With New CBA, Lions Have Leverage Over CB Darius Slay

New CBA makes it less likely cornebrack Darius Slay holds out

John Maakaron | Mar 15, 2020

Now that the new collective bargaining agreement has been approved, certain players are reacting negatively.

So weak fam, dudes wanna vote outta fear. It really show where dudes head at
— Allen Robinson II (@AllenRobinson) March 15, 2020

Players that should be frustrated are established veterans, as the new agreement is far more advantageous to younger and less experienced players.

In regards to who benefits the most financially, NFL Insider Dan Graziano of ESPN writes, "It seems the lower-earning players -- roughly 60% of NFL players operate on minimum-salary deals -- will get the most significant bumps in pay, at least right at the beginning."

Veteran cornerback Darius Slay is likely frustrated, as he now has one less avenue to convince the Lions to renegotiate his contract.

Per Graziano:

A "player playing under a contract signed as a veteran who fails to report to his club’s preseason training camp on time or reports and leaves the club for more than five days” cannot have his fines waived by the team upon return and will not earn an accrued season for that season.

Under the new CBA, the Lions have a little more leverage, as Slay will be less likely to hold out since the punishments have increased.

During the offseason, Slay has made it clear that he is looking to become one of the highest compensated cornerbacks in the league.

General manager Bob Quinn has made it known publicly that the organization is exploring all options, including trading Detroit's best cover cornerback.

At this time, the free agency period is set to begin on Monday -- where teams are able to negotiate with free agents.

The new league year is tentatively set to begin Wednesday, March 18th at 4 p.m.

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Published Mar 15, 2020

JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!