This won't be brought up much, but it's actually a pretty big deal...
Arbitrator Stephen Burbank has ruled that Jimmy Graham is a tight end for franchise designation purposes.
Graham split off the line of scrimmage on 67 percent of his snaps last year, but he was drafted as a tight end, goes to tight end meetings and called himself a tight end in his Twitter bio. It led to the Saints winning the case, meaning they're scheduled to pay Graham $7.035 million on his one-year tender instead of the $12.312 million he would have gotten as a wide receiver. The two sides will continue to work on a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, and now the Saints have a little extra leverage in negotiations. For fantasy purposes, Graham will retain his tight end eligibility and will not be adding wide receiver status. He's the biggest difference-maker at the fantasy football's thinnest position.
Arbitrator Stephen Burbank has ruled that Jimmy Graham is a tight end for franchise designation purposes.
Graham split off the line of scrimmage on 67 percent of his snaps last year, but he was drafted as a tight end, goes to tight end meetings and called himself a tight end in his Twitter bio. It led to the Saints winning the case, meaning they're scheduled to pay Graham $7.035 million on his one-year tender instead of the $12.312 million he would have gotten as a wide receiver. The two sides will continue to work on a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, and now the Saints have a little extra leverage in negotiations. For fantasy purposes, Graham will retain his tight end eligibility and will not be adding wide receiver status. He's the biggest difference-maker at the fantasy football's thinnest position.