Nyheim Hines, Bills at odds

[Woodman]

Hines capped the 2022 regular season by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns against the Patriots in the first Bills game played following Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest.

Hines’s agent, Ed Wasielewski, posted this observation on Twitter earlier today: Adversity reveals character (https://twitter.com/ed_waz/status/1684227585780088836?s=20). Everyone has a choice to treat others with respect and dignity. It’s revealing when an employee is injured to see how a company takes care of its own. I will continue to believe that people will do the right thing when bad things happen to their own.”

It does not take a genius (which qualifies me to make the assessment) to conclude that Wasielewski is referring to Hines. Per multiple sources, the Bills and Hines are indeed at odds over the situation.




Nyheim Hines, Bills at odds over financial consequences of his non-football injury - NBC Sports (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nyheim-hines-bills-at-odds-over-financial-consequences-of-his-non-football-injury)

[Woodman]

Because Hines suffered a non-football injury, his salary of $2.56 million gets wiped away, without question. Things get sticky on the question of whether and to what extent Hines owes money back to the Bills.

Earlier this year, Hines signed a revised contract that replaced the deal he signed with the Colts in 2021. The two-year, $9 million deal included a $1 million signing bonus, a $100,000 workout bonus for 2023, a base salary of $2.56 million for 2023, and $340,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

Hines has received $600,000 of his signing bonus. The Bills, per multiple sources, have proposed withholding the $400,000 installment due later this year, along with the $100,000 workout bonus that Hines earned in the offseason. That would represent reimbursement of half of the signing bonus covering the two-year contract.

[notacon]

The Buffalo News published this right after Hines injury....

In wake of Nyheim Hines injury, here's what 'standard' NFL contracts say about banned off-field activities (https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/in-wake-of-nyheim-hines-injury-heres-what-standard-nfl-contracts-say-about-banned-off/article_1baaff32-2a4d-11ee-9d04-23173a879dde.html)




According to NFL Network, Hines was "stationary on a jet ski" when struck by another person's jet ski, sustaining a torn left ACL that will cost him the 2023 season.

Because the injury is considered "non-football," the Bills could pursue a course to void the remaining two years of his contract, which includes $2.56 million in base salary.

A league source familiar with the writing of contracts told The Buffalo News that it is "very standard" for a player to have certain off-the-field activities prohibited, and risk having the deal voided if he participates in those activities.

On Page 2 of Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver's contract, signed last month, a paragraph bans activities that "involve a significant risk of person injury and are non-football in nature."

The contract stated those activities "shall include, but shall not be limited to skydiving, hang-gliding, mountain climbing, racing of any kind, use of motorcycles, use of any off-road vehicle, firearms, scuba diving and snow or water skiing."

Those activities would find the player in "breach" of his contract.

The contract stated those activities "shall include, but shall not be limited to skydiving, hang-gliding, mountain climbing, racing of any kind, use of motorcycles, use of any off-road vehicle, firearms, scuba diving and snow or water skiing."

Those activities would find the player in "breach" of his contract.

….snip….

If the Bills want to push the issue, they could void Hines' $2.56 million base salary and create immediate salary cap space. Hines would almost assuredly respond by filing a grievance.


There is no mention if Hines’ contact restricts off season activities in the Buffalo News. The NBC Sports story does mention “His signing bonus addendum does not expressly identify jet skiing as a prohibited activity. Moreover, the collision happened while Hines was sitting on a jet ski that was at the dock and not moving.”

Seems like some fine legal parsing. Which is why contracts are so dense to non-lawyers.

The basis for the NBC Sports story is all from Hines’ agent....doing his job and representing his client. On the surface this does seem a little petty bean counting from the Bills.

Time will tell.

[Woodman]

We need to straighten this out right away.

[Turf]

They may have cut him anyways. Special teams are going away with the new rule changes anyways. We could use the cap space. It's a no brainer for me.

[sukie]

Unless contract is deemed voided, cutting him opens up only 1.5 mil if I remember correctly

[notacon]

I don’t expect the Bills to screw Hines. It’s just not in the culture of the organization.

I suspect that not only will they come to an equitable agreement for both sides for 2023, but Hines will be back in 2024.

[Woodman]

I don’t expect the Bills to screw Hines. It’s just not in the culture of the organization.

I suspect that not only will they come to an equitable agreement for both sides for 2023, but Hines will be back in 2024.

Damn I hope you are right! :gobills:

[Novacane]

How many every day people would get their full pay for a year if they got hurt off the job? Few if any! Athletes shouldn't be any different. Sometimes life happens. It sucks. Feel bad for the guy but the Bills shouldn't have to pay him.

[Forward_Lateral]

If it was stated in his contract that he can’t jet ski, he’s a complete idiot for being anywhere near one

[YardRat]

I'll wait to hear from Hines. Pretty sure Beane mentioned something yesterday they were going to take care of him. Maybe an injury settlement with a handshake agreement to come back next year.

[Thurmal]

I like Hones and think he was criminally underused last year, so I hope he comes back. That being said, I imagine that the Bills are doing their due diligence to ensure that the jet ski incident happened as he said it did.

[cas22]

If it was stated in his contract that he can’t jet ski, he’s a complete idiot for being anywhere near one
I do believe that off road vehicles covers jet skiing...

[Night Train]

Send Lawyers, Guns and $...

[gr8slayer]

I'll never understand why these guys take unnecessary risks off the field. Play a decade, earn millions, then do stupid stuff.

[yordad]

extend him 1 year and write this year as vet min.

[Goobylal]

Without knowing what the dispute is about, I can't say who is in the wrong. If he expects to be paid his full $2.56M salary for the year ($1M of which is guaranteed), NFW. If it's about the remainder of his signing bonus, I'd just assume give him the rest since it's "only" $600K and they're already saving about $1M from not having to pay the rest of his salary.

Oh and no chance he's back in 2024. He's got a $4M salary and will be coming off an ACL and likely useless for a good portion of the season.

[Woodman]

Nyheim Hines underwent successful ACL surgery on Tuesday - NBC Sports (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nyheim-hines-underwent-successful-acl-surgery-on-tuesday)

The season was over before it began for Bills running back Nyheim Hines, who suffered a torn ACL in a jet skiing accident before training camp.
But there is some positive news on the injury front for Hines.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Hines underwent successful reconstructive ACL surgery on Tuesday. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Hines was traded to the Bills midway through the 2022 season. He did not play much on offense but did return two kickoffs for touchdowns in Buffalo’s Week 18 victory over New England.
In March, Hines reportedly took a pay cut (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-nyheim-hines-taking-pay-cut-to-remain-with-bills) to remain with the Bills for the 2023 season. He is under contract for the 2024 season.

[Skooby]

Nyheim Hines underwent successful ACL surgery on Tuesday - NBC Sports (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nyheim-hines-underwent-successful-acl-surgery-on-tuesday)

The season was over before it began for Bills running back Nyheim Hines, who suffered a torn ACL in a jet skiing accident before training camp.
But there is some positive news on the injury front for Hines.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Hines underwent successful reconstructive ACL surgery on Tuesday. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Hines was traded to the Bills midway through the 2022 season. He did not play much on offense but did return two kickoffs for touchdowns in Buffalo’s Week 18 victory over New England.
In March, Hines reportedly took a pay cut (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-nyheim-hines-taking-pay-cut-to-remain-with-bills) to remain with the Bills for the 2023 season. He is under contract for the 2024 season.

Are the Bills going to pay him for getting hurt while he's playing around ? I can't see them doing that.

[Goobylal]

Are the Bills going to pay him for getting hurt while he's playing around ? I can't see them doing that.

They aren't required to pay him his salary this season, although $1M of his $2.56M salary is guaranteed. Not sure if that applies for a NFI.

[Forward_Lateral]

They aren't required to pay him his salary this season, although $1M of his $2.56M salary is guaranteed. Not sure if that applies for a NFI.

I think the Bills are trying to void the contract entirely, unless I misread the article

[OpIv37]

Without knowing what the dispute is about, I can't say who is in the wrong. If he expects to be paid his full $2.56M salary for the year ($1M of which is guaranteed), NFW. If it's about the remainder of his signing bonus, I'd just assume give him the rest since it's "only" $600K and they're already saving about $1M from not having to pay the rest of his salary.

Oh and no chance he's back in 2024. He's got a $4M salary and will be coming off an ACL and likely useless for a good portion of the season.

Like most things, it's complicated. His 2023 salary is gone because he suffered a non-football injury. No debate there.

The debate is whether or not he has to repay some or all of his signing bonus. Like most NFL contracts, his contract explicitly forbids risky non-football activities. But, there are two problems: first, there are some risky activities that are expressly prohibited, like skydiving, but jet skiing isn't one of them. Lawyers will argue whether or not it's a risky activity.

Second, when Hines got hurt he was just sitting on the jet ski and someone ran into him. Now, obviously, if he's sitting on it, he either just finished riding it or was about to ride it. But, lawyers are lawyers, so they will argue that at the time of the injury, he wasn't doing anything risky- just sitting there.

The Bills are in a tough spot here. If they press him for the money, which really isn't all that much for a football team- it's bad publicity and they look like they aren't paying their players. If they don't press him, it looks like their being lax on "risky" behavior and that may encourage players to participate in "risky" activities that they currently are avoiding.

[Forward_Lateral]

Like most things, it's complicated. His 2023 salary is gone because he suffered a non-football injury. No debate there.

The debate is whether or not he has to repay some or all of his signing bonus. Like most NFL contracts, his contract explicitly forbids risky non-football activities. But, there are two problems: first, there are some risky activities that are expressly prohibited, like skydiving, but jet skiing isn't one of them. Lawyers will argue whether or not it's a risky activity.

Second, when Hines got hurt he was just sitting on the jet ski and someone ran into him. Now, obviously, if he's sitting on it, he either just finished riding it or was about to ride it. But, lawyers are lawyers, so they will argue that at the time of the injury, he wasn't doing anything risky- just sitting there.

The Bills are in a tough spot here. If they press him for the money, which really isn't all that much for a football team- it's bad publicity and they look like they aren't paying their players. If they don't press him, it looks like their being lax on "risky" behavior and that may encourage players to participate in "risky" activities that they currently are avoiding.

My question, if I was a lawyer, would be, what if he was standing on the dock and a jet ski somehow ramped up and hit him there?

[sukie]

What ifs play zero part of this.

[Skooby]

Like most things, it's complicated. His 2023 salary is gone because he suffered a non-football injury. No debate there.

The debate is whether or not he has to repay some or all of his signing bonus. Like most NFL contracts, his contract explicitly forbids risky non-football activities. But, there are two problems: first, there are some risky activities that are expressly prohibited, like skydiving, but jet skiing isn't one of them. Lawyers will argue whether or not it's a risky activity.

Second, when Hines got hurt he was just sitting on the jet ski and someone ran into him. Now, obviously, if he's sitting on it, he either just finished riding it or was about to ride it. But, lawyers are lawyers, so they will argue that at the time of the injury, he wasn't doing anything risky- just sitting there.

The Bills are in a tough spot here. If they press him for the money, which really isn't all that much for a football team- it's bad publicity and they look like they aren't paying their players. If they don't press him, it looks like they’re being lax on "risky" behavior and that may encourage players to participate in "risky" activities that they currently are avoiding.
Using your same logic, if you were sitting on a motorcycle at a light were you riding a motorcycle which the answer is yes you were. Operating a machine regardless of where it is has an environment you put yourself in. It’s a self-inflicted non-football injury. I think they have to sport him the signing bonus and cut the cord, he’s not playing in Buffalo anymore (nor is he collecting his full salary IMO).

[OpIv37]

Using your same logic, if you were sitting on a motorcycle at a light were you riding a motorcycle which the answer is yes you were. Operating a machine regardless of where it is has an environment you put yourself in. It’s a self-inflicted non-football injury. I think they have to sport him the signing bonus and cut the cord, he’s not playing in Buffalo anymore (nor is he collecting his full salary IMO).
I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m just saying that’s the argument the lawyers will make.

[Typ0]

The contract would really have to explicitly define 'risky activity'.

Athletes are athletes. It is a very reasonable expectation they are going to engage in athletic activities even as a function of maintaining their athleticism. I would suggest the 'risky activity' you all seem to think pertains to riding a jet ski is actually more addressed to the question of if he was riding the jet ski correctly. In other words, if "jumping out of a plane' is not defined as a risky activity in the contract then it isn't risky activity. Now, jumping out of a plane with a new cutting edge technology parachute manufactured by OceanGate would still constitute risky activity because it falls outside the realm of safety any reasonable person would expect.

Speculation: there is a question if the Jetski he was stationary on was parked correctly at the time.

That would escalate his behavior to 'risky activity'.

[YardRat]

If the contract doesn't specifically define jet-skiing in some manner, even under a generic term like 'water sports', the team has no grounds for winning a pissing match. They may think they have an argument based on the generic language of the basic contract but if that's the case it isn't dissimilar to driving or riding in a car.

Here is the stock language, if anybody hasn't seen it...


3.OTHER ACTIVITIES. Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill, ability, and experience as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages. Player therefore agrees that Club will have the right, in addition to any other right which Club may possess, to enjoin Player by appropriate proceedings from playing football or engaging in football-related activities other than for Club or from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury.

[Goobylal]

If the contract doesn't specifically define jet-skiing in some manner, even under a generic term like 'water sports', the team has no grounds for winning a pissing match. They may think they have an argument based on the generic language of the basic contract but if that's the case it isn't dissimilar to driving or riding in a car.

Here is the stock language, if anybody hasn't seen it...


3.OTHER ACTIVITIES. Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill, ability, and experience as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages. Player therefore agrees that Club will have the right, in addition to any other right which Club may possess, to enjoin Player by appropriate proceedings from playing football or engaging in football-related activities other than for Club or from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury.

"Activity...which may involve a significant risk of personal injury." Jet skiing is widely considered one.