Report says rest of NFL 'laughing at' Chargers over Bosa holdout

Let’s be clear: Both sides are to blame for the Joey Bosa holdout.

This shouldn’t happen anymore. We haven’t seen a holdout like this since 2009, when Michael Crabtree held out until early October after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. The new collective-bargaining agreement was supposed to eliminate these disputes.

But the San Diego Chargers and Bosa, the third overall pick out of Ohio State, have found a way.

Bosa hasn’t signed because of offset language and the timing of his signing bonus, and the Chargers turned it into a public battle this week by making details of negotiations public. Everyone seemed to take a side.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman wrote that he talked to unnamed NFL general managers and there was “unanimity” that the Chargers were to blame.

“I cannot stress this enough. Every team I speak to thinks the Chargers are ruining Bosa. They are laughing at the Chargers,” Freeman wrote.

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Freeman cites three unnamed general managers, and you have to assume there are others around the league who would not side with the player holding out over what seems like a relatively minor contractual detail. But it’s clear at least some teams don’t understand why the Chargers are taking this stance.

The Chargers made a point to say Bosa would get 85 percent of his signing bonus in this calendar year, via the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bosa’s agents didn’t want to negotiate in public so we’re stuck with the Chargers’ side of that story.

But the problem, which Freeman wrote about, is Bosa’s rookie season is pretty much a waste at this point. Unless he’s a transcendent player, you have to figure he will be nothing more than a role player as a rookie — and that assumes he signs relatively soon, which is no guarantee.

Here’s roughly what this comes down to, if you believe the Chargers. They have offered to pay Bosa 85 percent of his signing bonus this year, according to the Union-Tribune. His signing bonus is about $17 million. The Union-Tribune reported that Bosa’s side came down from their demand of 100 percent being paid out this year (which is the typical concession when there’s no offset language included), but not enough for the Chargers to agree. So let’s guess when Bosa’s agents came down off 100 percent, they asked for 95 percent to be paid out this year. That would be a 10 percent difference: $1.7 million. So the third pick of the draft is not with his team because both sides refuse to budge over when, not if, $1.7 million is paid to Bosa.

That’s crazy.

Although both parties have more than their share of blame over the situation, the Chargers have more to lose. For anyone who says that Bosa is giving up a year of earning ability, there’s no logical reason why sitting out this season would cut a year off his career expectancy. If Bosa re-enters the draft — granted, I still think it’s a long shot he’ll sit all season — he’ll still be a high pick. Maybe his 2017 rookie deal will be worth less because he won’t go third overall again (hence, why he’s screwing this up too), but he’d still be a high pick and get paid well. The Chargers, if they don’t sign Bosa, lose the third pick of the draft and get nothing in return. All over setting a precedent over the timing of probably about $1.7 million in bonus money.

Perhaps this fiasco comes to an end soon. But you have to wonder what kind of damage has already been done, for both sides.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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