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Mixed message Voidable deals are contrary to many teams' goalsPosted: Wednesday January 09, 2002 3:55 PM
Any fan can look on the Internet and find a list of veteran players who are about to become free agents. But I dug around and found 24 players whose contracts contain specific language that may void the remaining years based on certain achievements. Garrison Hearst's contract, for instance, has a voidable clause that took effect when he was named to the Pro Bowl. Coming off a career-threatening injury, he was forced to take a pay cut from $1.7 million to $500,000. Now the guy has run away with the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award and will get another shot at a big deal.
Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez had a clause that stated if he played 45 percent of the plays in any season after his rookie year, he'd be free in 2002. Gonzalez easily met that requirement. The Chiefs aren't concerned because they will use their franchise-player tag to retain his services. The void clause in Jay Fiedler's deal was triggered by his being on the Dolphins' roster the last day of the season with at least two starts. That Fiedler's contract is going to void is fairly common knowledge. But most people don't know the Dolphins have a right of first refusal. That means they can match any offer Fiedler gets from any team and keep their quarterback. It was a brilliant move by the Dolphins to let the league set Fiedler's value. Three key Saints players had void clauses kick in. Joe Johnson and La'Roi Glover both restructured deals to help the club create cap space. Now, two guys who combined for 47 sacks the last two seasons can find out what their services are worth. And guard Chris Naeole, who met his requirements, either becomes a free agent or the Saints must pay him $2 million the first day of next year. Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas had a void clause in his contract based on sack performance. With the last regular season game meaningless, Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid sat Douglas, giving him a chance to rest up for the postseason. Unfortunately, this move also made it impossible for Douglas to meet the requirements to void his deal (he needed one more sack). I'm sure his agent is thrilled. The Vikings lost their head coach (Dennis Green), and now they're looking at having both of their starting safeties depart. Robert Griffith becomes free if he's on the roster at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Orlando Thomas is owed $1 million if he's on the roster on the first day of the new calendar. It's safe to say both will be on the free agent market very shortly. Kansas City restructured the deals of linebackers Donnie Edwards and Marvcus Patton last year to create cap space. In both cases, the team changed salary to signing bonus. Edwards voids if he's on the roster on the last day of the year and Patton waves goodbye if he played in 25 percent of the plays. What doesn't walk away is the cap hit: $5.6 million in dead money. That's hard to swallow on a club with only six wins. I've never been a big fan of voidable deals. We didn't have a single void clause when I negotiated contracts for the Jets. Personal incentives that free players send the wrong message about what a team is trying to accomplish. Plus, they wreak havoc on your cap management with unpredicted expirations. The future cap space used to close negotiations is rarely worth it. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.
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