As more and more people move to Scooptown, not everyone remembers the headlines from the local paper. And so with the first Sunday of the season upon us and the many reporters scrambling to placate their producers and editors by pushing the envelope on NFL news, there’s a chance that someone will be breaking news that is neither breaking nor news.
Exhibit A for the 2017 season comes from Adam Schefter: “Drew Brees, who is heading into the final year of his contract with the New Orleans Saints, has a little-known, rarely used clause in his deal that prohibits the team from using its franchise tag on him, league sources told ESPN.”
Apart from the fact that the clause is hardly “little-known” (it’s been used on multiple occasions in the past), the fact that Brees can’t be tagged was reported when his current contract was first signed more than a year ago. It’s also been mentioned a time — or two (or more) — in the 365-plus days since the contract was first signed, both here and elsewhere.
But that’s the new reality of Scooptown, where anything and everything is potentially news. Even if it was news more than a year ago.