Cliff Avril Signs Franchise Tender, Ends Contract Holdout

Avril’s future as a Lion had been in question since last month, when the two sides failed to come to a deal by the July 16 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term extensions. But based on Avril’s latest tweet, he appears enthusiastic about re-joining the team.

As a result, Sunday’s signing means that Avril gets a one-year deal reportedly worth $10.6 million. If the Lions fail to sign the defensive end to a new deal for the 2013 season, they can franchise him once again to a slightly higher contract, or sever ties and let him test the free-agent market.

The original report comes from Albert Breer of NFL.com, who was told by a source that the rocky negotiations had finally ended at an impasse. Avril has said that he will play under the franchise tender, but prefers the security of a multi-year deal. He and the organization apparently never saw eye-to-eye, however, and on Saturday Avril admitted that he wasn’t getting “a good vibe” that a deal would actually get done.

For more on the Lions offseason, head over to the SB Nation blog Pride Of Detroit or visit SB Nation Detroit.

“I’m hopeful, but I don’t know,” Avril told the Free Press. “I’m not getting a good vibe, let’s put it that way. But I’m hopeful.”

Avril started all 16 games and had 11 sacks for the Lions in 2011 and has notched 30 sacks in his four NFL seasons.

“We’ve had conversations and we continue to have dialogue,” Lions president Tom Lewand told MLive.com. “We’ll leave the dialogue open. I talked to (Avril’s agent) Brian (Mackler) recently, and we have an ongoing dialogue. We’ve said all along, we’d like Cliff to be here. We’ve made some very substantial offers to him. We haven’t been able to work a deal out.”

Lewand also mentions that the team has other impending free agents to deal with next season and if the team has to allow Avril to play on the one-year deal that will pay him nearly $10 million, they’ll be up for negotiating next offseason as well.

Avril has not signed his franchise tender yet, which would guarantee him a one-year salary of $10.605 million, but there is a point in which a long-term deal can no longer be reached. The Lions and Avril have until July 16 to work out a long-term contract. After that deadline, Avril must play under the one-year tender or not play at all, as the CBA dictates that the two sides can no longer engage in long-term contract negotiations.

For more on the Lions offseason, head over to the SB Nation blog Pride Of Detroit or visit SB Nation Detroit.