Rookie Joey Bosa‘s long and protracted holdout has finally come to an end.
The top three pick came to terms with the San Diego Chargers on a four-year contract, the team announced Monday. His new deal is fully guaranteed and contains $25.8 million in total compensation. He also receives a $17 million signing bonus.
The #Chargers and Joey Bosa reached a 4-year, $25.8M contract, source said. He gets a $17M signing bonus. It's all fully guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2016
Rookie Joey Bosa Ends Holdout, Signs With San Diego Chargers
Per Adam Caplan of ESPN, the two camps came to a compromise on certain terms. The Chargers allowed for more cash flow to come Bosa’s way during years two, three and four of the contract. And Bosa allowed offset language to be included, a sea change on his part considering that was one of the bigger obstacles towards getting a deal done.
This comes after the two sides appeared to be far apart on an agreement late last week. The team was reticent to meet Bosa’s demands, which included a signing bonus to be paid out immediately as well as a lack of offset language. The possibility of his holdout extending into the regular season remained a legitimate concern.
It was made even more pronounced considering the sentiment coming from both parties after Bosa rebuffed the Chargers offer. Both Bosa and the team released statements indicating disappointment about the situation. The two sides were also highly critical of the other in terms of the inability to finalize a deal.
Monday’s developments mean that Bosa should be a part of the Chargers defensive front come week one. It will be his responsibility to get situated quickly given how much of training camp and the preseason he’s been absent from. But there’s a reason San Diego picked him third overall in April.
The rookie defensive lineman had a standout collegiate career at Ohio State. During the Buckeyes’ national title season of 2014, Bosa finished with 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. For his efforts, he won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. During his three-year OSU career, he was named a consensus All-American twice.
The Chargers close out the 2016 preseason on Thursday September 1st, hosting the San Francisco 49ers at Qualcomm Stadium. The game kicks off at 7PM PT.
