Smith's holdout initially centered on language addressing his pay if he were suspended by the NFLGETTY IMAGES
The Bears and first-round pick LB Roquan Smith agreed to a contract with a "specific formula that gives Smith protection against most of the potential incidents that would arise while he is in uniform and on a football field," according to a source cited by Mike Florio of PRO FOOTBALL TALK. As to anything that "could happen during a play (for example, lowering the helmet, unnecessary roughness, illegal hit on a defenseless receiver, roughing the quarterback), Smith's guarantees void only if the league office imposes a suspension of three games or more." Over the last decade, that has "happened to only one player," Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict. Smith's guarantees will "void only if he's suspended two games for a post-play interaction, or if he's deemed to be the aggressor as to an incident resulting in a one-game suspension." In the end, the Bears "found a way to keep the possibility of voiding the guarantees in play," and Smith "received enough protection to make the possibility of an actual voiding of the guarantees unlikely." The deal is a "win-win," with the only loss that it "took so long to get to this point" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/14).
BEARS BLINKED: SI.com's Kalyn Kahler noted it is "not clear yet whether it was the Bears or Smith's camp who ceded their position." Smith's agents -- Todd France, Ben Renzin and Brian Ayrault of CAA -- "sought to protect him from losing money on a football play that is sometimes unavoidable for a defensive player" (SI.com, 8/13). ESPN's Adam Schefter said, "My sense and guess would be that the Bears acquiesced, but they did not want to set precedent. ... We're talking about a point that's so trivial that it should not hold him out that long anyway. So, the team gets it done, they both get it done, he's in and everybody can go on" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 8/14).
DONE DEAL: In Chicago, Rich Campbell reports Smith is "finalizing a fully guaranteed four-year contract" worth about $18M, with $11M in bonuses. The Bears "did not announce an agreement." But sources said to "expect one very soon." Smith's holdout "initially centered on language addressing whether the Bears could reclaim his guaranteed money if he were suspended by the NFL for an illegal hit with his helmet." That "sticking point resulted partly from widespread uncertainty" about how the NFL would "officiate and enforce the new rule that prohibits a player from using his helmet to initiate contact with an opponent." During training camp, believed to be late July, the Bears "agreed to contract language that would protect Smith's guaranteed money if he were suspended" for violating the new rule. The Bears "hoped that would prompt Smith to sign and report to camp." But a source said that the "impasse then shifted" to language regarding whether Smith's guaranteed money could be "reclaimed for a suspension stemming from an on-field rules violations outside the parameters of a football play, such as fighting" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/14). ESPN's Trey Wingo said he was "surprised" that whatever the hold-up was with the contract's language "took this long" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 8/14).
LINE IN THE SAND: In Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes under the header, "Roquan Smith's Stance Vs. Bears A Good One -- And Thank Goodness That's Over." This was a "stupid fight, and it was stupid when we didn't know such clauses even existed." Both sides "wanted to make Smith a line in the sand." The problem for the Bears is that Smith has been a "model citizen, they really need him on the field" and they had "no right to that money." There is a "reason to be suspicious of NFL teams' motives whenever they're contesting anything involving money" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/14).
