Notes
Clifton plot thickens
Re-signing tackle could cost a bundle
By BOB MCGINN bmcginn@journalsentinel.com, Journal Sentinel
Friday, January 30, 2004
Houston — One of the Green Bay Packers’ methods for re-signing tackle Chad Clifton got a whole lot more expensive Thursday with the release of tender-offer numbers for franchise and transition-player designations in 2004.
If the Packers were to designate Clifton their franchise player by the late February deadline, they immediately would have to count $7.021 million against their salary cap. The transition tag for Clifton would count $6.012 million.
The franchise tag would all but remove Clifton from the unrestricted free-agent market because another team would have to send two first-round draft choices to the Packers. If the Packers used the transition tag, it would give them the right to match any offer.
The franchise tag figure represents the average of the five highest-paid offensive linemen in 2003 based on base salary and prorated signing bonus. The transition tag represents the average of the 10 highest-paid.
Last season, Baltimore tackle Jon Ogden led NFL offensive linemen in compensation at $8.36 million, followed by Dallas guard Larry Allen ($8.06 million), Tennessee tackle Brad Hopkins ($6.62 million), Arizona guard Leonard Davis ($6.23 million) and Buffalo guard Ruben Brown ($5.84 million).
Clifton’s cap salary last year was $805,200.
If the Packers elected to place either tag on Clifton, they then would strive to sign him to a much more cap-friendly and long-term contract.
On the count: Richard Berthelsen, general counsel for the NFL Players Association, forecast that linebacker Nate Wayne would win his $750,000 grievance against the Packers. An independent arbitrator is expected to make a ruling soon.
“They are going to lose that,” Berthelsen said Thursday, referring to the Packers.
Wayne filed his grievance in March, maintaining that the Packers released him after the deadline for payment of a $750,000 roster bonus. The club maintained that it released him before the deadline.
The Packers had to count 50% of the grievance amount, or $375,000, against their salary cap in 2003. If the judgment goes against them, they’d have to pay Wayne the full $750,000 plus count the additional $375,000 against their cap in ’04.
Disgraced agents: Sean Jones, a starting defensive end for the Packers from 1994-’96, was one of two agents suspended by the NFLPA last year. The other was Dallas-based Steve Weinberg, whose personality conflict with Packers’ officials contributed to the free- agent departure of punter Craig Hentrich to Tennessee in 1998.
Although Jones’ two-year suspension is to end in early 2005, Berthelsen said it was possible other actions by Jones might result in an even longer suspension. Weinberg’s 18-month suspension expires in late ’04.
Jones, according to Berthelsen, was suspended for “financial misdealings” involving retired cornerback Cris Dishman and Cowboys defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban. Jones was the guest of the Packers and appeared in their locker room after at least two games this season.
“Cris Dishman sued him and won,” Berthelsen said, referring to Jones. “He owed him close to $600,000 and he hadn’t paid it. That was for getting him in a ‘hedge’ fund that was highly risky and without Cris’ permission.
“With Ekuban, he represented him on his contract but also got him in some real-estate deals in Houston. Couple years later, Ebenezer finds out there’s a $1 million confessed judgment against him, which means the lawyer that Sean got to represent him agreed with the other side that he was liable.
“There were also some loans that Ebenezer made to Sean that Sean didn’t pay back.”
