In the last installment of “Ask PFW” a reader asked when the Pats and Randy Moss’ agent would start negotiating a contract. As I understand it, a player cannot negotiate a contract more than once in a calendar year. If that’s the case, won’t the Pats have to wait until after the season to get something done with Moss since he restructured at the point they traded for his rights?
Grant Bronk
The 12-month renegotiation rule is probably the most misunderstood rule in the NFL. The rule is not that you cannot renegotiate the contract twice in the same year. The rule is that the second renegotiation in a 12-month period simply cannot increase the cap charge in the overlapping years. So, the Patriots could renegotiate Moss’ deal today, as long as the new deal doesn’t have a 2008 cap charge greater than his current $3 million cap charge.
For example, if the Patriots minimize Moss’ salary for the rest of the year, moving it from $2.5 million to his minimum of $720,000, that would leave plenty of room to fit a new signing bonus in as part of an extension.
