Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

The Saints offered. He signed. A certain amount should be guaranteed. But not all. He never stepped on the field.

Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

The base pay certainly isn't. But, the $8M signing bonus is "if the contract is honored". They likely paid him a portion of the signing bonus with the remainder to be paid during the season. I'll bet that is where the contention lies.

Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

Just my opinion but he should be paid every penny that was guaranteed, hence the word guarantee. But none of it should count against the cap since it wasn't the fault of the team and they got no benefit from it.

Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

We do not have all the facts and the Saints would not be in this fight unless they had some legal ground to stand on. Maybe he withheld info, who knows but if that is the case then he gets jack squat. I personally think he will lose this fight. He was an ok player but for the most part lazy and unproductive until money was on the table.

Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

It doesn't work that way, though. If it is guaranteed it counts against the cap. Cut and dry. You can't have it both ways. That is a certainty. The ONLY way to keep it from counting against the cap is to void it in some manner.

Re: Nick Fairley, Saints await decision on contract grievances
 

Yeah, that's why they're going to arbitration. I just think they should change the rules. There's no reason, from a competitive standpoint, to penalize the team. It just causes hard feelings from both sides.