Report: Jabrill Peppers’ contract hold-up is about offset language

We all know that SS Jabrill Peppers remains the only unsigned draft pick of the Cleveland Browns, and now we may know why. According to Jeff Ridson of The Browns Wire (a USA Today affiliate), the hold-up is the little wrinkle that still does cause issues for some first-round picks: offset language.

The holdup for Peppers is the same one which kept former Ohio State star Joey Bosa out of Chargers camp and bled into the 2016 No. 3 overall pick’s rookie season. Offset language is the key.

If you’re not familiar with offset language, most first-round picks have them in their rookie contract. It prevents a player from double-dipping, something which Joel Corry of CBS Sports explains in concise terms:

An offset clause allows a team to reduce the guaranteed money owed to a player when he is released by the amount of his new deal with another team. The player receives his salary from the team that released him in addition to the full salary from his new contract with another club when there isn't an offset. This is also known as "double dipping."

Peppers’ agent is Todd France, the same guy who went through the whole Bosa situation in 2016. Hopefully we do not seem the same type of extended holdout that Bosa had -- Bosa did not win his wish against offset language last year, and there’s no way Peppers will get it being a much later pick. The “settlement” to get a deal done then might come down to the way the contract is structured — although the total amount of the deal is set in stone, we might see something more unique in terms of how it is paid out.