Bruce Allen, the Washington Redskins’ executive vice president and general manager, blasted the NFL Monday on the eve of free agency for the retroactive salary cap penalty handed down last spring.
Calling the $36 million penalty that was split between the 2012 and 2013 seasons a “travesty of fairness,” Allen said the team is still hoping to recover some portion of the $18 million docked by the league for the upcoming season. He didn’t specify how that might occur but ruled out suing the NFL.
“We have never contemplated a lawsuit,” Allen said at a news conference at Redskins Park. “… But we’ll always look at our options.”
He wouldn’t specify what the remaining options might be, but said he didn’t look at the penalty as something that would be entirely negated.
“I don’t know if there’s anything to overturn,” Allen said. “This is an agreement made between the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association. They’ve agreed to this. And, as with any rule that is an agreement between the two, all the teams have to abide by it.”
The league year opens Tuesday at 4 p.m. and the Redskins spent Monday continuing to clear cap space to allow them to sign free agents, most notably by releasing veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
Coach Mike Shanahan said the penalty will hurt the Redskins as they head into free agency but the team will do what it can.
“We do have a game plan,” he said, “and once free agency starts we’ll try to make the proper adjustments and put the best team together.”
Shanahan said releasing Hall left the Redskins about $1 million under the 2013 salary cap heading into Tuesday.
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