money to charity in Branch's name. Perhaps they could have a little ceremony at half-time.

Yes, a food pantry so others can feed their families.

 

[arrellbee]

Therefore the Pat's often go into the first regular season game with less than 53 on the active roster.

Not really. At least for the 2000 thru 2005 seasons, here are the roster counts for the first season game:

 

[SBPatsFan]

Branch should be made to pay the fines in full before the first regular season game, and then the Pat's would donate the money to charity in Branch's name. Perhaps they could have a little ceremony at half-time.

Lobster when I looked at the CBA it had a provision for how the fines are to be paid. They basically have to be divided and taken equally out of the remaining game checks.

 

[arrellbee]

To follow up on what folks have said, the CBA section on fines for missing training camp:

Unexcused late reporting for or absence from pre‑season training camp by a player under contract except those signed as an Unrestricted Free Agent pursuant to Article XIX (Veteran Free Agency)—maximum fine of $4,000 per day for the 1993‑95 League Years and $5,000 per day for the 1996‑2004 League Years.

So it is a per day fine (14K or some such amount for 2006).

It is a matter of considerable heartburn for me that legal contracts (and government laws for that matter) are so incredibly poor at defining terms or fully spelling out provisions. One result, of course, is an incredible amount of litigation or arbitration to fill in the blanks that could have so easily been spelled out.

In line with that rant, I can find no definition in the CBA as to when 'training camp' ends. Does it end with the last 'training camp practice', which I think has been referred to for the Pats as last Tuesday (??) Or is it thru the last preseason game ?? Or whatever ?? So it may be a little difficult to pin down just how many days are subject to fines for Deion.

 

[DESERTPAT]

As far as I can tell there were 27 practices (please correct the number if it's wrong) that DB has missed. At 14k per practice that comes out to $378,000. If he is slated to make about $1.045 million this year and we divide that by 16 games that comes to $65,312.50 per game. If he holds out till the tenth game, that means he would have been out for nine games which would total $587,812.50.

$378,000 plus $587,812.50 equals $965,812.50. That means DB will be owed only $79,187.50 for the 7 games (10th -16th games) that he'll be active. Now that's a bargain! The $ per game goes even lower when you factor in post season play which I'm extremely confident that we'll be a part of again this season.

Even with that, how many on this board would be willing to get a job that pays them 80k for seven weeks work? The Pats get a bargain from a salary standpoint for sure but in real world dollars, that's still a good chunk of change.

Don't forget the taxman!!

 

[SBPatsFan]

To follow up on what folks have said, the CBA section on fines for missing training camp:



So it is a per day fine (14K or some such amount for 2006).

It is a matter of considerable heartburn for me that legal contracts (and government laws for that matter) are so incredibly poor at defining terms or fully spelling out provisions. One result, of course, is an incredible amount of litigation or arbitration to fill in the blanks that could have so easily been spelled out.

In line with that rant, I can find no definition in the CBA as to when 'training camp' ends. Does it end with the last 'training camp practice', which I think has been referred to for the Pats as last Tuesday (??) Or is it thru the last preseason game ?? Or whatever ?? So it may be a little difficult to pin down just how many days are subject to fines for Deion.

When I did a search for Galloway's holdout in 1999 (which according to CBA you posted the fine should have been $5000/day that year) I came upon the figure of $210,000 in fines. He held out till November. If my math is correct that means he was fined for 42 missed days. So my guess is that the language might cover the entire preseason. But that is just my guess trying to extrapolate from reported past fines.

 

[TaxPlaya]

Don't forget the taxman!!

As a "taxman" myself, this actually presents a good planning opportunity for Deion.

Here is a guy who, in any normal year, would be a top-bracket taxpayer. As a result, all of the things available to us average Joes are not available to him--but they would be this year.

A few examples:

1. He could contribute $4000 to a Roth IRA.
2. He could do a Roth conversion on any Traditional IRA money he had tied up.
3. Assuming he makes his full $15,000 salary deferral to his 401(k) plan, he could deduct any student loan interest he might have.
4. He could take a class and deduct up to $4000 for it.
5. If he owns any rental properties, he could take a loss of up to $25,000.
6. He could make a Coverdell ESA contribution for one of his kids he probably has floating around out there.
7. He could tally up all of his bellyaching costs as "job-hunting" expenses and take a miscellaneous itemized deduction for the unreimbursed employee business expense. While he has to subtract out 2% of AGI, this year that will be <$1000.

The possibilities are endless--these are just a few that I thought of.

To see more of what the little turd could rack up, visit my website, www.taxplaya.com

Pardon the plug, but it's for the good cause of bashing Deion "You'll Never Be Reggie Wayne" Branch

 

[MoLewisrocks]

DeOssie and Smerlas have both played for BB - not as HC, however. Oh, and I am sure former players have seen their fair share of hold outs and what really goes on beyond the fans eyes and ears.

I listen to and read the local sports media pretty regularly and I've never heard anyone opine that the fines will be waived except as the only bone the team will throw him to show up before week 1. After that all bets are off, although again if he wavers in week 3 they might also waive them as a sign of good faith in exchange for his return (at that point he'd have already missed $125K in game checks so lesson learned). Go to the wall with this on week 10 and no way - that is scortched earth time. The only reason fines are generally waived is when a deal is yet to be worked out. That usually only happens following brief holdouts like Seymour's or Ward's. Both came in without deals and well in advance of the regular season. If Branch holds out to week 10 he is history in 2007 either as a tag and trade or straight don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out UFA. All depends on his performance however brief and his potential 2007 trade value if any.

DeOssie has no sympathy for Branch even though he himself held out briefly once. He says it was because he was signed as a backup and the starter ended up out for the season. He said basically he and the team both knew it was not an equitable deal and within a few days he had a reasonable starters deal.

FYI Denver is enforcing the fines against Lelie even as they traded him (for a pretty neat draft package). They are also going after a portion of his signing bonus.

 

[smg93]

From Profootballtalk.com

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

"WHAT NEXT FOR BRANCH?

Though, as in most seasons, there were several draft-pick holdouts this year, only two guys under contract ultimately stayed away from training camp -- former Broncos receiver Ashley Lelie and current Pats receiver Deion Branch.

And with Lelie finally getting traded out of Denver, it's pretty clear to us that Branch most likely will not be dealt, under any circumstances.

So the Pats and the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX remain on a collision course for an impasse that will drag into September, and that possibly will end when Branch reports in the tenth week of the regular season. Under league rules, that's the latest he can show up and still receive credit for the final year of his rookie contract.

But just as there are indications that the Broncos will go after every penny that they rightfully can obtain from Lelie, our guess is that the Pats will pounce on Branch for anything and everything that the CBA allows them to pursue.

The $14,000 daily fine cuts off at the start of the regular season. But by then Branch's total bill for skipping training camp and the preseason will be $420,000 in after-tax money."

There's more about this situation in the article.