Last month, when pressed to provide a little more clarity to the altogether iffy status of receiver Percy Harvin, Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman skillfully shuffled around a definitive explanation on the matter and instead advised a room of reporters to sift through all the rumor and conjecture that has circulated with great caution.
"I would just say don't believe all the half-truths or the rumors or the no-truths that are out there," Spielman warned. "Because there is so much stuff that flies around. … It's great reading."
Yep, rumor and half-truth often does make for great reading. And this is the world sites such as ProFootballTalk.com thrives and preys on.
Thing is, Spielman's advice doesn't only apply to the future of Harvin with the Vikings. It applies to pretty much all things NFL. And it's especially important to remember as the league machine tries to suck you into its upcoming free agency frenzy this weekend.
Here's your quick summary of the timeline:
- At midnight Eastern on Friday, a new league policy opens the door for NFL teams to begin discussions with agents of outside free agents.
- No deals can be struck or contracts finalized until after 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
- That leaves an 88-hour window for discussions and preliminary negotiations. But for the record, teams will be unable to have players in for visits or medical evaluations until Tuesday. And, by the letter of the law, rule-abiding teams won't even be allowed to speak with the free agent players themselves. So the action this weekend will be somewhat confusing. And the coverage of the confusion will be downright chaotic.
Here's our shout-out to Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, who has provided the perfect synopsis for what's about to go down in league circles over the weekend. Do yourself a favor and read the entire piece.
But as Bedard puts it:
Agents with top-of-the-market players about to cash in … are under a lot of pressure, not only to boost their own commission, but to deliver that huge contract they've been promising their client. There is a desperation involved, especially if the market isn't hot to start. So if an agent thinks that lying to a media member will boost his client's contract, you better believe he's going to do that.
So prepare yourself for breathless reports about how such and such team is in the lead but three other teams are expected to get into the bidding. And it will go on all the way until Tuesday.
