Hall trade talks stall

The AJC's Steve Wyche reported that trade talks between the Falcons and Oakland Raiders over cornerback DeAngelo Hall were close in that a deal was likely to be done within a day or two. But NFL.com's Adam Schefter contrasted that report, indicating that negotiations have stalled due to Hall's contract demands.

The Falcons and Raiders have already agreed on compensation for Hall. The Raiders have agreed to send their second and sixth round picks to the Falcons in exchange for the disgruntled cornerback. But the deal won't be finalized until Hall agrees to a long-term contract with the Raiders. Hall is entering the final year of his contract and could be a free agent after the upcoming season. The Raiders are unwilling to give up such a high premium in draft picks if there is no guarantee Hall will be a Raider beyond this season. Schefter's report indicated that the optimism seen Sunday evening was completely reversely come Monday evening. Wyche's report cited an unknown source familiar with the negotiations as indicating the imminence of the deal.

ESPN's John Clayton backs up Schefter's report that talks have stalled. Clayton reports that Raiders owner Al Davis is keen to get the deal done. Schefter also reported that a possible solution to the stall in negotiates is a direct intervention by Davis. According to Clayton, the stall is based on the amount of money upfront given to Hall in his new contract. It's been reported by Clayton that Hall is seeking a six-year $50 million contract. Asante Samuel signed a six-year $57 million contract earlier this off-season with $20 million.

UPDATE: The AJC reports that word from Hall himself indicates the deal is close to being done. He will fly to Oakland on Wednesday, and the contract between he and the Raiders will be finalized on Thursday.

Chris Mortensen indicated on this afternoon's NFL Live show on ESPN, that Hall's deal will be around seven years worth $70 million with about $20 million guaranteed.

Falcons might bring back Harrington

The AJC is reporting that the Falcons may bring back recently released quarterback Joey Harrington if he agrees to restructure his contract. Harrington was released this past Wednesday. The Falcons currently only have two quarterbacks on the roster: Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley.

Harrington signed a two-year contract last April with the Falcons. He was slated to earn $2.5 million in base salary in 2008 and $3.875 million against the team's salary cap. If the Falcons re-sign him with a much lower base salary, it could save them money. Redman, who is currently the starter, only has a base salary of $1 million.

Hall and Redman's futures up in the air

Steve Wyche of the AJC reports on several developing stories for the Falcons after holding discussions this past week with GM Thomas Dimitroff, including the potential futures of DeAngelo Hall, Chris Redman, and what areas the Falcons may address in free agency.

Wyche reports that the Falcons are currently weighing their trade options with cornerback DeAngelo Hall. According to Wyche, Dimitroff indicated that the team believes Hall makes them a better team, but they have yet to commit whether they will extend his contract. Hall's contract is set to void following the 2008 season, which could potentially make him an unrestricted free agent. A previous report from Wyche indicated that Hall is prepared to sit out this season without a contract extension.

Also the team has yet to make a commitment on whether they will re-sign quarterback Chris Redman. Wyche indicates that the team likes Redman, but will be keying in on many of the quarterback prospects this weekend at the Combine.

Wyche speculates that the Falcons could pursue defensive tackle Grady Jackson once free agency kicks off on February 29. Jackson was released by the Falcons this past October and finished the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 7 starts with the Falcons, Jackson recorded 20 tackles and 1 sack. The team is interested in him perhaps due to looming injury concerns over Trey Lewis, who replaced him at nose tackle during the season. Lewis injured his knee in November and ended the season on injured reserve. There are concerns whether he will be ready for the start of next season.

Roster could see lots of turnover

The AJC's Steve Wyche reports that several Falcons veterans may not be back in 2008. Among players named by Wyche, who cites NFL officials and player agents, are safeties Lawyer Milloy and Chris Crocker, along with offensive linemen Wayne Gandy, Kynan Forney, and Todd Weiner, wide receivers Brian Finneran and Joe Horn, running back Warrick Dunn, quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich, and linebacker Keith Brooking. Wyche reports that many of these players could be released as soon as Friday, February 15.

Wyche indicates that one player that could be potentially safe is tight end Alge Crumpler, who is coming off a down year. But Crumpler may be retained since it's doubtful the Falcons could add someone in the draft or free agency that could adequately replace him.

Crocker is an unrestricted free agent, and is not expected to be re-signed. The remaining players represent 10 of the team's top 15 highest-paid players based on 2008 base salary. The Falcons currently have around $6 million in cap space for the 2008 season. Dunn, Gandy, Milloy, Forney, Harrington, and Leftwich are all entering the final years on their contracts. Brooking and Finneran have two years left on their deals, while Horn and Weiner have three and four, respectively. Among them, Brooking ($4.9 million), Dunn ($4 million), Gandy ($3.5 million), and Forney ($2.95 million) have the highest 2008 base salaries.

NFL challenges Vick ruling

The AP reports that the National Football League is asking a federal court to vacate the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge David Doty's ruling in regards to the Falcons attempts to recoup bonus money paid to jailed and currently suspended quarterback Michael Vick. The league also seeks to end Doty's jurisdiction in the league's labor matters.

Doty reversed a previous ruling by NFL special master Stephen Burbank that indicated the Falcons could recoup $19.97 million in bonus money from Vick. Doty's ruling indicated that more than $16 million of that figure was not eligible for the team to regain. Doty first presided over the 1992 antitrust suit, which granted him jurisdiction in these labor matters over than a decade. The league indicated that Doty's comments from earlier this month about the ruling indicates that he is biased towards them. The league released a statement:

"Michael Vick breached his contract and cannot play because he was convicted of a felony and is sitting in jail. Despite those facts, the judge held that Vick is entitled to keep nearly $20 million in bonus money paid to him for playing football through the 2014 season. No other industry has its labor relations supervised by a federal judge in the way we do, and at this point, after 15 years of labor peace, it is hard to understand why such oversight is necessary or (why it is) an appropriate use of judicial resources."

Vick can keep money

The AJC reports that U.S. District Judge David Doty has overturned an earlier ruling that indicated that Michael Vick was liable to repay nearly $20 million in bonus money. In October, NFL Special Master Stephen Burbank ruled that Falcons could recoup $19.97 million in bonus money paid to Vick due to his league-imposed suspension. Burbank's ruling went against previous rulings that indicated option and roster bonuses could not be recouped by teams.

The Falcons were counting on the repaid bonus money in order to gain cap relief in the near future. It is unknown as of yet, if Vick will have to repay any portion of the bonuses. In Burbank's ruling, slightly more than $16 million of the $19.97 million was from roster bonuses. Doty's ruling may only mean that the Falcons will be able to recoup about $3.75 million in bonuses, which is initially what some experts projected.

Vick is currently serving his 23-month jail sentence in Kansas.

Currently the Falcons are projected by SI.com to have about $5.79 million in cap space in 2008.

Dunn has no intention of retiring

In an AJC report by Steve Wyche Falcons running back Warrick Dunn indicated his desire to continue playing beyond this season. Dunn will turn 33 the week after the season is over was able to surpass 10,000 rushing yards this season, and many expectations that due to his age and that achievement he could retire after the season. But Dunn indicated to Wyche that due to the teams struggles this year, he does not wish to retire.

"I can't go out like this. This is not the way I think anyone should go out. Any guy whose ever thinking about retiring and had to go through a situation like this, I don't think this is the way you should go out. You need to go out on better terms. I'll definitely come back next year and play football."

-- Warrick Dunn

However, Dunn did not indicate whether he expects or wants to play for the Falcons. Dunn has one more year left on his contract, with a base salary of $4 million. More than likely, if Dunn is retained he'll likely have to restructure his contract in order to reduce that salary.

Dunn is the second Falcon to openly discuss his future with the team. Last week, DeAngelo Hall discussed his desire to play for a winning team.

Falcons working on extending Boley

The AJC's Steve Wyche reports in his blog that the Falcons are currently begun talks to extend the contract of linebacker Michael Boley. Boley's contract expires at the end of the season and he is slated to become a restricted free agent in March. If a deal cannot be done by then, the Falcons are expected to tender him at a high level in order to gain compensation in case another team signs him. They will also be given the right of first refusal, which means that if another team attempts to sign him the Falcons will be given the chance to match their offer.

Wyche reports that the Falcons have not engaged in contract talks with two more impending free agents: safety Chris Crocker and linebacker Demorrio Williams. Both Crocker and Williams will be unrestricted free agents after this season.

Wyche also reports that the Falcons are not talking to cornerback DeAngelo Hall about an extension, likely due to the incidents between Hall and the current coaching staff. Hall will not become a free agent until after the 2008 season, so there is still time for the team. Hall has indicated in the past his desire to get the best possible deal.

You can find an updated list of the Falcons upcoming free agents for next year and future years at FalcFans.com.

Jackson's release a football decision

Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino indicated that the team's decision to release veteran defensive tackle Grady Jackson was football-related, implying that it had nothing to do with Jackson's lawsuit filed against the organization during the off-season.

The Falcons had carried five defensive tackles on the roster all year long due to the injury to Rod Coleman which forced him to miss the first five games. Now that Coleman is healthy as well as Jonathan Babineaux who had also missed time due to injury, the team deemed it necessary to cut one of their "extra" tackles per Petrino. Jackson was the choice. Petrino also indicated how impressive rookie Trey Lewis has been. Lewis worked mostly at nose tackle during the summer, but had move to the other tackle position due to the injuries to Colemand and Babineaux.

However, not all parties deem Jackson's release to be purely about football. For the second time this season, cornerback DeAngelo Hall expressed some dissatisfaction with the organization and coaching staff over Jackson's release to the AJC. Hall also broached the topic of his contract status with the AJC, indicating his desire to be paid a lucrative contract overrides his desire to stay in Atlanta:
"I got one more year left on my deal. I feel I can go out and get a ton of money, whether it's here or somewhere else."

Falcons can reclaim $20 million from Vick

NFL Special Master Stephen Burbank ruled in favor of the Falcons after hearing last week their arguments in their attempts to recoup millions in signing bonus money from suspended quarterback Michael Vick. Burbank's ruling says that the Falcons are entitled to $19.97 million in bonus money that has been paid to Vick over the past three years since he signed his landmark $130 million deal in December 2004.

The ruling is interesting because it breaks with a previous ruling made by Burbank last year in this case of Ashley Lelie. Burbank ruled that the Denver Broncos could not recoup option bonuses paid to Lelie because they were payments for time already earned. Some experts believed that because that most of the payments made to Vick were in the form of roster bonuses, they would be treated the same as option bonuses.

According to Burbank's ruling, per the Associated Press, the Falcons are entitled to half of the $7.5 million bonus paid to Vick in December 2004, $13.5 million of the $22.5 million roster bonus paid to Vick the following year, and $2.72 million of the $7 million bonus paid to Vick this past year, totalling to $19.97 million.

In his ruling on the Vick case, Burbank indicated that because Vick's bonuses were payments for future services, which won't be earned because of his league-imposed suspension.

The Falcons released a statement today:
“We are certainly pleased with today’s ruling by NFL Special Master Stephen Burbank. It is the first step in a process that our club has undertaken in an attempt to recoup significant salary cap space that will allow us to continue to build our football team today and in future years.”

The NFL Players Association has indicated that they plan to appeal the ruling. Now it will be up to U.S. District Court Judge David Doty in Minneapolis to either overturn or uphold Burbank's ruling. The that there is no timetable for when a decision will be made by Doty, but it could take months, per the AJC.

If it is upheld and when payments are actually received from Vick, the Falcons would receive credit towards the following year's salary cap in that amount.

Falcons trying to recoup $16M from Vick

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reports that the Falcons have are seeking to have Michael Vick return about $16 million in bonus money due to him pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges. A previous report by ESPN had that figure reported at $20 million.

University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Stephen Burbank will oversee a hearing that is scheduled for tomorrow. The NFL Players Association will argue against the Falcons claim indicating that because most of the Vick's bonus money was paid as roster bonuses which cannot be recouped by teams. Vick signed a ten-year $130 million contract in December 2004, which included $37 million in bonuses. About $29.5 million of that was due as roster bonuses.

Last season, prior to his acquisition by the Falcons, wide receiver Ashley Lelie was involved in a dispute with the Denver Broncos involving his absence from training camp. It was resolved in that case that because Lelie's bonuses were option bonuses and thus deemed already earned, the Broncos could not recoup that money. Based on the NFLPA's interpretation of the rule and, roster bonuses are treated as option bonuses. Because of this rule, some experts have contended that the Falcons may receive as little as $3.75 million or up to $6 million instead of the $16-20 million they seek.

According to Paolantonio, the Falcons will argue that because of his involvement in dogfighting that according to federal charges began in 2001, Vick was already in defraud of the contract he signed in 2004 and that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement in which the "Lelie rule" applies was not signed until 2006 and thus is not applicable to Vick's contract.

Also the Falcons plan to file another separate grievance against Vick that will seek over $22 million from him in damages. That grievance is not expected to be heard until after the case that will be heard Thursday is resolved.

Falcons could recover more than $28 million from Vick

ProFootballTalk.com reports that the Falcons have the ability to recover a large sum of the guaranteed money they paid Michael Vick when he received a ten-year contract extension in 2004 worth a total of $130 million. Due to his federal indicment Vick is set to be arraigned on July 26, the first day of the Falcons 2007 training camp. Missing that day of practice could leave Vick in default of his contract, and thus allow the Falcons to recover a sizeable portion of money.

According to ProFootballTalk, the Falcons could recover $28.7 million of the $37.5 million guaranteed paid in his 2004 extension. That figure is based on how many potential games are left remaining through the extent of Vick's contract, which is du to expire after the 2013 season. The Falcons may not choose to find Vick in default of his contract, by given him written permission to miss practices on July 26 and/or later dates. But the Falcons still hold the option to recover bonus money at a later date, but as time goes on, the potential money recovered will decrease.

Earlier reports suggested that because the majority of Vick's guaranteed money was paid in roster bonuses, it would be less likely the Falcons would be able to recover that money due to arbitration on a grievance filed against former Falcon and Denver Bronco receiver Ashley Lelie last summer. The Broncos sought to recover bonus money from Lelie for holding out of off-season activities, but because it was option bonus money, Lelie was not deemed liable to repay that money. Previous reports suggested that roster bonuses would be treated similarly as option bonus, although the report at ProFootballTalk suggests otherwise.

Jackson lawsuit resolved

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC reports that the lawsuit between Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jackson and the organization has been resolved. However, the Falcons themselves declined to comment on any specifics.

As part of the resolution it seems that Jackson received a one-year contract extension. He signed a three-year contract with the Falcons last summer and had $3 million in base salary due to him over the next two seasons. That base salary has not increased, as he will have $1 million base salaries in each year through 2009, but it is unknown if any additional signing bonus was given to him.

Update: According to Pro Football Talk.com, Grady Jackson received roughly $4.5 million in extra money as part of his contract extension.

He received a $250,000 signing bonus as part of his one-year extension and will is set to receive a $250,000 roster bonus on September 7, the Friday before the start of the regular season. He is set to receive two more roster bonuses of $2 million each at the start of both the 2008 and 2009 seasons, due in March. There also exists $1.25 million escalator provision that could be added to his future base salaries of $1 million in each 2008 and 2009.

Based off this information, Grady is set to have a cap figure of $1.375 million this year, somewhat of a reduction considering that he was set to earn $1.5 million alone in base salary based off his old contract. If the 2008 and 2009 roster bonuses are paid, he will have cap figures of $3.125 million in each year, not counting the potential for escalators.