Babin can leave Jaguars after 2013, if he wants

Posted by Mike Florio on November 28, 2012, 6:46 PM EST
AP

The Jaguars claimed via waiver on Wednesday the contract of former Eagles defensive end Jason Babin.  The contract covers three more seasons.

Under a little-known quirk in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Babin can become a free agent after the 2013 season — if he wants.

Article 29, Section 1(a) of the CBA explains that vested veterans (i.e., players with four or more years of service) who are claimed on waivers after the trading deadline “shall have the right to declare himself an Unrestricted Free Agent . . . at the end of the League Year following the League Year in which he is waived and awarded.”

For vested veterans who have no-trade clauses in their contracts, the ability to become a free agent applies at the end of the year in which he was claimed.  Per a league source, Babin doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.  Which means that Babin will be able to become a free agent, if he chooses, in March 2014.

Until then, it’s safe to say (at least for now) that Babin has no qualms about playing for the Jaguars.  His Twitter page already has been updated to reflect that he’s a Jaguar, and he seems like a guy who would have no qualms about speaking his mind if he were not interested in playing in Jacksonville.

Of course, the Jaguars have the ability at any time to make Babin a free agent.  Since he already has received (after his 2008 release by the Seahawks) termination pay in the form of the balance of his base salary, the Jags can cut him at any time, without owing him any more money or taking a cap hit.

Babin is due to receive a base salary of $4.225 million in 2013, along with a $100,000 workout bonus.  His base salary increases to $6 million in 2014.

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23 responses to “Babin can leave Jaguars after 2013, if he wants”

  3. After watching the entire PATHETIC GENE SMITH SHOW for the last few years – I see this playing out 1 of 2 ways :

    1) Babin farts out 5 games with the Jags…does little or nothing…gets cut/signs with someone else next year – and we say “What the hell was that all about?”

    2) Babin farts out 5 games with the Jags…does little or nothing…Smith signs him to big $$ extension…he continues to do little to nothing…everyone gets fired…he signs with some other dumb team for league vet minimum – we are still saying “what the hell was that all about?”

  4. Big mistake on the part of the Jags. They don’t run a Wide 9, which happens to be the only scheme he was effective in during his long career of jumping from team to team. Gene Smith has been with the Jags since ’94… Does he even remember that bust their division rival Texans drafted in the first round back in ’04? What was that guy’s name again? Oh yeah, Jason Babin. How about try drafting quality players instead of making desperation moves for gimmick journeymen? That might actually work out better for ya. The guy you just picked up, Gene, has played in a standard 4-3 before… and he sucked. Awesome move.

  7. Of course, he’s going to play hard and be a good teammate on the Jaguars.

    Here are the 2 main reasons:
    1. Professional pride.
    2. Rational self-interest.

    The first 1 is self-explanatory.
    The second is also pretty clear – whether he decides he wants to stay or leave, he needs to play well. If he plays poorly but wants to stay, Jacksonville will cut him. If he plays poorly but wants to leave, nobody will give him a good deal as an unrestricted free agent if he opts out of his current contract.

    He needs to put out good gamefilm, whether he wants to stay or leave, so Jags fans should expect 100% effort.

  11. 2 mil for 5 games and the hope to make more $ with another team in a year when he becomes a free agent… he will play hard, maybe not produce much, but if he wants to get paid in the future he’ll play hard for now

  12. If the Jags can cut him before the next league year starts without owing him money or taking a cap hit, then you can bet your bottom dollar he’s gone after this year. The Jags are a rebuilding squad & his big salary for next year can be used somewhere else. The only way he stays is if he puts up double digit sacks down the stretch, which based upon his performance thus far, seems highly unlikely.

  14. He’ll be evaluated from A to Z; ability, attitude, contract/cap hit vis a vis value over the next 5 games and possibly all of 2013.

    It’s a low cost/low risk signing by a team in need and a team with a lot of cap room. What’s not to like? He sucks- he goes. He thrives-he stays.

    It’s Corey Dillon/Randy Moss/Aqib Talib again.

  20. I wonder where ALL your teams are right about now, hmm? ALL you naysayers will be sitting at home in January, regardless, so trying to beat up on a team who has the most cap space in the league, & more to come after the seasons end is seriously sad.
    This is low risk/high reward, so deal with it ppl. I wouldn’t doubt all the negative comments about this claim are from the same ppl that were wishing Babin would be on their team, so stop bs’ing yourselves. Plus, he indeed has 20 games to showcase his skills, 2013 season, not the remaining 5 games of this season. Wow, didn’t know there was that many illiterate peeps on this site. Sad, but true!

  22. Expect Babin to run through the 5 stages of grief between now and the end of the 2013 season (just don’t expect any production).

    He’s already passed Phase 1 – Denial – after finding out he was claimed by the Jaguars, and is probably now in Stage 2 – Anger. Stage 3 – Bargaining – will start in the off-season: “Please, please, please trade me”. When he is not traded, Stage 4 – Depression – will set in. After a miserable 2013 campaign, finally, Stage 5 – Acceptance – when he realizes he will be 34 years old before the start of the 2014 season and he is washed up. (Of course, the consolation is he gets to “retire” at 34 and sit around counting all the money he stole)

  23. I understand Huge Douglas is saying that Babin quit on his team, well if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. Huge Dougass is still probably the biggest free agent flop and quitter in the history of the league, he is a disgrace to Philadelphia and his profession. Huge you’re a slim ball.

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