With Sunday rosters locking as of 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, the two remaining holdouts are guaranteed to miss the first week of the regular season.
Even if Chargers running back Melvin Gordon or Washington left tackle Trent Williams have a change of heart tonight and try to show up tomorrow, there’s no way they can be added to the roster, because there can be no transactions on Sunday.
For Gordon, whose base salary for 2019 is $5.605 million, it means that more than $329,000 will be lost. Williams, who is due to make $10.85 million in salary, loses more than $638,000. Throw in his per-game roster bonus of $15,625, and the cost for Williams exceeds $650,000.
That’s beyond any fines that could eventually be collected from either player. Since those fines often are written off, the only certain losses for players who hold out are lost game checks. That’s why so few players extend holdouts into the regular season.
This year, two are doing it. At least for one week. Time will tell how long Gordon and Williams stay away.