Uh-oh. After several days of complete and utter optimism surrounding the NFL lockout we have a bit of less-than-great news. According to Yahoo! Sports, Patriots G Logan Mankins and Chargers WR Vincent Jackson, both of whom are named plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit against the owners, are seeking compensation.
NFL Lockout: Logan Mankins, Vincent Jackson Seeking $10 Million Or UFA Status
Yahoo! Sports has learned through multiple sources that the agents for wide receiver Vincent Jackson and guard Logan Mankins have requested that their players either become unrestricted free agents when the lockout is over or that they receive $10 million each as part of the settlement.
Before you say “What the heck are these guys doing?”, understand that there is precedent for this. In 1993, the last time we came to an agreement on a new CBA, the named plaintiffs received some special treatment. As part of that deal, none of the named plaintiffs could be hit with the franchise tag.
Plus, these two have been hampered significantly by the labor rules the last two years. In the uncapped year of 2010, the threshold for free agency moved from four to six years of service time in the league which resulted in both players unable to cash in on free agency. That rule change cost them a lot of money.
So their request isn’t totally out of left field. Some have thought the named plaintiffs could do this. The question is whether the league or the players association will honor their request. I can’t envision a scenario where the Patriots or Chargers let these guys go. I could, though, see the league or the players paying them that $10 million, or another number close to it.
Only a couple more days until this thing is expected to end so a resolution will ideally come very quickly.
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