Will this guy re-sign or hold out again?

[Darren29]

I have a stud RB in his 4th year who I drafted at 1.22. In his rookie year he led the league in rushing (1600 yds) and in his 2nd year he ran for 1250 yds and I won the Bowl.

He held out at the start of last season (ie his 3rd year) but I couldn't get close to affording what he wanted in yr 2 of his requested deal so I had to leave it. He wanted a long term deal with serious money - $71m over 6 years. He held out until wk 9 before coming back and his loyalty is now 15.

I've looked at trying to renegotiate with him as I can now afford him going forward, but now all he wants is a 1 year deal. Would he accept the deal (or slightly less) that he was asking for last season? (This is in an MP league btw)

I'm thinking that I might franchise him next season, so having held out before would he then refuse to sign any long-term deal?

Thoughts appreciated.

[QuikSand]

It's worth offering him a deal that multiplies the one year deal he seeks. (i.e. if he's asking for $3m salary and $6m bonus, try a 2yr deal with each year looking like that)

Decent chance you will need to tag him, though.

[stevew]

Depending on the local economics, 3 straight years of franchise money might be better than the long term deal. Even if your franchise number is 10m, his first 3 years would likely be 10M, 12m and 14.4m. Which is probably the extent of his usable career anyways. Although the fact that he held out and missed a bunch of games might mean that franchising him will result in a long hold out.

The three year Quik idea is pretty sound. And I'd consider giving the third year a voidable incentive too. You can always rework the deal next year.

[aston217]

He held out, you left it, he ended his holdout, and he's still willing to sign with you?

I'd say you got lucky there. Give him a long term deal and make it a handsome one. (Edit: just saw the price, yikes. Maybe the tag would be cheaper, but it stops you from tagging anyone else and you'll likely have to tag him forever).

Keep us updated, I've been wondering if it's possible to franchise a holdout and then re-sign him.

[Darren29]

Well I've definitely got lucky here.

He was asking for a one year deal with salary of $660k and bonus of about $1.2m.

I did some cap sums and figured I could afford to give him a 2 year deal with bonus of $4m and salaries of $660k and $3.5m and he took it.

Not sure I'll be able to afford to re-neg him again next season, but the fact that he re-signed so easily gives me confidence that if I do have to tag him at any point he might sign a longer deal after all.

[Steel]

He's probably going to hold out again, especially if he has another great season.