We don’t know exactly why QB Aaron Rodgers has dragged his feet signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While it’s reasonable to assume that doing so is the most likely outcome, things are in limbo until he does. And while we don’t know the exact reasons, we do know some factors that are not involved in the conversation.
These are claims that are simply based on incorrect information, but the notions are proliferating. Part of what we like to do is, when warranted, address these popular but incorrect theories and dispel them. Recent days have seen some suggest some reasons behind the holdup in the Steelers signing Rodgers, even entering the local airwaves.
Having reached critical mass, it’s time to make some things clear. Aaron Rodgers is entirely free to sign with the Steelers right now, the timing making no difference for either party. It doesn’t matter that he was designated a post-June 1 cut by the Jets, nor does he impact the compensatory formula. In fact, the two points contradict one another.
So let’s dig in a little further, starting with what a post-June 1 designation is. When the calendar rolls over into June, the way that “dead cap” money is accounted for shifts. Basically, at that point, more dead cap is pushed into future years rather than the present. Teams are permitted to designate two players post-June 1 cuts per year. While those players are free agents at the start of the new league year in March, the team must carry the player’s cap number until June.
So Aaron Rodgers has been a street free agent since the start of the new league year last month and has been available to sign with the Steelers at any point since then. That doesn’t affect Rodgers or the Steelers at all; it’s only the Jets who tote that luggage. He is a free agent as much as anybody, so the designation is irrelevant, despite what you might have seen, read, or heard elsewhere.
And now for the next suggestion, the idea that the Steelers are waiting to sign Aaron Rodgers because of the compensatory formula. While the compensatory window closes after the draft, this is a simple one to address. Rodgers is not a compensatory free agent, e.g. a free agent who factors into the compensatory formula. Players who are released from their contracts are street free agents and don’t influence a team’s compensatory losses or gains. The fact that Rodgers was a post-June 1 designation doesn’t have any bearing on his compensatory status.
If listening to 93.7 The Fan and reading Steelers Facebook groups and the questions Bob Labriola addresses for the team’s website in his Asked and Answered column are anything to go by, misinformation is truly rampant these days. I don’t know how many times Mike Tomlin has died by now, but he must have feline blood in him. This is my small way of attempting to combat some of the misinformation out there about Aaron Rodgers. To reiterate, his post-June 1 release designation and the compensatory formula have nothing to do with the wait.
