“....guaranteed contract.”
A signing bonus is what is known as “guaranteed money.” This is cash a player earns just for signing a contract. He has officially earned that money just as soon as he signs the contract and it is validated legally. That money belongs to him at that point.
It is normally dispensed and controlled by the team, for their investment purposes, to be dispersed at intervals determined by the contract thus the agreement of both parties. So it is his money and he declared how he wished it to be given to him. So, since it is already his, it is not taking away from the contract terms as he has the choice of having to pay the fine he is complaining about with it or out of his pocket from money he has already received by the terms of the contract. Since the money is already his, the club is not violating the terms of the contract. He’s just creating a “stink” for a number of reason, none in the best interest of the team, the sport, or himself and stretching the truth a bit to get public sympathy which is again outside the conduct policies agreed on by the players, union, and management of the NFL.
The first two paragraphs of the PERSONAL CONDUCT POLICY,
League Policies for Players read:
It is a privilege to be part of the National Football League. Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in” the NFL. This includes owners, coaches, players, other team employees, game officials, and employees of the league office, NFL Films, NFL Network, or any other NFL business.
Conduct by anyone in the league that is illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL. We must endeavor at all times to be people of high character; we must show respect for others inside and outside our workplace; and we must strive to conduct ourselves in ways that favorably reflect on ourselves, our teams, the communities we represent, and the NFL.
The entire player conduct expectations are here:
https://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/photo/2017/08/11/0ap3000000828506.pdf
In court, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. He was already awarded the money, so that part of the transaction is completed. He cursed out a club official and, allegedly, threatened to strike him. He could have been suspended for that, or been charged with verbal assault, alone which again is his forfeiture of money for behavior actions, not the club withholding it. He made the choice to act outside the expectations of the players, he was already awarded the money whether he chose to receive it or not, and they can’t take that away. But he violated the contract and this is the second time he’s misbehaved concerning the NFL teams (Pittsburg).
So he may want to be careful about asking for a release from the Raiders as he has become a liability to team unity, a threat physically, and an embarrassment to the league. In this case, it might be difficult for him to be signed by another team that sees these problems and wants to protect their team from such a dissident.
rwood
He didn’t get a $30 million signing bonus. This is guaranteed money for playing whatever amount of years the contract stipulates.
A signing bonus is money you receive simply for signing the contract. Brown did not get one of those, though some reports have wrongly characterized $1M of the total $30M guarantee as a signing bonus. His contract actually contained two $500k "workout" bonuses to which he was entitled if he showed up for training camp, which he did not.
The $29M guarantee he just lost was in the form of guaranteed salary, which covers both current and future seasons of the contract. So he has not been paid that amount, and legally, he hasn't even yet earned it. It just means that the team has to pay him that money in those future seasons if he is willing to play, regardless of how good he is or whether he is still worth it. Injuries do not void those guarantees. Basically, it's like he signed a multi-year employment contract
However, if a player retires, refuses to play, or engages in conduct that violates his own obligations under the contract, then his breach of the contract allows the team to void those guarantees. So again, it's like a guaranteed employment contract. Your employer may promise to pay you $100k/year for a three year contract, but if you get caught embezzling, you can be fired for cause with no further obligation. That's essentially what happened with Brown. He has not yet been earned the remaining $29M in guaranteed money, and his breach of his obligations under the contract means the Raiders have now voided those guarantees. Essentially, it's a "for cause" termination.
He really screwed himself.
He also audio taped a phone conversation with Coach Gruden, then posted it on line. In California, he needed Gruden's permission to do so (two-party consent statute punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment). It is unknown, but highly doubtful, that Gruden knew he was being taped, much less gave his approval.