Union Presents Case Backing Burress
April 3
New York Post
Giants receiver Plaxico Burress and Chiefs running back Larry Johnson expect to learn within a week whether getting into trouble off the field trumps millions of dollars in guaranteed salaries and bonus money due them from their respective teams.
NFL Players Association general counsel Richard Berthelsen said yesterday that the union and NFL attorneys made their arguments during a 3½-hour hearing before Special Master Stephen Burbank at the University of Pennsylvania law school on Wednesday. The two sides expect Burbank's ruling within a week.
It's a potentially precedent-setting decision that could determine whether NFL teams can override guarantees negotiated into contracts should a player violate team or league rules. Unlike North America's three other major professional sports leagues, NFL contracts are not guaranteed if a player is released unless those terms were negotiated into the deal.
The union is contesting the Giants' decision to withhold a $1 million bonus due Burress after the receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a Manhattan nightclub in November. The money was part of a $4.25 million bonus Burress was to receive as part of a contract extension he agreed to with the Giants in August. "
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