The NFLPA has filed a grievance against the New England Patriots to recover $82,000 in workout bonuses owed to former tight end Aaron Hernandez, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
NFLPA file grievance to collect Aaron Hernandez bonus money from Patriots
Representatives from the player’s union have filed a grievance against the New England Patriots to collect bonus money they say is owed to the imprisoned tight end.
Jared Wickerham
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
This is an established function of the player’s union that goes into effect when a team is denying bonus payment and is not affected by Hernandez’s current legal position. The contention of the union is that the workout bonuses were scheduled to be paid before Hernandez’s release from the organization, so the bonus should not be impacted by the player’s arrest.
Hernandez was arrested in June for the murder of Odin Lloyd and is currently awaiting trial. The New England Patriots cut the tight end shortly after he was arrested, releasing a public statement voicing the team’s “disappointment” that one of its players was arrested.
The $82,000 workout bonus sets the table for a potentially larger fight between the Patriots and the NFLPA. Hernandez was due a $3.25 million roster bonus in 2014, and it remains to be seen whether the union will file a separate grievance in an attempt to recover some of that money.
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