[CBFF] [Fwd: Cutting Benson would create no savings for Bears]

[Tom Shannon]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Cutting Benson would create no savings for Bears
Date: 	Mon, 05 May 2008 18:37:24 GMT
From: 	<Brad Biggs>



Surely, the Bears are still in an information-gathering mode when it 
comes to *Cedric Benson*.

Two days after his arrest on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas, there are 
vastly different stories being told by the running back and the Lower 
Colorado River Authority. The NFL, no doubt, is also looking into the 
matter. While Benson is not in danger of being zapped like *Tank 
Johnson* was with an eight-game suspension last year, commissioner 
*Roger Goodell* can hand out one-game suspensions like others give out 
Halloween candy. They’re not tough to get.

Cutting bait with Benson is not going to create any kind of savings for 
the Bears in terms of the salary cap. None at all.

Benson’s salary-cap figure for 2008 is $3.335 million and if the Bears 
cut him before June 1 and do not exercise an option to spread the dead 
money over two seasons, the hit for this year would be roughly $6 
million. That would be cutting a sizeable slice into the pie that’s 
meant to go to *Tommie Harris*, *Devin Hester*, *Robbie Gould* and 
others in the form of longterm extensions.

If the Bears did a post-June 1 cut, or cut him now and had the money go 
on the books as a post-June 1 cut, they would still be on the books for 
more than $2.5 million this season when subtracting out his base pay of 
$820,000 for 2008.

However, Benson’s contract contains a *conditional injury guarantee* for 
that base pay and he could claim his release was due to the broken left 
leg suffered last November against Denver. Of course, the team could 
claim he was healthy and off the parties could go into a grievance that 
would drag on and on. The guarantee, in effect, would mean he would cost 
the team the full $3.335 million against the camp whether he’s on the 
roster or not this season. You'd have to like the chances of a running 
back in a hearing who can show he's had a plate and screws inserted into 
his leg and ankle.

In 2009, Benson’s cap number is $3.535 million, and his base pay climbs 
to $1,020,000. That base pay includes a partial guarantee of $910,000 in 
he event of injury, but that’s only for an injury occurring in the prior 
contract year. So, it would not apply here, but the remaining $2.515 
million would be dead money vs. the cap in 2009.

So, however you want to slice it, whether Benson is a Bear or not, he 
will count against the salary cap. Sending him away isn’t going to 
create any savings at all.

And let me throw this one out there ... the ongoing discussions with 
Harris, Hester and Gould are well documented. The Bears had discussions 
with representatives for all three players in advance of the draft. I'm 
not saying it's going to happen, but the Bears have had a way in the 
past of finding some good news to trump bad P.R.

There would be no faster way to steal headlines away from the running 
back who has 10 career touchdowns to show for a *McCaskey* investment of 
$13.8 million thus far than to trot Harris or Hester out in front of a 
Halas Hall podium and sing the praises of a longterm contract.

Stay tuned.


-- 
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
  - Herbert Spencer