Cliff Avril and the Detroit Lions have broken off negotiations less than two hours until Monday's 4 p.m. ET deadline for franchise tagged players to sign long-term extensions with their respective teams. As a result, the defensive end will likely play the 2012 season for a guaranteed $10.6 million and become an unrestricted free agent once the season ends.
Cliff Avril, Lions Break Off Contract Negotiations
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.
Avril set career-highs with 11 sacks and six forced fumbles last season. He was reportedly seeking a deal somewhere between Robert Mathis' four-year, $36 million deal and Calais Campbell's five-year, $55 million contracts. With a large contingent of players entering free agency after next season, Detroit was wary of committing too much money to Avril, however.
For more on the Lions offseason, head over to the SB Nation blog Pride Of Detroit or visit SB Nation Detroit.
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