Here's how Plummer payback could help cap

I figured this might happen.

I had a column in today's newspaper that outlined the grievance that has been filed against Jake Plummer, whose story I am not going to retell in the interest of not boring everyone to death.

Anyway, in that column, I made reference to the fact the Bucs could receive some salary-cap relief if they are successful in recouping money from the player in a hearing to be heard on Wednesday. Some have emailed asking why this is contradictory to much of what has been reported in the past by other outlets.

Let me say this: I got this information from a VERY well-placed NFL source whose identity I am not at liberty to disclose. This individual is in position to know intimate details about this case (I did not state this in the column because it is the policy of the Times to not use anonymous sources).

Furthermore, even without the source, the answer is in the collective bargaining agreement. Buried in Article XXIV of the agreement is the following: "In the event that a team receives a refund from the player of any previously paid portion of a signing bonus . . . such amount as has previously been included in team salary shall be added to the team's salary cap for the next league year."

You could argue that the money was not included on the Bucs' cap but on the Broncos', and that would be absolutely correct. But my understanding is that the Bucs' position is they assumed all of the rights of Plummer's contract when they made the trade with Denver. And there is no language in the CBA that I'm aware of that makes this particular case exempt from the previously noted subsection.

If anyone has questions that are more technical than this, I readily admit that I might not have the answers given the fact I'm not an attorney. But hopefully this clears up most of your questions.

Comments

[Peter]

Is it too far fetched to assume that the Bucs had the posibility of recovering about 7 mill. of capspace in case Plummer was a no show?

I have always wondered why on earth the Bucs traded for a player who obviously didn't want to play for them. Now it kind of makes sense, maybe it turns out that Bruce Allen is just a bit more clever than the rest?

[JR]

looks like ole bruce is clever indeed. this cap space will be allocated for the 2009 season. this will be really handy because we might start giving out extensions to avoid losing players in the uncapped year.

[DR]

Clever? Are you kidding!? These clowns thought they could bully Plummer into playing. They had no plans to get money back for the 2009 season. They needed a QB to save their sorry jobs and once they figured Plummer miay be serious, they signed Garcia. With the way Gruden was begging for Plummer, he didn't think Garcia would get them to the playoffs. Lucky their division didn't pan out.

[ken]

They knew all along they would go this route and settle for whatever they can get ...

[ken]

They knew all along they would go this route and settle for whatever they can get ...

[Anthony Gironda]

Use the money to help Jeff Garcia's contract so he can stop his complaining.

[Quentin]

Interesting. I always figured the money was to be used as tribute to the Glazers to help Gruden and Allen keep their jobs.

[Larry]

I believe they did it because Jake the snake was the best available at the time and they hoped he would not retire if he had a chance to play for the Bucs.
No way the Bucs were thinking they would relieve some salary cap down the road. That's inane to think it. This is a now game and we needed Jake now. (well, then we did)

[Duane]

DR, it's really scary how your mind works and I mean reeeaaaal scary. Doesn't really matter if they get the cap space or not since the team isn't even close to spending enough on players to even get close to breaking it.

[Nate]

Hopefully you're not being serious, DR. Both Garcia and Plummer were signed/traded for on the same day, respectively. Are you insinuating that the Bucs got Plummer and then 2 hours later decided he was serious about retiring? I realize you think the Bucs are run by a bunch of bumbling idiots, but get real.

This aspect of the story was mentioned as a realistic possibility the day they traded for Plummer. A gamble was available that allowed you to get either $7 million or a top-10 QB in exchange for a late second-day draft pick. Rail against Allen all you want, but he has shown a tremendous ability to exact a modicum of shrewdness when it suits his employer.

The article a few weeks back was right: Allen is the power man in Tampa, and from what I've seen in his dealings (Simeon Rice, Jeff Garcia, Earnest Graham, Plummer), the Glazers are getting their money's worth.

[Jason]

Sorry for asking, I'm sure this has been answered before..
How much longer is the players current contract? and will Bruce offer him an extention before it expirers!!?
Got keep this crazy train rollin!!

[Greg]

My question is what is Plumber thinking? Does he really think he can win a dispute for the $7 million? He voluntarily walked away from a contract that he had taken money he had not earned. Plumber was always a mentally inconsistent player and we are seeing the same mental iconsistency in his actions here.

I remember reading a quote from Allen when they signed him and it basically said we have nothing to lose, we wither get a good QB or get $7 million so I think that was there train of thought all along. They probably did not think he was stupid enough to fork back $7 million.

[Ray]

Who cares if Bruce was thinking this or not initially. The fact is you adjust to what the situation maybe and that is what Bruce is doing. I give him a thumbs on this. They have nothing to loose by doing this except to tick off Plummer more which who cares.

[Tommy]

WHY DOES IT MATTER??? The Bucs are $20 million under the salary cap without this "refund". It will have no bearing on the team, just the Glazer's pockets.

[mkurbo]

Don't worry about the "DR.", he just has the Deumig virus... I hear if you stop listening to the "Mad Dog" for about five or six years, you'll recover.

[Stephen]

It was a nice move as either he plays or he gets the money back. It was a no loose situation and since when is it a foul to try and grab a veteran QB? You all think that franchise QB's grow on trees and if that was the case pick a new sport to debate cause alot of teams other than the Bucs needed qb help. Bucs Mngmt and Gruden haters are what most of you have become. We agree to disagree but I would do it all again if I knew it meant a ring.

[nick]

WOW there are A LOT of Haters still out there! How many more division championships do we need to win for people to come around?
Its amazing how many people dont like gruden because our team got old and we were in a bad Salary cap situation.
Face facts people, we are going to win the next to division Championships, at least!

[DR]

It's a sad state of mind for fans to be excited about division championships. It shows how sad the Tampa Bay franchise still is. You think Dallas, New England, or Pittsburgh fans are jumping for joy when they win a division championship? Heck no! People were putting Phillips head on the chopping block last year even though the Cowboys won the toughest division in the entire league. But Tampa wins a pathetic division and everybody loves gruden even though his offense sucked once again. How many more years will Gruden get before he somewhat lives up to his offensive genius reputation? He's one of the worst offensive coaches in the league with his predictable offense.