Jolly Rodgers Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2837321 Overpaying Westbrook could hit Eagles in cap By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com How good was Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook in 2006? Brian Westbrook Westbrook So good, apparently, that the Eagles paid him twice. Or at least they anted up twice on the $3 million roster bonus that Westbrook was due. Team officials have confirmed that, because of an accounting error, Westbrook was twice awarded a $3 million roster bonus for 2006 that was part of the five-year, $25 million contract extension the five-year veteran signed in November 2005. Westbrook reportedly has acknowledged the overage and agreed to repay the money. But because the Eagles have yet to be reimbursed, which could negatively impact on the Eagles' salary cap status, the team has been forced to file a grievance with the league office seeking repayment. A team official stressed there was no acrimony between the Eagles and their star tailback, that repayment is anticipated, and that the grievance was a technicality aimed at avoiding any cap implications. Westbrook's agent could not be reached for comment on the extra bonus, which was first reported on Friday evening by ComcastSportsNet.com. It is not clear when, or how, the overage was discovered by the Eagles and Westbrook. One potential complication to the reimbursement is that Westbrook has already paid taxes on the extra $3 million. Such an accounting gaffe is unusual for any NFL team, but especially for the Eagles, who are among the league's premier franchises in terms of salary cap management. As of Saturday, the league had not charged the accounting error to the Eagles' salary cap. The team remains about $10 million under the NFL spending limit of $109 million for '07. Westbrook, 27, registered a career season in 2006. On the ground, he posted career highs in carries (240) and yards (1,217), and tied his career best with seven touchdowns. He also had a career-high 77 receptions for 699 yards and four touchdowns. A third-round pick in the 2002 draft, Westbrook has emerged as one of the NFL's most versatile performers and the centerpiece of the Philadelphia offense. In 70 games, including 49 starts, the former Villanova star has rushed for 3,452 yards and 20 touchdowns on 736 carries, and has 257 catches for 2,436 yards and 18 touchdowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I get checks for $3 million all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 The problem is that he may have already paid taxes on it. But regardless, how could he NOT know that he got $3 million too much? These guys are hardly counting pennies and exact monely figures probably would be hard for them to say, but you would think he would notice getting THREE MILLION DOLLARS TOO MUCH. His agent should have said something too if he got paid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I wonder if they were trying to pay him under the table and got caught. A suitcase full of cash works better. Hmmm... doesn't that thought bring out the conspriacy theories... hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGrunt Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Hmmm... doesn't that thought bring out the conspriacy theories... hmmm... I wonder what the conspiracy would be in this case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godtomsatan Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I wonder what the conspiracy would be in this case... Paying a player $3 million extra under the table is a pretty solid conspiracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 If the intent was to pay a player under the table, why would the team bring it up? No conspiracy here... ...unless the player told the team he was going to do something after receiving the $$s and did not...like restructure his contract, maybe? Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMRogers Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 That was my first thought - this is common practice, and somehow the Eagles got caught by someone - still hasn't come out who "told". Wonder if there's a number of "oh, we paid that roster bonus 4 times? - weird" out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The problem is that he may have already paid taxes on it. But regardless, how could he NOT know that he got $3 million too much? These guys are hardly counting pennies and exact monely figures probably would be hard for them to say, but you would think he would notice getting THREE MILLION DOLLARS TOO MUCH. His agent should have said something too if he got paid... While there is a difference between a 3 million dollar bonus and my weekly paycheck, I rarely look at my pay check amount. It's direct deposited. If it is plus or minus what it should be, it might be a week or two until its caught. It would be interesting to see a timeline of when the Eagles paid it, when it was realized, and who realized it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Next Generation Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The bottom line, agent Fletcher Smith said last night, is that the dialogue between the Eagles and Brian Westbrook over the extra $3 million the Birds paid his client last spring "hasn't been adversarial at all." Smith said Westbrook certainly intends to pay back the money, once he and the team figure out exactly how much he owes. That's the complicated part. Westbrook didn't really get an extra $3 million, the result of a March 2006 roster bonus being paid twice, Smith said. The check he received, minus withholding, was for something like $1.7 million or $1.8 million. Once it's clear exactly how much Westbrook got, and whether he paid other taxes based on having the extra money in his coffers, Westbrook will remit the sum, Smith said. Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The bottom line, agent Fletcher Smith said last night, is that the dialogue between the Eagles and Brian Westbrook over the extra $3 million the Birds paid his client last spring "hasn't been adversarial at all." Smith said Westbrook certainly intends to pay back the money, once he and the team figure out exactly how much he owes. That's the complicated part. Westbrook didn't really get an extra $3 million, the result of a March 2006 roster bonus being paid twice, Smith said. The check he received, minus withholding, was for something like $1.7 million or $1.8 million. Once it's clear exactly how much Westbrook got, and whether he paid other taxes based on having the extra money in his coffers, Westbrook will remit the sum, Smith said. Link clearly scandalous. Why wouldnt you come forward if you knew you were paid twice for the bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMRogers Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 well, this gets interesting cause in reality, he got what, maybe 3.5M actually deposted, and what's $500k....maybe just figured taxes on this bonus were on him, not the team, so .... I still say this may become a bigger story than it's being made out to be (meaning it's not one mistake for one player by one team, but an unknown publicly but relatively common way to skirt the cap) May not...but gotta see - still want to know who "broke" the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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