[Burt the Butcher]

You have been under the wrong impression Matt - at least my understanding is you can only renegotiate a player with 1 year or less remaining if he is traded..all other players can be renegotiated at any time you want...most people wait until last year of eligibility, since it makes no sense otherwise...

"Players with more than one year remaining on their contract can have their contracts renegotiated by the team holding their rights. When a contract is renegotiated, the current years salary gets a 10% or 300cb raise, whichever is greater, and the contract can be extended up to the standard maximum of five years.

A player with less than one year remaining on his contract can only have his contract renegotiated if he is traded to another team. Once traded, the contract can be renegotiated with a raise of 5% or 150cb to the current year salary, whichever is greater. The contract can be extended up to the standard maximum of five years."