The story around free agent linebacker Jaylon Lee has been one of the most interesting stories to watch this offseason. Jaylon Lee has played three seasons, and won three championships with the Arizona Outlaws. Jaylon Lee has consistently been one of the most respected linebackers both on and off the field since he joined the league. Despite having a seemingly good relationship with Outlaws management, the linebacker was tagged as a restricted free agent by the Arizona Outlaws despite the all-pro linebacker stating that he had no desire to play in Arizona this season.
After a lengthy free agency, Jaylon Lee decided to sign a 3 year, $20m contract with the Philadelphia Liberty. However, due to protest from other league GMs and key members regarding an alleged “stipulation”, the contract was re-structured to a 1 year, $10m contract. When the contract was signed, the Arizona Outlaws were given 48 hours to match the offer. After a day of shopping Jaylon Lee to every NSFL team, they finally found a buyer. Once they had a buyer, they matched the contract offer and immediately shipped LB Jaylon Lee to the San Jose Sabercats in exchange for a season 5 second rounders for pick. Sources near Jaylon Lee have said that he was not consulted about the trade or his interest in playing for the San Jose Sabercats. What a great way to reward a player for 3 years of loyal service.
Now Jaylon Lee is being seemingly forced to play for a team, that all indications since the trade have shown, that he doesn't want to play for. The star linebacker never signed a contract with the San Jose Sabercats or was ever asked by his management if he'd ever consider playing or them. How will Jaylon Lee respond? Will he hold out and refuse to play? There is nothing in the official NSFL rule book about a player refusing to play while under contract, so no one knows if it is allowed or isn't. Will he demand a trade to the team that he signed a contract with? There is no rule stating that a team must trade a player who demands a trade, unless they are a waiver pickup. Will he just disappear? Being forced to join a team that you don’t want to join has caused players to go inactive in the past. Will Jaylon Lee bank all of his TPE this season as a way of protesting the deal? Or will Jaylon Lee just play out his one year deal in San Jose and then test free agency next season?
The next step in this saga should be interesting to watch. I think the onus is on the young linebacker to make the next move. If he decides to publicly state that he refuses to play for the Sabercats, it will be interesting to see how the league office responds. Having an unhappy player is a bad look for the league and for all teams involved. Certainly they would act to prevent this. No matter how this ends for Jaylon Lee, I think everyone can agree that the RFA process is broken if a player ends up unhappy. The league must act, regardless of the outcome of Jaylon Lee’s situation, to reform the RFA process. The general consensus going around the league is to just abolish the RFA process entirely. Doesn't sound like such a bad idea at this time. If RFA tagging didn't exist, this would have never been an issue in the first place. Any player would be able to play for whatever team they wanted to. This event certainly has the Arizona Outlaws and the league office currently sitting with black eyes on their organizations, there must be a response to this.
After a lengthy free agency, Jaylon Lee decided to sign a 3 year, $20m contract with the Philadelphia Liberty. However, due to protest from other league GMs and key members regarding an alleged “stipulation”, the contract was re-structured to a 1 year, $10m contract. When the contract was signed, the Arizona Outlaws were given 48 hours to match the offer. After a day of shopping Jaylon Lee to every NSFL team, they finally found a buyer. Once they had a buyer, they matched the contract offer and immediately shipped LB Jaylon Lee to the San Jose Sabercats in exchange for a season 5 second rounders for pick. Sources near Jaylon Lee have said that he was not consulted about the trade or his interest in playing for the San Jose Sabercats. What a great way to reward a player for 3 years of loyal service.
Now Jaylon Lee is being seemingly forced to play for a team, that all indications since the trade have shown, that he doesn't want to play for. The star linebacker never signed a contract with the San Jose Sabercats or was ever asked by his management if he'd ever consider playing or them. How will Jaylon Lee respond? Will he hold out and refuse to play? There is nothing in the official NSFL rule book about a player refusing to play while under contract, so no one knows if it is allowed or isn't. Will he demand a trade to the team that he signed a contract with? There is no rule stating that a team must trade a player who demands a trade, unless they are a waiver pickup. Will he just disappear? Being forced to join a team that you don’t want to join has caused players to go inactive in the past. Will Jaylon Lee bank all of his TPE this season as a way of protesting the deal? Or will Jaylon Lee just play out his one year deal in San Jose and then test free agency next season?
The next step in this saga should be interesting to watch. I think the onus is on the young linebacker to make the next move. If he decides to publicly state that he refuses to play for the Sabercats, it will be interesting to see how the league office responds. Having an unhappy player is a bad look for the league and for all teams involved. Certainly they would act to prevent this. No matter how this ends for Jaylon Lee, I think everyone can agree that the RFA process is broken if a player ends up unhappy. The league must act, regardless of the outcome of Jaylon Lee’s situation, to reform the RFA process. The general consensus going around the league is to just abolish the RFA process entirely. Doesn't sound like such a bad idea at this time. If RFA tagging didn't exist, this would have never been an issue in the first place. Any player would be able to play for whatever team they wanted to. This event certainly has the Arizona Outlaws and the league office currently sitting with black eyes on their organizations, there must be a response to this.
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