Minnesota: The Vikings signed All-Pro Steve Hutchinson (Michigan) to the richest offer sheet for a guard in NFL history. The Vikings offered Hutchinson a seven-year deal worth $49 million, with $16 million in guaranteed money, a person close to the negotiations told the Associated Press. Seattle has a week to match the deal or lose him to the Vikings without compensation.

WTF?!?!?!?!

No team, and I mean no team needed Hutchinson more than the Lions.

So why do they allow their division rival to ink him? (I know, Seattle can match)

that's a lot of money. Why not just draft Giles in the late first (trade up) or early second?

cuz Giles ain't Hutchinson. That said, I'd still rather have Giles than pay a guard 7 mil a yr. That's Michael Redd/Damien Woody-like overpaying.

The contract is very heavily front-loaded to make it next-to impossible for the Seahawks to match. If they do match, that will be their last move in FA which will leave them with a number of holes.

Don't the Vikings owe the Hawks some draft picks too if they don't match?

The contract is very heavily front-loaded to make it next-to impossible for the Seahawks to match. If they do match, that will be their last move in FA which will leave them with a number of holes.

The Hawks have 20+mil without any cuts, they are good, and will match.

Don't the Vikings owe the Hawks some draft picks too if they don't match?

Nope, the idiots put the transitional tag on him instead of the franchise tag. The difference is only about 500k, but had they done that, the Vikings would have had to give them two first rders.

The contract is very heavily front-loaded to make it next-to impossible for the Seahawks to match. If they do match, that will be their last move in FA which will leave them with a number of holes.

The Hawks have 20+mil without any cuts, they are good, and will match.

The Seahawks went into free agency with less space than Detroit. They had roughly $17.3 million in space. I'm not sure if that included Alexander's contract or not, which counts for $6.5 million this season.

They may not have had to cut people, but if they can't afford to bring back guys like Rocky Bernard and Marquand Manuel (in addition to already losing Jurevicious), they'll be without some key performers who helped get them to the Super Bowl.

Don't the Vikings owe the Hawks some draft picks too if they don't match?

Nope, the idiots put the transitional tag on him instead of the franchise tag. The difference is only about 500k, but had they done that, the Vikings would have had to give them two first rders.

Thanks, I thought they franchised him.

Because that is a disgusting amount of money and already gave a similiar amount to Damien freaking Woody?

Because not every player is interested in signing with the Houston Texans of the NFC?

Because there are other ways to get good offensive linemen?

Seattle actually has a good chance to match this...and will continue to have a ghetto receiving corps for another few years.

cuz Giles ain't Hutchinson. That said, I'd still rather have Giles than pay a guard 7 mil a yr. That's Michael Redd/Damien Woody-like overpaying.
Whoever threw that much money at him can have him. But i aint a lions fan. Hmmm aleast my team grabbed finoti for some extra help.

So why do they allow their division rival to ink him?

The Lions don't have enough cap space to sign him. Even if you include Alexander's contract they would've had the same amount of money we did due to the fact that Backus' frachise tag ($7 Million) counts against our salary cap.

So any offer that the Lions made could've been EASILY matched by Seattle.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have about $31 Million in cap space. So they can fconstruct the contract in a way that makes it difficult for Seattle to match.

Arbiter to decide Hutchinson's fate

The Seahawks' hopes of keeping All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson will be decided by an arbitration process.

That will delay the Sunday deadline for the team to match an offer to Hutchinson by the Minnesota Vikings.

The NFL Players Association said on Friday that the league has filed a claim on behalf of the Seahawks contending a clause in the offer sheet Hutchinson signed with the Vikings last weekend circumvents the league's labor contract. That would mean that Seattle does not have to match that clause to keep Hutchinson, who is designated as their transition player.

The clause in question would guarantee Hutchinson the entire contract sum if Hutchinson is not the team's highest-paid offensive lineman.

Richard Berthelsen, general counsel for the NFLPA, said the union will argue against the Seahawks' and league's claims.

"They say the clause circumvents our collective bargaining agreement. It is our belief that it does not," Berthelsen said Friday.

The special master will determine during a Saturday telephone conference call if the labor agreement gives him jurisdiction in the case. The league claims it does, Berthelsen said.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed that the NFL had filed the case.

Berthelsen said if the special master determines he has jurisdiction, he will hold a hearing on Monday in Philadelphia. If not, the case will fall to a non-injury grievance arbiter, who will convene a hearing.

Either way, a decision would come after the Sunday deadline by which the Seahawks have to match Minnesota's offer.

Hutchinson signed a $49 million, seven-year offer sheet with Minnesota last Sunday. It included $16 million guaranteed. The Seahawks believe that is all they have to match.

But a ruling against the NFC champions would require them to also match a provision in the offer that states if Hutchinson is not the team's highest-paid offensive lineman at any time after the first year of the contract, the final six years of the deal becomes guaranteed.

Such a provision is likely a deal breaker. All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones is Seattle's highest-paid offensive linemen, and would remain so even if the Seahawks matched the Hutchinson offer.

Jones, a six-time Pro Bowler, received $54.5 million - with up to $20 million in a signing bonus and incentives - over seven years to remain a Seahawk last April.

Berthelsen said the union's interpretation of the issue is that the clause is permitted by the CBA because it is a "principal term" of the agreement.

That is defined in the contract as salary, incentives and individual league honors - plus "any modifications of and additions to the terms ... requested by the free agent and acceptable to the New Club, that relate to non-compensation terms (including guarantees, no-cut, and no-trade provisions) ..."

The league and the Seahawks are contending that last point.

In 1993, the first year of unrestricted free agency in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts signed Will Wolford, Buffalo's transition player, to an offer sheet that included a clause that guaranteed he be the team's highest-paid offensive player.

The Bills, who already had quarterback Jim Kelly as their highest-paid offensive player, argued the clause violated the CBA. An arbiter said it did not. The Bills declined to match the offer sheet, and Wolford signed with the Colts to become their highest-paid offensive player.

After that decision, the league and the union amended the CBA. It now states that no team attempting to match an offer sheet for one of its transition players can be required by an escalator clause similar to Wolford's to pay that player more than what the offering team would pay him.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5422256

So why do they allow their division rival to ink him?

The Lions don't have enough cap space to sign him. Even if you include Alexander's contract they would've had the same amount of money we did due to the fact that Backus' frachise tag ($7 Million) counts against our salary cap.

So any offer that the Lions made could've been EASILY matched by Seattle.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have about $31 Million in cap space. So they can fconstruct the contract in a way that makes it difficult for Seattle to match.

Exactly...

But here's the part where we hear how cheap the Ford's are

Seahawks likely to lose Hutchinson

The Seattle Seahawks said no thanks to Steve Hutchinson.

The Seahawks were told Monday they needed to match the guarantee provision in the $49 million, seven-year Minnesota offer to their All-Pro guard if they wanted to keep him.

A team official for the NFC champions confirmed they let the league's midnight Monday (EST) deadline pass without doing anything, making one of the keys to their Super Bowl season now the highest-paid Vikings lineman.

In fact, Hutchinson's agent, Tom Condon, said the Seahawks never contacted him about possibly matching the offer after Hutchinson signed the unprecedented offer sheet on March 12.

When asked if Hutchinson wanted to leave the team that drafted him 17th overall out of Michigan in 2001, Condon said: "Not at all. I think that there wasn't any reason for him to leave Seattle.

"Nevertheless, Minnesota really stepped out for him."

The Vikings' seven-year contract became binding at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Tuesday. It includes $16 million guaranteed and is the richest deal ever given to a guard.

And Monday's ruling means it just got richer.

The most guaranteed money in NFL history is the $34.5 million signing bonus Peyton Manning received in March of 2004 from Indianapolis, part of a record $98 million Colts contract.

A league spokesman and an attorney for the NFL players' union confirmed that a special master ruled against Seattle earlier Monday, saying a provision guaranteeing all of the $49 million in the offer sheet Hutchinson signed with Minnesota should he not be the team's highest-paid offensive lineman is valid.

"The Seahawks lost," NFL Players Association general counsel Richard Berthelsen said.

The two teams had declined comment on the ruling.

Berthelsen attended the two-hour hearing Monday in Philadelphia before special master Stephen Burbank, who ruled on the matter.

The Seahawks had argued that because they recently re-negotiated Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones' $54.5 million, seven-year contract by adding an eighth, voidable year, Jones' team-best lineman deal now has an annual value below that of Hutchinson's offer.

After the re-negotiation, Jones' annual base salary would dip to $6.81 million - just below Hutchinson's $7 million annual average had Seattle matched Minnesota's offer. Thus, the Seahawks argued Monday they should not have to guarantee the rest of Hutchinson's new deal.

Berthelsen said Burbank did not elaborate in his ruling.

But Berthelsen said the decision validated the NFLPA's stance that the conditions at the time Hutchinson signed the offer sheet with the Vikings are the conditions Seattle must match - meaning Hutchinson wasn't the highest-paid Seahawks lineman then, so Seattle must guarantee all $49 million of the Vikings' deal to match it.

"They wanted to put in additional language to make it from any point from now until the end of the 2006 league year," Berthelsen said. "That is contrary to the intent of the wording that was in the contract.

"And the special master agreed."

The Seahawks now have $6.39 million more to spend on potential free agents - money they had been obligated to tender to Hutchinson once they made him their transition player last month.

Seattle has offered a first-round draft pick for Jets defensive end John Abraham, who wants a long-term deal. The Jets are still mulling that offer for their franchise player. The team is also courting San Francisco free-agent linebacker Julian Peterson, a two-time Pro Bowler.

Some of the money freed by Hutchinson leaving could be used to sign his replacement. Versatile veteran Floyd Womack, who started 22 games at tackle and guard in his first four Seattle seasons before he lost his right-tackle job, is currently in line to replace Hutchinson.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5422280

seattle is so moronic, all they had to do was franchise him, hell the Lions franchsied Backus and he's average at best.

seattle is so moronic, all they had to do was franchise him, hell the Lions franchsied Backus and he's average at best.

Yep. And I think they only saved something like $500,00.

The fact that we're gonna pay HUGE money to keep Backus, but didn't even ATTEMPT to sign Hutchinson, is yet more proof of how bad this organization is.

We could have let Backus walk, and spent that money on Hutchinson.

We had our choice of the two, and will end up paying Backus just a few pennies less than we could have paid Hutch (relatively speaking).

They will basically be the top two paid players in their positions.

And we get the guy who sucks.

And we did it that way on purpose.

And we let the good player sign with a division rival.

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?

The fact that we're gonna pay HUGE money to keep Backus, but didn't even ATTEMPT to sign Hutchinson, is yet more proof of how bad this organization is.

We could have let Backus walk, and spent that money on Hutchinson.

We had our choice of the two, and will end up paying Backus just a few pennies less than we could have paid Hutch (relatively speaking).

They will basically be the top two paid players in their positions.

And we get the guy who sucks.

And we did it that way on purpose.

And we let the good player sign with a division rival.

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?

There is no way, in freaking hell, we could've signed Hutchinson. And here is why:

- The Lions had $17.7 Million in capspace at the beginning of Free Agency while the Seahawks had $17.3 Million. Even if we assume that Backus is not tagged and Seattle re-signs all their FAs, there is just not enough capspace for us to significantly outbid Seattle.

- And Seattle could've EASILY match any offer for Hutchinson. They were in a position to match the Viking's offer and were going to that. But the Viking's had a clause in Hutchinson's contract that said if he wasn't the highest paid OLineman on the team, his entire contract would become guaranteed. And given the fact that Seattle already had someone (Walter Jones) who was going to make more than Hutchinson would've, they didn't want to match the offer sheet and have his contract guaranteed for the next six years.

On Wednesday, I had a very long talk with Minnesota's new offensive guard Steve Hutchinson. The Pro Bowler was genuinely surprised when Seattle general manager Tim Ruskell opted not to use the franchise tag on him, which was a major blunder by the usually savvy Ruskell.

Until that point, Hutchinson always felt he would be back in Seattle. Hutchinson also revealed that the Vikings called him the second the team was allowed to make contact when free agency started. And the Vikes showed him the money with a 7-year, $49 million deal that would've been 100 percent guaranteed if Seattle matched the offer sheet. While talking about how he will really miss Seattle, his teammates (especially his fellow linemen) and friends, he is genuinely excited to play next to Bryant McKinnie and Matt Birk and can't wait to play for Brad Childress.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5438096

H1: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Lions had a lot of money tied up in Backus on the books, by franchising him.

If they would not have done so, they would have had MORE THAN $17 mil to sign Hutch.

Am I right?

H1: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Lions had a lot of money tied up in Backus on the books, by franchising him.

If they would not have done so, they would have had MORE THAN $17 mil to sign Hutch.

Am I right?

Unfortunately, yes. [smilie=banghead.gi:

The qualifying offer for Backus' Franchise Tag is $6.9 Million. So in essence we only have $10 Million to spend of FA's.

VIKES CATCH LEAGUE'S IRE

A league source tells us that the recent ownership meetings in Florida featured a storm of resentment directed at the delegation representing the Minnesota Vikings.

The reason for the discontent was the poison pilled offer sheet that the Vikings presented to former Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson three weeks ago. The NFL ultimately attempted to challenge the offer on behalf of the Seahawks.

"Everyone was talking about the group of people with more balls and ego than brains," said one source, in reference to the four men who run the organization: owner Zygi Wilf, V.P. of player personnel Fran Foley, V.P. of football operations Rob Brzezinski, and head coach Brad Childress.

"This group is on everyone's sh-t list," added the source. "League office, other teams, owners, personnel people."

The league office also isn't pleased, we're told, with the involvement of former management council employee Dave Blando in the crafting of the offer sheet that prevented the Seahawks from matching. Blando now works as a cap guy for the Vikings, and the thinking is that Blando had a key role in coming up with the term that would have made all of Hutchinson's seven-year, $49 million contract fully guaranteed if the Seahawks had matched.

Wilf bought the Vikings less than a year ago. Childress was hired days after the conclusion of the 2005 season to replace Mike Tice, who was fired minutes after a season-ending win over the Bears. Foley joined the organization not long thereafter from San Diego, where he had served as the director of pro personnel. Brzezinski has been with the team for seven years.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm