[bigboydan]

just when you think the Terrell Owens saga was over. the NFLPA files a grievance on his behalf. why is everyone trying to stick up for this guy. he deserves what he gets.

Union files grievance for Owens

December 6, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The NFL Players Association filed a grievance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday, claiming the team breached Terrell Owens' contract by trying to get back part of the wide receiver's signing bonus and by leaving him inactive for the rest of the season.

The union said the team was breaching the maximum discipline clause in its agreement with the NFL.

Owens was suspended for four games by the team after run-ins with quarterback Donovan McNabb and coach Andy Reid. The suspension was upheld in arbitration and the team has said it will make him inactive for the rest of the season.



But the union alleged that the Eagles' request to return a portion of signing bonus money constitutes "double discipline."

"The Eagles told Terrell, the arbitrator, and the media that Terrell would be paid for the balance of this year when he returned from his suspension, and now they are instead withholding his pay," Richard Berthelsen, the union's general counsel, said in a statement. "We therefore filed this grievance both for his protection and that of players generally, who deserve to have their CBA and their contracts enforced as written."

The Eagles wouldn't comment on the matter.

Owens' suspension without pay cost him $764,706 of his $3.25 million base salary for this season. He is owed $955,882 over the final five games.

The Eagles reportedly informed Owens he must repay $1.725 million of the $2.3 million signing bonus he received in March 2004. The team could withhold his pay the rest of the season because he never returned the signing bonus.

[slacker00]

This particular grievance has more to do with legal and political manuevering by the NFLPA. Owens may be a complete jerkoff, but he's still a card carrying member of the NFLPA. The NFLPA mainly needs to set a prececent to help protect future players. This particular move really has nothing to do with Owens, per se. This situation is a skirmish battle in the constant war between owners and players.

[bigboydan]

i'm curious to see what comes out of this grievance. personaly, i doubt it's gonna do him any good at all.

[slacker00]

At this point, it's a legal matter more than anything. It really comes down to the "fine print" in the actual contract. I read somewhere that if Owens is suspended for more than one game that the Eagles can claim back part of the original signing bonus. But, the NFLPA is claiming that the Eagles are putting Owens in "double jeopardy", so to speak, by suspending him without pay, then using that suspension to take more money from him. It's absolutely amazing that this didn't come up in the arbitration hearing a couple weeks back.

It's kinda petty for Eagles management to pull this kind of crap, finding/using a backdoor loophole in the contract, purely to screw a player over. IMO, this looks terrible for the Eagles management. Look how the Bucs handled basically the same situation with Keyshawn. I wonder if the Eagles will have trouble getting top quality talent in the years to come. It might be a decade of decline for this franchise.