NFL's little-known 85% rule

If you thought the Redskins' pair of trades with the St. Louis Rams earlier this week seemed a bit odd, you're not the only one. There appears that there could be some rule-bending as well.

The NFL Players Association is looking into a pair of trades from earlier this week between the Washington Redskins and the St. Louis Rams. It appears as though the Redskins and Rams might have been circumventing a little-known rule that guarantees any drafted rookie a portion of his contract upon his release, according to a report on ESPN by Chris Mortensen.

In the current uncapped year, a team must pay a drafted rookie 85 percent of his first-year minimum-wage $310,000 salary if the team chooses to release the player. But by shipping the rookie to another team and allowing that new team to then release him, the original team doesn't lose any money. And that appears to be what happened this week -- twice bewtween the Redskins and Rams and possibily again between the Cardinals and Eagles.

The Redskins sent tight end Dennis Morris, their sixth-round draft pick, to the Rams. Coach Mike Shanahan said Morris was not going to make Washington's roster. He's still on the Rams' roster, but according to the report, he will not survive Saturday's cuts.

In a separate trade, the Rams sent the Redskins their fifth-round draft pick, linebacker Hall Davis. But the Redskins released Davis on Tuesday after just one practice. According to the ESPN report, Davis will not receive the $272,000 he would have been paid had the Rams simply released him.

The 85-percent rule applies only to rookies who were drafted in April. There are other quirks -- if a drafted rookie is waived by a team and re-signed by the original club to its practice squad, he will get the difference of the practice squad minimum of $80,000 and the minimum-wage $310,000 -- or $230,000.

The story cited unnamed league and union sources, and undoubtedly the union is monitoring the situation.