Im curious how much his salary can be recouped through fines? I know that doesn't go back to the cap but it's something.
I also wonder if dw understands the longer this drags out the more it effects him in advertising. No HEB jalapeño poppin for him if half of Houston hates him.
I believe its $40,000 per day for training camp $ game checks are something like $960k for preseason games.
Then there's the $27m in bonus money that they could go after him for.
My early bet was that the fences would be mended and Watson would be starting QB on the Texans the Sunday after Labor Day.
I now think that both sides are going to dig in and place each other in the worst position possible.
You are probably right , this one's likely to get ugly.
Problem for Watson is he has no
legal leg to stand on. He hasn't even begun to fulfill his new contract as technically next season is the 5th year option , the final year of his rookie contract.
As for the ownership / management , you have to hope that they don't blink in this staring contest as this would be completely and totally terrible for the league , particularly smaller market teams. The 31 other owners are probably telling McNair he has to draw a line in the sand on this. (well 30 of the 31 other owners).
If Watson shows up and refuses to play or half asses it , he's hurting himself too .... marketability drops and what about your legacy ?
The team can suspend him for up to 4 weeks without pay but they can also deactivate the player for "non performance related issues" and withhold game checks.
The team also gets salary cap credit in the current season for the amount of the suspensions
Teams can recoup the same proportion of the prorated amount of a player's signing bonus for the suspension - prorated amount of a player's signing bonus as he's losing in base salary but signing bonus recovered doesn't affect the immediate cap - it goes to the following seasons cap.
Roster, reporting and option bonuses can also be recouped.
Something interesting is that almost every contract under the new CBA has
language that allows the team to void the contract guarantees for various things - PED usage, substance abuse,
conduct detrimental and personal conduct suspensions -
yet he'd still be under contract to the team.
The more I think about it , if the team wants to play hardball .... Watson is the one who has the most to lose.