May 10, 2017
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham intends on holding out from voluntary organized team activities later this month, and potentially mandatory minicamp in June, according to Jeff McLane of the Inquirer.
As McLane points out in his story, Graham is the Eagles' best defensive end, and he is making significantly less money than teammate Vinny Curry. Graham signed a four-year, $26 million dollar deal during the 2015 offseason. The following year, Curry was re-upped on a five-year, $46.25 million contract.
Graham's potential holdout comes at a time when the Eagles have the lowest amount of space under the salary cap in the NFL, according to OverTheCap.com, with their entire rookie class of draft picks still to be signed.
Graham's absence from voluntary organized team activities would bring no consequences, however, if he missed a mandatory three day minicamp in June, he could be fined heavily. Last year, the fine for missing mandatory minicamp was $76,580, per ProFootballTalk.com:
Specifically, the fine for missing the first day is $12,765. For the second day, it’s $25,525. For day three, it’s $38,290.
The cost for missing training camp last year rose from $30,000 per day to $40,000 per day.
In other words, Graham doesn't have much in the way of leverage, but it's something worth monitoring.
For what it's worth, often-wrong CBS reporter Jason La Canfora claims that McLane's report is "unsubstantiated."
Reports of Brandon Graham contract dispute are unsubstantiated. Am told he's with his family in Detroit and eager for the season to start
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) May 10, 2017
We'll see.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
Like Jimmy on Facebook.
