The Steroid Punter outsmarts the Pats
by Geep on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 06:30pm
The Patriots front office has been light years ahead of their competition in managing the cap and contracts in recent years. That is why this bit of news is so surprising.
A Special Master ruled Wednesday punter Todd Sauerbrun is now a free agent — available to sign with any team — after winning a grievance that voided the New England Patriots right to match a one-year contract he recently signed with the Denver Broncos.
The failure to put the first-right-of-refusal provision in a separate attachment to the contract was the reason the Special Master ruled in favor of Sauerbrun. The case was argued in his behalf by Jeff Kessler, one of the labor lawyers who helped to write the collective bargaining agreement.
Sauerbrun signed a contract with the Patriots last fall that had a first right of refusal provision, giving the team seven days to match any offer Sauerbrun might receive in free agency in 2007. The CBA states such clauses must be put on a separate page and not on a page that explains the main terms of the contract.
A separate page. WTF? Yes Master. Seems odd to me. But rules are rules and lawyers have to eat.