Since the NFL and the NFLPA renegotiated the collective bargaining agreement and changed the contract parameters for incoming rookies, there have been few holdouts and disputes between teams and players. That has all gone out the window with the San Diego Chargers and Joey Bosa. Both sides are sticking to their guns, and recently the Chargers decided to try and get the upper hand by negotiating in public and trying to run down Bosa.
The Chargers drafted the Ohio State defensive end third overall, but they have had trouble coming to an agreement on a contract. Bosa has been holding out, and in response to the impasse, the Chargers released a statement that included details on their offer to Bosa. On top of that, the statement said that the Chargers will be restructuring their offer because Bosa won’t be able to contribute fully this season due to a lack of “adequate time on the practice field, in the classroom, and in preseason games.” Basically, the Chargers are telling Bosa to sign now, or their offer is just going to get worse, and they are making it public.
In response to the Chargers trying to negotiate in public, Bosa’s agent replied:
It is unfortunate the San Diego Chargers have decided to manipulate facts and negotiate in the media. The team surely is not strengthening its relationship with Joey Bosa by taking this stance and making their position public.
We have decided that we will not engage in public negotiations or discuss numbers and/or terms in this negotiation.
We will say, that it is ironic that the team now takes issue with the timing of Joey’s arrival, since the Chargers unilaterally decided to remain silent for the first 14 days of training camp instead of replying in a timely fashion to the proposal we made on the eve of training camp on July 28th.
At this point, all we can do is continue to fight for a fair contract on behalf of our client, as we do for all of our clients. The Chargers can focus on trying to sway public opinion, but our focus will remain on our client and securing a contract for him that is fair and consistent with his draft position.
It doesn’t seem like this situation will be settled anytime soon, and the NFL season is getting close to starting. Bosa and his agent aren’t going to kowtow to the Chargers just because San Diego tried to run Bosa down in a public forum. This is all pretty ugly, negotiation wise. Bosa could sit out all season and re-enter the draft next year, so it is entirely possible Bosa may never suit up for the Chargers.
(Via Deadspin)
