Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Protection

Patriots have it when it comes to Terry Glenn

By Keith Schleiden, Managing editor

That’s why I find the recent news that the Patriots are holding back some of Terry Glenn’s signing-bonus money so interesting. This team was pretty sly when it worked a few clauses into his contract that stated it could withhold signing-bonus money if he got into trouble with the law. Last year, when Glenn agreed to an extension that would keep him in New England through 2007, he also received an $11.5 million signing bonus — sort of. Glenn only received a small fraction of that amount up front, with the rest to be paid out in 23 deferred installments stretching through 2006.

Last week, Glenn was due to receive another one of those payments — worth $1 million — but the team held it back and said it wanted to see how his latest brush with the law would play out. Glenn was arrested not long ago after a domestic dispute with the mother of his child, and he has since pleaded innocent.

To me, the stipulation in Glenn’s contract was a wise move on the part of the Patriots. Glenn hasn’t always been a model of maturity, so the team was looking for a way to protect itself. This is necessary considering the salary-cap implications that these huge signing bonuses can have on a team.

Teams gamble on players all the time. In essence, they are doing so every time they sign a player to a contract that includes guaranteed money — which is what a signing bonus is. They are betting that the player will live up to expectations on the field and perform at a level that is equal to what he is being compensated. They are betting that the player won’t blow out a knee a month after signing a five-year, $35 million contract. And they are betting that he will represent the team and the league in an honorable fashion, rather than turning into someone who embarrasses the franchise with either unbecoming or illegal behavior.

It is that last gamble that the Patriots were a bit concerned about. Maybe they didn’t like the odds that Glenn could stay out of trouble, or maybe they were just trying to give him added incentive to behave well. In any case, Glenn agreed to the contract, which means he knew he could have to forfeit signing-bonus money if he slipped up and wound up in front of a judge.

Protection. That’s what Patriots vice president Andy Wasynczuk called it. If Glenn has to repay signing-bonus money, the club can get some salary-cap relief. It could even make bolder moves such as cutting ties with the player without being stuck with millions and millions in dead cap space. I’m not saying that is what is going to happen in this case, but it could happen in another, more extreme case.

Don’t be surprised to see more teams insert these "repay bonus" clauses into contracts. If I were running a team and about to hand over a $10 million signing bonus, you can be sure I would negotiate every ounce of protection into the pact as possible.

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