Chargers pull offer to Joey Bosa, say value to team in '16 'jeopardized' by time missed
— -- SAN DIEGO -- In an action that could result in the team's first-round selection sitting out for the foreseeable future, the San Diego Chargers announced that they had pulled their offer to defensive end Joey Bosa after he declined to accept the team's "best offer" on Wednesday.
Points of contention in the contract impasse remain offset language and the earlier payment of deferred signing bonus money.
The Chargers said in a statement they presented Bosa with an offer Tuesday night that included:
- an initial signing bonus payment that is larger than any rookie has received in the last two NFL drafts;
- more money in 2016 than every rookie in this year's class except the Philadelphia Eagles' Carson Wentz;
- the "largest payment and the highest percentage of signing bonus received in the first calendar" of any Chargers first-round pick since the adoption of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement in 2011.
The Chargers said Bosa, selected No. 3 overall in the 2016 draft, rejected the offer Wednesday.
According to a source familiar with the negotiation, the Chargers offered to pay Bosa 85 percent of his $17 million signing bonus at the time of signing, and the rest in the new league calendar year in March. Bosa's camp remained steadfast in receiving the entire signing bonus by the end of this year.
The Chargers also appear unwilling to move off of the inclusion of offset language in the contract, pointing to the fact that 29 of the 31 first-round draft picks in this year's draft have offset language in their contracts.
"The offer that we extended was for Joey to contribute during all 16 games and beyond. Joey's ability to contribute for an entire rookie season has now been jeopardized by the valuable time he has missed with his coaches and his teammates," the team said in the statement.
"Since Joey will not report at this time, his ability to produce not just early in the season, but throughout the entire season, has been negatively impacted.
"As a result, we will restructure our offer since Joey will be unable to contribute for the full 16 game season without the adequate time on the practice field, in the classroom, and in preseason games."
The Chargers and Bosa's representation stopped communication on July 28 once the team realized that the Ohio State product would not report to camp. However, talks picked up in the past two weeks, with the Chargers wanting to get Bosa into camp so the team could get him ready for the regular season.
Bosa is the only unsigned first-round pick from the 2016 draft.
Bosa cannot be traded this season as, according to NFL rules, he had until Aug. 8 to sign his contract in order for the Chargers to trade his rights to another team. If he were to remain unsigned this season, he is permitted only to sign with the Chargers until the first day of the 2017 draft.
Bosa's father, John, also was a holdout as an NFL rookie. John Bosa was a defensive lineman drafted No. 16 by the Miami Dolphins in 1987 and held out 41 days before signing his rookie contract, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Chargers dropped Bosa from third string to fourth string at defensive end on the team's latest depth chart. Darius Philon is listed as the starter, followed by Tenny Palepoi, Zamir Carlis and Bosa.
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