NFL nix's Clowney trade

[Rakshir]

You guys see this ? Interesting that the NFL chose to unable this trade.

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-did-the-nf ... 15919.html

[Rakshir]

Basically Saints worked out with Cleveland they would sign Clowney, then trade him to the Saints for a player and a draft pick. Cleveland would eat part of the salary, so Saints could fit him in the cap.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Maybe the NFL realizes how close to collusion this looks like?
(and yes I do realize there have been sketchy trades in the past)

[RichH55]

It's weird that Osweiler was essentially allowed to be dealt for a pick but this wouldn't work

(Osweiler and a 2nd was dealt for a 4th IIRC)

[thunderspirit]

It's weird that Osweiler was essentially allowed to be dealt for a pick but this wouldn't work

(Osweiler and a 2nd was dealt for a 4th IIRC)

Surely you're not suggesting that the NFL's decisions are oft times arbitrary and capricious.

Because that would be abso-frickin-lutely true.

[wab]

It's weird that Osweiler was essentially allowed to be dealt for a pick but this wouldn't work

(Osweiler and a 2nd was dealt for a 4th IIRC)

Osweiler wasn't a free agent. Agreeing to trade a FA before even signing him feels like some weird way to circumvent the salary cap and stack draft picks.

[RichH55]

It's weird that Osweiler was essentially allowed to be dealt for a pick but this wouldn't work

(Osweiler and a 2nd was dealt for a 4th IIRC)

Osweiler wasn't a free agent. Agreeing to trade a FA before even signing him feels like some weird way to circumvent the salary cap and stack draft picks.

Well when they would have dealt for Clowney - He would have been under a signed contract too

Whats the amount of time you need to be under contract for it to be legal?

[reggieg87]

oof just a 1 year deal with titans

feels like he has been a free agent forever

[The Cooler King]

Osweiler wasn't a free agent. Agreeing to trade a FA before even signing him feels like some weird way to circumvent the salary cap and stack draft picks.

Well when they would have dealt for Clowney - He would have been under a signed contract too

Whats the amount of time you need to be under contract for it to be legal?

Quite long in other sports leagues.

NBA does have a specific sign and trade manuever, but they've restricted it in recent CBAs and it always had a salary matching component so it couldn't typically be used as a cap circumvention (their cap is generally much more straightforward without the dead cap stuff that the NFL utilizes). Otherwise I think its usually mid-December that a FA can be traded.

MLB I think has some restriction on trading signed FAs for about a month into the season, but they also don't have a cap to worry about circumventing, either.

Not sure what NHL has in place. They generally have tight cap rules too though to prevent circumvention and have in the past penalized teams they found to circumvent the spirit of the cap.

So I'd say if the NFL adopted something formal, it should probably be into early October to avoid circumvention of the spirit of the cap. But I think the dead cap thing is the real issue, and what the Saints tried to exploit. Maybe the restriction need be not on trading a player outright, but putting a time restriction in place on the "dead cap" portion in trades.