UNCAPPED YEAR WON’T HAVE MUCH OF AN EFFECT ON CASSEL

Several astute readers have raised an excellent question regarding the decision of the Patriots to apply the franchise tag on quarterback Matt Cassel. Cassel falls within a group of players who, under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, are eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2009 but, absent an extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, only restricted free agency in 2010. The glitch comes from the rule that limits eligibility for unrestricted free agency in an uncapped year to players with at least six years of accrued service. Because Cassel as of March 2010 will have only five years of service, he won’t be an unrestricted free agent after his single season under the franchise tag expires. But, in the end, it won’t matter all that much. As we explained in May 2008, any attempt to keep Cassel’s rights via the restricted free agency rules would require the Pats to offer Cassel a one-year salary worth 110 percent of the $14.65 million that he’ll receive in 2009. So even though the maximum RFA tender will be far less than $14.65 million in 2010, the Pats would be required to offer Cassel $16.115 million for 2010 in order to retain his rights (absent, of course, a multi-year deal). There are still a couple of potential glitches. For example, due to a conflict in the CBA as to whether the 110-percent rule applies to the “low” tender, it’s possible that the Pats could offer Cassel a far lower amount in 2010. But this point is likely irrelevant as to Cassel, since the low tender would give the Pats only a seventh-round pick as compensation if they choose not to match an offer sheet that Cassel signs with a new team. More importantly, the $16.115 million salary apparently would not be fully guaranteed, even if Cassel accepts the RFA tender. Thus, the Patriots could cut him before the start of the 2010 regular season, and not owe him a dime. The non-guaranteed nature of the RFA tender would create a dilemma for the Pats. Under the RFA rules, their compensation for Cassel would be only a first-round pick and a third-round pick, but the $16.115 million tender would not be guaranteed. Under the franchise tag (which they can use on Cassel even if he’s a restricted free agent), the compensation would be two first-round picks, but the $17.58 million tender (12o percent of his 2009 pay) would be fully guaranteed if/when he accepts the tender. That said, look for the Pats to sign Cassel to a multi-year deal, or trade him to a new team. But if he spends 2009 with the Pats, and if a new CBA isn’t negotiated, he’ll be a restricted free agent -- and the procedure set forth above will apply. After digesting all of that, our guess is that those who asked the question now regret doing so. UPDATE: As pointed out in this follow-up post, Cassel’s RFA tender apparently would be guaranteed. We apologize for getting in wrong above.