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New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, a clutch player known for two Super Bowl-winning field goals, may get a chance to test free agency after the team declined to give him the "franchise player" tag.
The designation would have forced the team to pay Vinatieri $3 million, a 20 percent raise and $500,000 more than the average salary of the top five kickers. Without the tag, the team will not be compensated if he signs with someone else.
"It just didn't feel like the right thing to do," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We considered all our options and decided not to tag anybody."
The Patriots still have until March 3 to sign Vinatieri. But negotiations around the league have been held up because the collective bargaining agreement between the players' union and the teams is set to expire next week, and 2006 salary cap numbers remain unknown.
"I don't think you can do much of anything," Belichick said Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "I don't know what we're working with (financially). Until that's defined, it seems like an exercise in futility."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/02/24/bc.fbn.patriots.vinatieri.ap/index.html
The designation would have forced the team to pay Vinatieri $3 million, a 20 percent raise and $500,000 more than the average salary of the top five kickers. Without the tag, the team will not be compensated if he signs with someone else.
"It just didn't feel like the right thing to do," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We considered all our options and decided not to tag anybody."
The Patriots still have until March 3 to sign Vinatieri. But negotiations around the league have been held up because the collective bargaining agreement between the players' union and the teams is set to expire next week, and 2006 salary cap numbers remain unknown.
"I don't think you can do much of anything," Belichick said Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "I don't know what we're working with (financially). Until that's defined, it seems like an exercise in futility."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/02/24/bc.fbn.patriots.vinatieri.ap/index.html
