Adam wrote on Thu, 26 June 2025 08:58

welcometotheOC wrote on Wed, 25 June 2025 21:43 Kr55 wrote on Tue, 24 June 2025 15:20 Skookum Jim wrote on Tue, 24 June 2025 14:52 Imagine what you could do with $9.25M .. Still 2 more years on Nurse's deal before he has a 10 team no-trade list. And even with that, he needs to be paid a 6M bonus each of the last 3 years of his deal (and the 4th last, 26/27 which has full NMC still) Seriously, wth Holland? I suspect at the time there were a number of contracts with this kind of bonus structure getting written in (big bonuses, low actual salary) so that in the event of a labour stoppage, their money would be mostly guaranteed and paid regardless. For a while there was real concern that another possibly long stoppage was quite possible to occur. I think it's more that agents have figured out that buyouts are often bad for their clients, so if you build a contract that removes financial and cap incentives for said buyout, then it's a lot less of a concern. If you're getting your client an 8-year deal coming off a huge spike year and you suspect that A) there's a chance your player may not always be able to play at that same spike level and B) that the GM is a fossil who'll barely read the agreement anyhow, then you swing for the fences on this, and you make noise that you keep hearing from teams who want to write offer sheets.

More guaranteed money too. The signing bonuses are excluded from the cap reduction calculations and can't be reduced by the 1/3 or 2/3 rules for the buyout.

We gave nurse absolutely everything possible, max term, max overpay, super generous NMC and ridiculous bonuses. Classic Holland garbage. May as well have just handed over a blank cheque.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000