One of the questions we asked after word broke that the impasse had been broken between the Jets and cornerback Darrelle Revis was this: What have the Jets done to guard against Revis deciding at some point during the next four years that he wants more money than he’s due to receive, and that he’ll holdout for a third time in his NFL career?
Per a league source, the widely-reported trio of voidable years, covering 2014, 2015, and 2016, hinges on one thing. A holdout.
If Revis doesn’t hold out, the three extra years (with total compensation, we’re told, in the neighborhood of $9 million) go away. If he holds out, the three years remain.
As a practical matter, we’re not sure it will matter. After Revis pockets $32.5 million for the first two years and when he’s staring at $13.5 million in total pay for two years, we think he won’t be deterred by the voidable years or anything else if the Jets haven’t given him a retirement contract.
But if he does finish out the four years at $46 million, he’ll be a truly unrestricted free agent. The source says that the deal prevents the use of the franchise tag or the transition tag upon completion of the deal.