DefenseRules
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http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
CHAYUT PULLING A POSTON?
In his ongoing quest to get the New England Patriots to overlook the fact that receiver Deion Branch is under contract for the 2006 season, agent Jason Chayut could be treading dangerously close to the edge of a potentially steep cliff.
Chayut insists that it wasn't proper for the Pats to present Branch with a five-year contract as a second-round rookie in 2002. Ignoring the fact that his own firm later allowed a second-round pick to sign a five-year contract in 2003, 2004, and 2005, Chayut has claimed that Branch was "exploited" by the team.
More specifically, Chayut claims that there was an agreement in principle on a four-year deal, and that the team reneged. Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe (who unlike his colleague Ron Borges isn't in the tank for Branch and Chayut) points out that Chayut didn't file a grievance after the Pats supposedly breached the agreement by yanking the deal.
Our guess? There never was a deal in principle, and Chayut is throwing mud now in order to justify his position that Branch should be an unrestricted free agent. But if the NFLPA considers these facts through in conjunction with the regulations regarding agents, the union might conclude that Chayut's failure to take action after the Pats failed to honor the agreement in principle could be something for which Chayut should be disciplined.
Indeed, it was Carl Poston's ridiculous suggestion that the Redskins had yanked a second $6.5 million roster bonus from the final draft of LaVar Arrington's December 2003 contract extension that resulted in Poston's bookended two-year suspensions. In order to make the argument fly that the 'Skins had screwed Arrington, Poston had to admit that he didn't read the final draft of the contract.
Chayut faces a similar problem. In arguing now that the Pats engaged in bad-faith conduct four-plus years ago, Chayut implicitly concedes that he did nothing at all about it.
Oops.
Meanwhile, the more we learn about the offer Chayut spurned, the more confused we are by Chayut's decision not to have Branch sign it. The extension pays $6.25 million per year on the three new seasons, and $8 million in guaranteed money. Plus, Branch would be on the open market come 2010, unlike Reggie Wayne, who is tied up until March 2012. And he'd get paid without having to complete the 2006 season free from serious injury.
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