RIDERS IN ON MUAMBA SWEEPSTAKES
The Saskatchewan Roughriders confirmed on Tuesday that they have inquired into the possibility of signing free agent Canadian linebacker Henoc Muamba. The St. Francis Xavier product was the #1 overall draft pick of Winnipeg in 2011 and starred with the Blue Bombers before signing with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
Upon his release by the Colts last year, he signed with the Montreal Alouettes where he finished the 2015 CFL season. However Muamba was released by Montreal on Tuesday and has already garnered considerable interest within both the CFL and NFL.
Here’s the news release from the Als:
Montreal – The Montreal Alouettes annonunced that they released national linebacker Henoc Muamba.
Muamba joined the team in September 2015 and recorded 14 tackles and an interception in four games. Before joining the Alouettes, Muamba was on the practice roster of the Indianapolis Colts.
(With files from MontrealAlouettes.com)
Here is the problem for Henoc Muamba. Montreal pulls a fast one last year and signs Henoc for $240K a year. With only 4 games left and the possibility of playoffs. Popp offered a contract he never intended on honouring. With 5 games played Henoc was paid $63K and the year was done. This year Popp figured that since he had Henoc Muamba under contract he would try and get Henoc to accept a lower number. When that didn't happen and no body wanted to trade for that crazy contract. As well as another $63k bonus to be paid yesterday.… Read more »
Ottawa or Calgary, that’s where he’ll land
If Muamba has a chance at the NFL he has to do it. A practice roster spot pays $500,000 American so he'd be a fool not to take another shot!
Montreal did to Muamba what the Riders did to Dressler and Chick, and that's not honour the contracts they negotiated and signed. The league has to put a stop to the bonus clauses cause teams sign players with those provisions, then cut them when it's time to pay, it's a shame.
Diffrent gms diffrent situation
Just like both of them who abandoned the final year of their respective deals to try and make it South of the border? If players are Allowed to ask for releases early to get more money, teams should be able to end contracts early to save. Why the double standard?
If Muamba gets a chance to sign a practice roster deal for 500K USD I'm sure he would. With the exchange rate it's like 3 years salary in the CFL. As far as I'm concerned the Cap is far too low and it needs to be addressed. An increase would also allow teams to keep their homegrown stars that they currently can't, especially now that the one year contracts are the order of the day.
NFL practice roster is nowhere near 500k US to mr anonymous up there
The difference with the Riders is that Jones is trying to clean up Taman's old mess, while Popp has no excuse. I doubt that you will see the Riders dealing like clowns going forward. That said, I agree that the league needs to clean up this type of action as it makes the CFL look amateurish at times.
cutting guys before bonuses are due are part of pro football and the salary cap. happens in the NFL every off season. To the biggest names. It would have happened to Marshawn Lynch but he retired. It happened to Ladanian Tomlinson.
As of early 2015, an NFL practice roster player was paid a minimum of 6,300 per week.
He'd have to ride the pine, be practice roster fodder and could end up not making what he can up here actually playing.
Now if he actually gets into a game, that's when the money kicks in down there.
I've heard it before: players get paid to practice, but would likely play the game for free.
Bradford
To put it politely, I don't buy that half million dollars a year on the practice squad.
To put it bluntly, that's B.S!
I'm happy we are inquiring, we should be with any decent Canadian talent, but I don't know if it is accurate to say we are "in on the sweepstakes". I don't think the new regime will overpay. He is a fantastic Canadian talent, so if he can be had for a reasonable price I'd be all for it. In my mind ideally he could be slotted in and allow us to be over ratio. That would give us the ultimate flexibility. I love it if you can have the National talent to field more Canadians than you need to giving… Read more »
I believe the gent is referring to the NFL minimum, not a practice roster wage. He has the two mixed up.
Why should the CFL stop what the agents are doing to themselves. I would fire my agent on the spot for negotiating a huge roster bonus like that. If he is confident he is gfood enough to play, which Muamba is, then take your salary weekly. And no, it is not the same as Chick and Dressler. One player is a young player with a lot of years ahead negotiated and agreed with a GM that is still there. The others are older significantly overpaid players that suffered a GM change after a dismal season. Question: Was Tino Sunseri unjustly… Read more »
Direct from the NFLPA site; NFL practice squad players make a minimum of $6,000 per week they are on the practice squad. There is no limit to how much a team can pay a player on the practice squad. Some will offer a higher weekly salary in order to entice better players to sign, although the practice squad contracts do count against the salary cap. If a player remains on the practice squad for an entire regular season, he would earn $102K. A player with less than one accrued season on the active roster would earn a minimum salary of… Read more »
Darren how do you know how much cap space Calgary or Saskatchewan have?
Darcy from Regina
Cap space doesn't matter with the sliders they never follow the rules anyways ,the only way the sliders can win is when they go over the cap
How can anyone say we are over the cap now? I have been monitoring and trying to guess where they are and I would bet we are at least $500,000 under and now with cutting Keenan MacDougall we have even more room……remember we need space for the draftees as well. I stress all I can do is guess but I am honest enough to admit this.