Marcus Mariota is the only remaining player unsigned that was selected in this years draft. Prior to 2011 rookie holdouts were the norm as Sam Bradford was able to secure a 6 year deal worth $78 million before ever taking an snap in the league. After a collective bargaining agreement in 2011 agreed to set a rookie wage scale, it appears the rookie holdout drama isn’t over in the case of Marcus Mariota.
The money is apparently not the problem in this instance. A 4 year deal worth $24 million and a $16 million signing bonus has essentially been agreed upon as it will fall into place under the current rookie wage scale. The problem facing the two resides in offset language.
Offset Language:
- A team wants it. If the player is cut during the contract and signs elsewhere, a new deal with a new team offsets part of the money the original team owes.
- A player does not want it. If a player is cut during the contract and signs elsewhere, the player gets the money from his original team and from his new team. (Also known as double-dipping.)
All Four Titans first round picks since 2011 have had offset language in their contracts: Quarterback Jake Locker in 2011, wide receiver Kendall Wright in 2012, guard Chance Warmack in 2013 and left tackle Taylor Lewan in 2014.
A ridiculous report first came to fruition suggesting the original hold up was due to a surfing issue. ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky of course shot down those ridiculous rumors by saying “no truth at all“. The problem actually lies within the contracts of Jameis Winston and Dante Fowler. Winston has offset language in his deal while Fowler does not. The only difference is Winston accepted the minor detail in his deal striking a deal just one day after being selected number one overall in this past draft.
Titans fans may be a bit skeptical at this point as Mariota is obviously concerned about what may happen if he does wind up being released before the end of his rookie deal. The minor detail is a small price to pay for getting the additional time in with his new teammates as he is obviously not allowed to partake in team activities until a deal is reached. The Titans open up training camp on July 29th. If a deal is not struck by then it may be prove disastrous as Mariota needs tons of developing as he is one of the rawest quarterbacks I have seen ever drafted in the first round. Although I am a large detractor for Mariota’s skill set I do believe he will sign a deal before missing any time in training camp.
