Justin Blackmon’s DUI Affecting Contract Negotiations

Police arrested Blackmon at a traffic stop in Stillwater, Okla. A breath test showed that he was driving with a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit.

Keep up with this story as it develops on our Justin Blackmon DUI StoryStream. For more on the Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country. For more on Oklahoma State, head to Cowboys Ride For Free.

While Blackmon’s agent is doing his job in trying to get the best deal for his client, there is no way the Jaguars cannot put those types of provisions in the deal to cover themselves in case Blackmon has another run-in with alcohol or anything else.

Blackmon is set to appear in court on July 24 for a hearing on his DUI.

Well, we now get to see just how drunk and surprisingly lucid Blackmon was on that night, as First Coast News in Jacksonville, Fla. has obtained a copy of Blackmon’s booking video.

As you can see, Blackmon was asked by the officer if he was drinking beer or liquor and responds with, “I’m literally not a drinker.” Blackmon then admits he was drinking that night, so I guess it wasn’t all that literal.

Though the NFL has yet to make a decision on his punishment, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that a fine, and not a suspension, is the likely outcome.

Blackmon was arrested for DUI while at Oklahoma State so there is some history there but this is his first incident as an NFL player. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell does have some leeway on the punishment he hands out but history suggests a suspension won’t be included.

Everyone involved, including Blackmon, expressed regret about the situation.

Blackmon said that he is “done” drinking, at least for the time being. The Jaguars said Blackmon’s situation reminds them of the need for in depth research on players before drafting them. Mularkey said that 89 Jags players did well last weekend and one of them is casting a negative light on everyone.

Jaguars GM Gene Smith and head coach Mike Mularkey will be on hand. Though the Jags haven’t been quoted on the record, an unnamed source told the Sports Xchange that Blackmon needs to “take ownership” of the situation, which could land him a fine and possibly even a suspension from the NFL.

Blackmon has yet to sign his rookie contract, which only complicates matters. The Jaguars reportedly plan to lower or defer some of his guaranteed money. The contract may not be signed in the near future depending on how that negotiation plays out.

It’d be one thing if this was Blackmon’s first offense. He was arrested on DUI charges in 2010 as a sophomore at Oklahoma State. Though the offense was reduced to beer possession, the Jags are still exercising as much caution as they can to protect their investment.

Blackmon is facing a potential suspension from the NFL, and may have cost himself a fair bit of money as he has yet to sign a rookie contract with the Jaguars.

This time around, Blackmon won’t be getting a plea deal with lesser charges, as Vino Stellino of the Florida Times-Union reported on Twitter:

Stellino added in a later tweet that first-time offenders, which Blackmon is under the law, usually do not get jail time. However, the judge in Blackmon’s case does have the option to sentence Blackmon to jail time if he is convicted.

The new rookie wage scale leaves little room for negotiations so this will be an interesting case to see how the Jaguars handle his contract.

If the Jaguars do give him less guaranteed money, it makes sense. Blackmon’s DUI has put him at a higher level of risk to be suspended by the NFL. That means the Jaguars are assuming a higher level of risk by signing him so it’s only fair that Blackmon’s contract reflect that. It’ll be interesting to see how Blackmon’s camp responds if they don’t agree with that (which I’m sure they won’t).

This is the second DUI in the last two years for Blackmon. Because of the prior history this has to concern the Jaguars, who undoubtedly researched Blackmon’s past before trading up for him in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Blackmon pleaded not guilty at a Monday court hearing. His next court date comes in late July, shortly before the Jags training camp starts.

It has been reported that Blackmon is unlikely to face jail time. The wide receiver has yet to sign a rookie contract after being taken with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Jags may leverage the arrest into less guaranteed money than Blackmon would have earned otherwise. Blackmon was arrested for another DUI in 2010 as a sophomore at Oklahoma State.

Keep up with this story as it develops on our Justin Blackmon DUI StoryStream. For more on the Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country. For more on Oklahoma State, head to Cowboys Ride For Free.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told NFL.com on Sunday that Blackmon is eligible to be punished under the league’s drug and personal conduct policies. Those policies, and Goodell’s enforcement of them, has meant that a number of players have missed time on the field for off-the-field and after-hours transgressions. Blackmon being subject to these policies is likely bad news for the receiver, who blew a .24, three times the legal limit, after submitting to a Breathalyzer on Sunday morning.

Also, it was probably not a good idea for Blackmon to have done something that gets this sentence published on NFL.com:

Blackmon was reportedly pulled over for driving 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone, and driving left of the center line.

So, what does a .24 mean? Well, it means that Blackmon was very, very drunk. Just ask Wikipedia:

We are aware of the report and are continuing to gather information. We have no further comment at this time.Keep up with this story as it develops on our Justin Blackmon DUI StoryStream. For more on the Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country. For more on Oklahoma State, head to Cowboys Ride For Free.

Alfie Crow from our Jaguars blog, Big Cat Country looked into the NFL rule book for an answer:

I wouldn’t be opposed [to a suspension] since it’s his second offense and he obviously didn’t learn from the first one, but the problem is under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, I’m not sure the team is allowed to. Section 6 of Article 42 states that teams are not allowed to punish players for violating the league’s substance abuse program.Get the complete explanation at Big Cat Country: Justin Blackmon DUI: New CBA Restricts Team Discipline.