NFL to Vermeil: Keep promise bottled up
The NFL is making Dick Vermeil go back on a promise.
That expensive bottle of wine Vermeil said he would give Morten Andersen for kicking the game-winning field goal against Oakland will have to stay locked up in the coach's liquor cabinet.
The NFL office, after hearing of comments by Vermeil and Andersen after Kansas City's 27-24 victory against Oakland on Sunday, called to remind the Chiefs that offering performance bonuses that are not included in contracts is a no-no.
"We'll have to wait until after the season to share a glass of wine at my house," Vermeil said. "I just can hardly believe it."
Assistant general manager Denny Thum, who spoke with league officials on the matter, said there would be no fine or disciplinary action. "They questioned what took place, and we told them what took place," Thum told The Associated Press. "They made us aware there is a prohibition against that, and that's where we left it."
Vermeil and Andersen, both wine connoisseurs, were laughing about the offer following Andersen's 35-yard field goal that lifted the Chiefs to the win.
"Vermeil bribed me with a bottle of wine," Andersen said.
It was the 500th regular-season kick for Andersen, and the 31st game-winner of his career. "You know what I told him?" Vermeil said. "I said, 'You make this kick and you've got one of my Bryant Family Vineyards, and they're impossible to get.' So now I owe him a Bryant Family Vineyard."
A bottle of Bryant Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is priced around $500.
"What they're trying to prevent is the big thing," Thum said. "There have been questions in the past about such things as car dealerships and percentages of the franchise. You can have (such offers), but they have to be written into the contract and counted against the salary cap."
The NFL is making Dick Vermeil go back on a promise.
That expensive bottle of wine Vermeil said he would give Morten Andersen for kicking the game-winning field goal against Oakland will have to stay locked up in the coach's liquor cabinet.
The NFL office, after hearing of comments by Vermeil and Andersen after Kansas City's 27-24 victory against Oakland on Sunday, called to remind the Chiefs that offering performance bonuses that are not included in contracts is a no-no.
"We'll have to wait until after the season to share a glass of wine at my house," Vermeil said. "I just can hardly believe it."
Assistant general manager Denny Thum, who spoke with league officials on the matter, said there would be no fine or disciplinary action. "They questioned what took place, and we told them what took place," Thum told The Associated Press. "They made us aware there is a prohibition against that, and that's where we left it."
Vermeil and Andersen, both wine connoisseurs, were laughing about the offer following Andersen's 35-yard field goal that lifted the Chiefs to the win.
"Vermeil bribed me with a bottle of wine," Andersen said.
It was the 500th regular-season kick for Andersen, and the 31st game-winner of his career. "You know what I told him?" Vermeil said. "I said, 'You make this kick and you've got one of my Bryant Family Vineyards, and they're impossible to get.' So now I owe him a Bryant Family Vineyard."
A bottle of Bryant Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is priced around $500.
"What they're trying to prevent is the big thing," Thum said. "There have been questions in the past about such things as car dealerships and percentages of the franchise. You can have (such offers), but they have to be written into the contract and counted against the salary cap."
