NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 30
Termination Pay


  • Section 1. Eligibility
    (a)

    Any player who has completed the season in which his fourth year or more of credited service under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Retirement Plan has been earned shall be eligible for Termination Pay under this Article if:

    (a)(1)

    He is released after his Club’s first regular season game; and

    (a)(2)

    He has made the Active/Inactive List of his Club on or after the date of his Club’s first regular season game.

    (b)

    Subject to Section 3 below, the amount of Termination Pay payable to such player shall be calculated as follows: (i) determine the unpaid balance of his Paragraph 5 Salary for that League Year; and (ii) subtract any Paragraph 5 Salary earned as a salary guarantee from the terminating Club under the contract from which the player was terminated and during the season in which the benefit is claimed (for the avoidance of doubt, this provision shall not have any effect upon a player without any guaranteed Paragraph 5 Salary whose contract is terminated, and who later re-signs with the terminating Club). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Subsection shall alter the arbitration decision in Spiller, et al. v. San Francisco 49ers, et al.

    (c)

    Termination Pay under this Article shall be claimed and payable no sooner than one day after the end of the regular season schedule, and no later than February 1.

    (d)

    A player will not be entitled to Termination Pay more than once during his playing career in the NFL, except that if the amount of Termination Pay to which such player becomes entitled and paid under this Article is less than or equal to the equivalent of six weeks of the player’s applicable Paragraph 5 Salary, then such player shall become eligible to collect Termination Pay a second time during his playing career, under either Subsection 1(b) above or Subsection 2(a) below, for a future regular season. No player may collect Termination Pay from more than one Club for the same regular season.

  • Section 2. Regular Season Signings
    (a)

    The Termination Pay under this Article of any player who is terminated from a contract which was signed after the beginning of the regular season in which he is terminated shall be limited to an amount equal to the greater of: (i) the unpaid balance of the initial 35% of such player’s Paragraph 5 Salary; or (ii) two weeks’ salary up to a maximum of the Active/Inactive List Paragraph 5 Salary of a player with seven or more Credited Seasons as specified in Article 26, Section 1, notwithstanding the actual number of Credited Seasons the player has earned. For purposes of this 35% calculation only, the term “Paragraph 5 Salary” shall be defined as the proportionate remaining balance to be paid at the time such player is signed by the Club. (For example and without limitation, in a 16-game season, if a player is signed after the second week of the 2020 regular season to a Contract with a Paragraph 5 Salary of $850,000, his Paragraph 5 Salary for purposes of the 35% calculation shall be $750,000 or 15/17ths of $850,000.)

  • Section 3. Ineligibility For Termination Pay
    (a)

    An otherwise qualified player will not be entitled to Termination Pay under this Article if the Club can demonstrate that, after receipt of a written warning from his Club in the form attached hereto as Appendix I, the player failed to exhibit the level of good faith effort which can be reasonably expected from NFL players on that Club.

    (b)

    An otherwise qualified player will not be entitled to Termination Pay if (i) the Club terminated the player’s contract for Conduct Detrimental to the Club, and (ii) the Non-Injury Grievance Arbitrator determines that the player’s conduct was so severe that the maximum discipline for Conduct Detrimental of a fine equal to one week’s salary and suspension without pay for four weeks, pursuant to Article 42, Section 1(b)(xvii) of this Agreement (regardless of whether the Club imposed any such discipline prior to terminating the player’s contract), constitutes an inadequate remedy for the player’s conduct.

    (c)

    An otherwise qualified player will not be entitled to Termination Pay if the Club terminated the player’s contract due to conduct that resulted in the player’s suspension for four (4) or more games pursuant to the Commissioner’s authority under Article 46 of this Agreement following the disposition of any appeal; provided, however, that this Subsection 3(c) shall not apply to any suspension imposed upon a player for violation of on-field playing rules.

    (d)

    For the sake of clarity and the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Article shall affect in any way a Club’s right to properly terminate a player’s contract for personal conduct that adversely affects or reflects upon the Club even though the conduct does not rise to the level required to render the player ineligible for Termination Pay under Subsections 3(b) or (3)(c) of this Article, in which case the player shall remain eligible for Termination Pay.

    (e)

    A player shall not be eligible for Termination Pay if, without missing a game check at the Paragraph 5 rate stated in his terminated contract, he signs a Player Contract with the same Club that terminated his contract, which new contract provides for Paragraph 5 Salary at a rate equal to or greater than that of his terminated contract. If the player’s new contract is subsequently terminated, however, he shall be eligible for Termination Pay for such subsequent termination, but the amount of Termination Pay for such player shall be the amount he would have received if his previous contract had not been terminated until such subsequent termination.

    (f)

    An otherwise qualified player will not be entitled to collect Termination Pay under this Article if he waives or releases his claim in a written settlement agreement, executed by the player, his Certified Contract Representative (if any), the Management Council and the NFLPA.

    (g)

    Affirmative Defense.

    (g)(1)

    The Club may assert as an affirmative defense in any grievance in which a Player claims Termination Pay that the player failed to make a full and complete disclosure of his physical or mental condition in connection with a physical examination if the Club can demonstrate that (1) the player affirmatively misrepresented or omitted from his medical history when questioned (orally or in writing) in connection with a physical examination that he: (A) had a surgical procedure for an injury, or (B) missed game(s) due to injury; (2) the player subsequently suffered a new injury related to the prior injury (i.e., same body part); and (3) the new injury was materially and directly related to the termination that gave rise to the player’s claim for Termination Pay.

    (g)(2)

    For the avoidance of doubt, this provision shall only apply to a player’s claim for Termination Pay pursuant to this Article. No party may argue that this provision applies to or defines the special defense set forth in Article 44, Section 3(a)(2) of this Agreement.