KansasCity.com: NFL news: Burress keeps bonus

NFL news: Burress keeps bonus

The Associated Press

Beleaguered former Giants reciever Plaxico Burress had better luck with the law Monday than the Chiefs’ Larry Johnson.
Despite getting into trouble, Burress can keep a $1 million signing bonus from the Giants.
University of Pennsylvania Special Master Stephen Burbank agreed with the NFL Players Association that money already earned, such as a signing bonus, cannot be forfeited even if a player subsequently gets into trouble, the union’s general counsel Richard Berthelsen told The Associated Press.
“Anything that’s earned prior to conduct is the player’s to keep,” Berthelsen said.
That means the Giants cannot recoup $1 million of a $4.5 million bonus Burress received by signing a contract extension with the team in August, months before he shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub.
The NFL said the ruling “underscores a serious flaw in the current system.”