McCardell's holdout may prove pricey

By ROGER MILLS
Published July 28, 2004

TAMPA - The Bucs put receiver Keenan McCardell on notice that his bid for a bigger contract might cost him $1-million.

The Bucs have sent a letter to McCardell's representatives warning that if he fails to report to training camp on Friday, they will attempt to recoup half of his signing bonus.

In June 2002, McCardell signed a four-year, $10-million contract with a $2-million signing bonus.

The Bucs request is independent of the $5,000 per-day fine the team can levy on McCardell for every day missed in training camp. The team also can deduct a game check for every preseason game missed, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

McCardell's Las Vegas-based agent Gary Uberstine received a copy of the letter on June 24, the last day of the Bucs' minicamp. Uberstine forwarded the letter to the NFLPA shortly after.

Neither Uberstine nor Bucs general manager Bruce Allen would comment.

Citing language in the contract that deals with a player's "failure or refusal to play," the Bucs claimed in the letter that McCardell's absence from the mandatory minicamp in June was a violation of his contract and warranted such a reaction.

Traditionally, the threat of such a letter is real but teams seldom invoke it before the player fails to report. McCardell, however, has missed the team's offseason program, all 14 voluntary team workouts and the June minicamp. He has made it clear he will not be there on Friday.

Commonly, such letters are forwarded to the NFLPA when the player/agent plans to contest its claims. McCardell's representatives have 45 days to file a grievance, but that has not been done yet.

Due to make $2.5-million this season and $2.75-million next year, McCardell wants a new contract that is close to the average salary of the top receivers in the league. McCardell's representatives calculated the average salary of each team's top receiver, not including those in their rookie contracts, at about $4.4-million.

The Bucs have maintained that McCardell, 34, is under contract and is expected to honor it.

In 2003, McCardell was arguably the Bucs best player. He led the team with 84 receptions for 1,174 yards and added a career high eight touchdowns. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown.

McCardell's agents point out that in the past five seasons, the 12-year veteran has 410 catches for 5,052 yards, putting him in some special company.

Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Torry Holt, Rod Smith, Jimmy Smith and Marvin Harrison are the only other receivers to post those numbers. They are all No. 1 receivers on their teams.

Should McCardell not report to camp as expected, he will be the first Bucs player to hold out since linebacker Derrick Brooks missed the first 10 days of training camp at the start of the 2002 season. Brooks eventually signed a six-year, $30-million contract with $15-million in guaranteed money.

A team's decision to ask for some, if not all of a signing bonus, to be returned is not unprecedented. Lions running back Barry Sanders received an $11-million bonus as part of a six-year, $33.6-million contract in 1997.

Sanders retired before the start of the 1999 season and was forced to repay or forego $7.3-million, the unearned portion of that signing bonus.

[Last modified July 28, 2004, 01:00:38]