NFL Contract Issues And Player Releases

Every year about this time, NFL teams hold their “mandatory minicamps” and every year there are a few quality players who do not show up because they are in the midst of a contract squabble.  This year I count three such holdout situations:

1. Trey Hendrickson – – Bengals:  The pass-rushing defensive end has one more year on his contract worth $15.8M.  Given his performance (17.5 sacks last season), he is underpaid as compared to other defensive ends and he wants a contract extension.  The Bengals have given the nod to Hendrickson’s agent to go and set up a trade with a team willing to extend the player, but so far, that has not borne fruit.  The fact that he has an existing contract with a year to go complicates things.
2. Terry McLaurin – – Commanders:  He too has a year to go on a 3-year deal he signed in 2022; he would earn around $16.5M for this year.  He wants an extension and the team has said they want to retain his services “for a long time”.  The Commanders signed Deebo Samuel in the offseason to team with McLaurin, but McLaurin is still the #1 WR in DC.  I expect this one to be resolved amicably and quickly.
3. TJ Watt – – Steelers:  Once again, there is a contract in place for 2025 and the price tag here is $21M.  Reports say that Watt wants a “substantial offer” from the team; it seems to me that $21M for a season of NFL football is pretty substantial all by itself.  According to Spotrac.com, the cap mavens there say that Watt’s salary plus cap deferments means that Watt accounts for almost 11% of the total salary cap allotted to NFL teams in 2025.  This one might become acrimonious.

Micah Parsons – – Cowboys’ DE/OLB – – will also play in the final year of his rookie contract.  The talks about an extension seem to exist in a “kick the can down the road” mode ever since Parsons let it be known that he wanted an extension and thought he had earned a lucrative one.  The big difference here is that Parsons has been participating in OTAs and has reported to minicamp.  At some point Parsons and the team will reach an agreement; the Cowboys’ braintrust cannot be dumb enough to let him play out this year’s deal and then become a free agent.  Parsons has been in the NFL for four seasons and has been an All-Pro twice.

In other NFL news involving a quality player, the Packers announced that they have released CB, Jaire Alexander.  I shook my head when I first read about this move but the Packers’ GM, Mark Murphy, put it in perspective.  He said that Alexander was an “elite talent” and that is clear; and then he added:

“The reality is, for the last four years, it’s about half of the games [Jaire] has been able to play, so we’ve kind of been used to it.”

Alexander has been in the NFL for 7 seasons and has only played in every game once (2019).  Over the last two seasons he has played in 14 out of 34 regular season games; I had not noticed that level of “absenteeism”, but it does provide some context surrounding Murphy’s statement above.

It will be interesting to see which teams seek to acquire him as a free agent and how much they are willing to commit to him.  When he was healthy enough to play in 15 or more games (2020 and 2022), he was a Pro Bowl selection and was named to the second All-Pro team.

Alexander’s search for a new team might be complicated by events in Miami.  The Dolphins have made it clear that they are seeking to trade Jalen Ramsey and Ramsey has made it clear that he wants out of Miami.  So, there are now two “elite talent” cornerbacks there for the taking if you are a “cornerback shopper”.  With the release of Alexander, the supply of good and available cornerbacks just increased; if demand for cornerbacks remains the same, that could depress the offers that the two players receive.  Keep an eye on these players and who goes after them.

Moving on …  The semi-finals of the UFL Playoffs happened last week; the Finals this weekend will pair the DC Defenders and the Michigan Panthers.  The TV numbers were not good.

• The “early game” started at 3:00  PM ET and drew an average audience of 1.1M viewers (peak audience was reported as 1.6M).   It was telecast on ABC, ESPN+ and Disney+
• The “late game” started at 6:00 PM ET and drew an average audience of only 873K viewers (peak audience was reported as 1.05M).  It was telecast on FOX.

The UFL has media deals with ABC and FOX in place.  However, those are not audience numbers that the networks are going to like for very long.  I mentioned about a week ago that regular season audiences for UFL games were down significantly in 2025 as compared to 2024.  This is not a good vector heading.

Finally, something from P. J. O’Rourke:

“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports ………