Realistic Options for the San Diego Chargers and Joey Bosa
By Jon Dove
The San Diego Chargers and Joey Bosa are locked in an ugly contract negotiation that is threatening his ability to help the team as a rookie.
This situation is very complicated that simply put has the San Diego Chargers not willing to bend on a specific policy they have and Joey Bosa wanting a fair contract based on his draft position.
At this point, the Chargers are in the better position because they are only losing a player’s services while Bosa is losing money. Bosa’s options are pretty limited which again gives the Chargers a lot of power.
The only way Bosa could force the issue is by stating he’s willing to sit out the entire year. This would allow him to re-enter the draft process and be available for another team during the 2017 NFL Draft.
San Diego would suffer in this situation because they wouldn’t be compensated for not being able to sign Bosa. Basically, the Chargers would get nothing to show for a season which landed them the No. 3 overall pick.
Based on league rules, it’s too late for the Chargers to trade Bosa’s rights which obviously complicates things.
This scenario isn’t great for Bosa either who will be forced to sit out an entire season while not getting paid. It’s tough to even pinpoint where he would land in next year’s draft based on the time missed and what is considered a stronger overall draft class.
There’s also the possibility that the other team’s in the league will “support” the Chargers by passing over Bosa. This is a wild idea, but the NFL owners have done some less than above board things in the past.
The blame for this situation rests with the Chargers who are being unnecessarily stubborn. During the last CBA negotiations the base for rookie contracts were pretty much set. The argument here isn’t about total dollars but about timing and how it will be received.
It’s hard to tell just where this situation will go as both parties appear to be steadfast in their stance. The fact that the battle has leaked into the media and twitter only makes things worse. This is a lose-lose situation and has already created some huge issues between a team and what could be a franchise cornerstone.