SaintsBro

NOTHING is going to happen until after the arbiter rules on whether Brees should be counted as a first-year franchise tag player or a second-year franchise tag player. So relax, go to the beach, have a margarita, chill with your family and pets, take up knitting, or do some "honey do" stuff you've been meaning to get to around the house. Sit back, NOTHING is going to happen until arbitrator Stephen Burbank is scheduled to hear the grievance June 27. It's not a bad sign, it's not a good sign, it just is what it is.

If Brees is ruled to be a first-year franchise player, then the Saints could franchise him again in 2013 with a required raise of 20 percent ($19.6 million) and a third time in 2014 with a raise of 44 percent ($28.3 million). However, if Brees is ruled to be a second-year franchise player, the Saints could only franchise him one more time in 2013 at a raise of 44 percent ($23.6 million).

The decision won't affect Brees' status or salary this year. But it makes a pretty big difference in how he would get paid NEXT year, or how all of the various worst case doomsday scenarios might play out, including Brees getting injured, Mayan calendar apocalypse, etc etc which OF COURSE Drew has to be thinking about before he signs anything. And there isn't a single person on this message board with any sense, who would sign a deal right now with the Saints, without getting this one arbitration point cleared up first, if it were them instead of Drew. It makes a difference to Drew only under a few hypothetical scenarios, that will never happen, but as long as there's a chance in the universe of them happening to him, even if he wanted to sign with the Saints right now today, he has to protect himself first, and see what the arbiter says.

So we wait. Even if you're worried, stressed, angry, ticked off, whatever, it does not really matter right now. Repeat, NOTHING willl happen, until this is decided.