The San Diego Chargers vs. Joey Bosa: A Contest of Ugly

Looking at the situation between the Chargers and Joey Bosa, it reminds me of a question that a very wise man asked me recently in regards to the upcoming presidential election; “If you lose an ‘Ugly Contest’, did you really lose?” Having covered the Chargers for a long time, and having witnessed some of their picks, that’s precisely what we have here.

Joey Bosa, my sources revealed prior to the draft, was known as a bit of a punk, who was known to ‘disappear’ at times on the college playing field. But natural talent (and a bucketful of Ohio State talent around him), covered that up.

When he was chosen, I commented to colleagues that it was probably not a prudent pick, at which many of them chuckled (which happens a lot).  Bosa’s mom made a comment to the press that they should have pulled a “Manning’ and publicly announced a refusal to sign with the Chargers, which is yet another testament to today’s generation of coddled players who feel they are entitled.

As a third round pick, Bosa is entitled to a 25 million dollar deal. That is a sh– pot full of money. He can’t negotiate for any more, and the Chargers can’t pay him any less. His primary issue is that he wants his 17 million signing bonus all paid in year-one instead of being spread out over two years.

Bosa’s holdout, which is now at 24 days, is the longest for a rookie since the NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement was ratified in 2011. It is important to note that the NFL and the NFL Players association fought hard to address this issue in that negotiation, as rookie pay was causing serious problems and an overall breakdown in the rookie signing process. The deal was to have problems like this fixed, but in this case, not so much…

Now let us come to the Chargers. Although they have the wherewithal, the team, starting with ownership and continuing on down, is known for their stubborn, arrogant (and cheap) ways, not wanting to pay players, particularly rookies, a fair rate (remember Phillip Rivers, Quentin Jammer, Shawne Merriman and even favorite son, L.T.) The Chargers also want to include ‘offset language’ in the contract, which would allow the team to not pay Bosa in the fifth year of his contract, should he be cut before then.

Without the offset language, the Chargers could be on the hook for paying Bosa while another team signs him. As stated earlier, the team wants to break up Bosa’s signing bonus, which is worth roughly $17 million of the $25 million Bosa is slated to be paid by San Diego.

It should be noted here that, since the new CBA was ratified in 2011, there has not been a No. 3 overall pick whose contract included both offset language and a split signing bonus, yet the Chargers maintain this in their policy and refuse to budge.

So that brings us to where we are today; two entitled and entrenched parties who refuse to budge. A rookie who has yet to prove himself in the NFL, not to mention learning a whole new defensive scheme, and an NFL franchise who really, really needs help on the defensive line. Yep, it’s ugly…