HOPKINS A NO-SHOW.
Pro Bowl receiver wants to renegotiate rookie deal that has 2 years remaining
Disenchanted with a lack of contract negotiations and playing under his original rookie deal, Texans Pro Bowl wide receiver De Andre Hopkins didn’ t report for training camp Saturday and is holding out, according to league sources.
Hopkins is entering the fourth year of a $15.552 million rookie contract that includes a $3.926 million signing bonus and a total of $6.181 million guaranteed.
The Texans officially placed Hopkins on the reserve-did not report list. Hecan be activated from that list whenever he reports to camp. Hopkins is subject to fines of up to $40,000 per day for missing camp. The Texans’ opening day of practice is Sunday.
“We are disappointed DeAndre has elected not to report to training camp with the rest of his teammates,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said in a statement. “He has expressed his position regarding his contract status, and we have been clear with both he and his representatives of ours. Ourfocus is on the 2016 season and all of our collective efforts and attention will be centered on that endeavor.” Under contract through 2017
Paid a $1.098 million guaranteed base salary last season, Hopkins is due a $1 million non-guaranteed base salary this season and is due a $445,004 roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp. Akey part of the Texans’ future, Hopkins’ $7.915 million fifthyear team option was exercised to keep him under contract through the 2017 season.
“No team likes a player to stick a gun to their head and try to force them to get a deal done,” said Joel Corry, a former NFL agent who writes about the business of football for CBS Sports. “Hopkins’ leverage is he was the Texans’ entire passing game last year.”
Hopkins is coming off a breakthrough season in which he caught 111 passes for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“If you’re going to hold out, you’d better have the mindset to stick it out because it will be an expensive exercise in futility otherwise,” Corry said. “Being proactive is the way (the Texans) were with the two first-round picks that preceded him in this new rookie system, J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus.”
The Texans’ stance is to not negotiate contracts with two years remaining. They signed Watt to a $100 million extension with two years left on his rookie contract, but that wasviewed as an exception for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. A four-year, $27 million contract extension was reached for Mercilus at the deadline last year to exercise his fifth-year option.
Hopkins didn’t issue a commentpublicly on the situation. However, on social media, Hopkins retweeted Arizona Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu’s tweet that said, “Guys can under perform and get cut, over perform & don’t get paid. Life.”
The disconnect between Hopkins and the Texans goes back to the NFL rookie salary system. Teams can control players’ rights for years without doing a new deal. That’s not the Texans’ goal with Hopkins as Smith has said previously he hopes to ultimately sign Hopkins to a multiyear contract extension. But it’s the financial reality of the NFL salary system. Heavy losses at stake
If this stalemate drags on, it would be an expensive proposition for Hopkins.
If the holdout reaches six days of training camp, the Texans have the option to recoup 15 percent of the prorated portion of Hopkins’ $3.926 million signing bonus. That would be roughly $147,251, plus an additional one percent per day of camp missed. That’s capped at 25 percent of the prorated portion of the signing bonus or $245,418.
If he misses a regular-season game, he could be docked another 25 percent of the signing bonus proration for another $245,418. Hopkins also wouldforfeit $58,824 per game missed.
Most of the time whenaplayer holds out, he ends up coming back with his tail between his legs,” Corry said. “It didn’t work for Maurice Jones-Drew or Kam Chancellor. These veteran player holdouts aren’t typically successful. The team is going to focus on the people that are there and try to wait him out.”