No it DEFINITELY has to do with the Chargers stinking. As I said and you edited out: if the Pats were doing this it would be considered an example of how much smarter they are than everybody else.
They are NOT the only team doing this. Those clauses are STANDARD in contracts for players drafter after 10. For whatever reason top 10 picks only generally get 1 of the 2 clauses. Why should the top 10 be singled out? Players 11 through 253 signed contracts with both clauses, why shouldn’t the top 10?
Hmmm. If the Pats did this, they would (rightly) be vilified as a evil and cheating team. I doubt anyone outside pathological Patriots fans would defend it. If my personal favorite team did this, I would be slamming them for it.
But the fact that argues against your point is that in the last 15 years, ONLY the Chargers have tried to screw their first round draft picks so egregiously. The Chargers.
The 2011 agreement's floor was set because of the Charger's ceiling.
LOL. I don't know if the line is quite clearly drawn at #10, as you say, but the reason why the first so many picks of the first round have leverage, is because they are so in demand, and considered most likely players to impact a team.
But, still, I must ask, since the current agreement started in 2011, 60 players were drafted in the first round. And only one player has been asked to make these concessions. So why should Bosa accept the inferior contract?
Why should he be given less consideration than draft picks #4-#10 this year? Why should he accept less than the 42 players drafted after #3 since 2011?
I still haven't heard a justification of why he should accept it.
What the Chargers are trying to do violates the spirit and the letter of NFL's rookie contract agreement.