Justin Blackmon's DUI came at a bad time (as if there's ever a good time for one). He hasn't yet signed his rookie contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars and it's being reported that the Jaguars will now be taking his DUI into account when putting his contract together.
Justin Blackmon’s Contract Negotiations Could Be Affected By DUI
Sounds like the Jaguars can and will give first-round pick Justin Blackmon a smaller and deferred signing bonus, less guaranteed money.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 4, 2012
Last year's No. 5 overall pick, Patrick Peterson, signed a four-year, $18.4 million deal that reportedly included an $11.9 million signing bonus.
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).
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.
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