The Athletic has dwell protection of Saturday’s NFL Preseason action.
The saga between Alexander Isak and Newcastle United is now open to the court of public opinion after each events issued statements this week.
Isak wrote on social media that “damaged guarantees” had led to the breakdown of his relationship with the membership. In response, Newcastle mentioned the factors for a sale had not been met and so they remained open to the striker rejoining the squad.
Isak, 25, has already skipped Newcastle’s season opener towards Aston Villa and is extremely unlikely to return when Liverpool go to St James’ Park on Monday. The Sweden worldwide returned to the north-east of England three weeks in the past after the summer season break and has been coaching individually at Newcastle’s Benton facility ever since.
He’s not the one Premier League footballer to have tried to force a transfer, however Isak’s conduct in looking for a transfer has divided opinion in the UK.
However within the U.S., each NFL and NBA followers are accustomed to gamers assertively vying for higher contracts, strikes, or trades. The Athletic examines a few of the most up-to-date standoffs in American sports activities.
NFL
Contract disputes are so widespread within the NFL that there are names for various participant protests: holdouts and hold-ins.
A holdout is when a participant is a whole no-show to necessary offseason workforce actions, often in quest of an improved contract or commerce.
Throughout a hold-in, gamers attend workforce actions, comparable to coaching camps, however forgo taking part in coaching, often citing accidents. This avoids fines for lacking preseason days.
Holdouts and hold-ins function threats because the actions are prone to disrupt a workforce’s preparations, with a company susceptible to going into the upcoming season and not using a key participant.
On The Athletic’s No Free Lunch podcast, Ndamukong Suh mentioned: “Once you do it in camp, it applies sufficient strain for them to say, ‘Alright, this isn’t what I’m envisioning. It’s messing us up main into the season’.
“The humorous factor is, you’ve carried out 90 % of your foundations from a workforce perspective on offense and protection throughout these summer season months.”
One ongoing hold-in scenario is enjoying out between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. Parsons, getting into the ultimate yr of his rookie deal, is among the greatest defensive gamers within the league. At first of August, he shared a put up on X stating he had requested to be traded. The prolonged put up cited causes comparable to being held to close-door negotiations with out his agent current.
Thanks Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones expects Parsons to play in Week 1 towards the Philadelphia Eagles. A contract extension has not but been agreed, which implies it appears attainable that Parsons may very well be enjoying out the ultimate yr of his present deal. The Cowboys might then attempt to re-sign him within the offseason or franchise tag him.
Per The Athletic’s Michael Silver, San Francisco 49ers extensive receiver Brandon Aiyuk staged a coaching camp hold-in final summer season, citing a sore again, and submitted a commerce request. Commerce discussions have been held for Aiyuk, who was heading into the fifth yr choice of his contract.
Aiyuk was finally cleared medically however didn’t present up for observe the next day, main the workforce to work out a take care of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aiyuk confirmed up the day after and agreed to just accept the workforce’s newest contract supply (a four-year $120 million extension), so last-minute that head coach Kyle Shanahan needed to dash up the steps to make sure basic supervisor John Lynch didn’t execute the commerce.
Aiyuk had a gradual begin to the marketing campaign earlier than tearing his ACL in Week 7.
In 2023, Chris Jones held out from the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, skipping coaching camp and lacking the season opener — identical to Isak. The 2 events finally agreed on a one-year contract extension. The star defensive sort out went on to have a profession yr with 10.5 sacks, and was named a first-team All-Professional for the second straight yr. “I’m tremendous happy with the way it turned out,” mentioned Jones after signing the deal, per ESPN.
In 2024, he signed a five-year extension with Kansas Metropolis worth $158.75 million, with $101 million guaranteed.
Chris Jones, winner of three Tremendous Bowls and one contract dispute. (Jamie Squire / Getty Pictures)
Eduardo Tansley
NBA
Gamers within the NBA can wield vital affect over reaching their desired vacation spot. Two gamers, Bradley Beal and LeBron James, even have no-trade clauses of their contracts, that means they will veto any commerce involving themselves that they don’t approve of.
When it comes to going public over a transfer, it’s laborious to prime James, who, in July 2010, did a particular on ESPN’s The Choice to disclose he can be shifting from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Warmth. In equity, he was an unrestricted free agent on the time.
Skipping video games, as Isak has, continues to be a uncommon prevalence. Ben Simmons was fined thousands and thousands of {dollars} for lacking your complete 2021-22 season with the Philadelphia 76ers on account of a lingering again difficulty and psychological well being struggles.
He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022 in a blockbuster transfer involving James Harden regardless of nonetheless having 4 years left on his contract, however missed the remainder of the season after present process again surgical procedure. Simmons filed a $20 million grievance with the Sixers over withheld wage on account of his absence on the courtroom and the case was settled with the assistance of the NBPA.
13 months earlier, Harden had joined Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Nets after 9 years with the Houston Rockets.
The summer season earlier than the beginning of the 2020-21 season, Harden delayed his arrival to the Rockets coaching camp for every week and was seen hanging out with rapper Lil Child in Las Vegas. He was fined $50,000 for violating the league’s Covid-19 protocols for attending a personal indoor get together days earlier than the NBA common season began. Regardless of being considered as out of practice going into the Rockets’ first recreation, he dropped 44 factors. Ultimately, he acquired his desired commerce in January.
Eduardo Tansley
MLB
Miguel Andujar pictured enjoying for the New York Yankees in 2021. (Sarah Stier / Getty Pictures)
Requesting a commerce, particularly one the place a participant desires to hitch a selected workforce, hardly ever occurs in MLB.
I cowl the Yankees, and the final time they handled this was in 2022. Miguel Andujar, who on the time was a struggling hitter, requested for a commerce after he was demoted to the minor leagues. The Yankees denied his request. He was finally launched later that season and was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since shifting on from the Yankees, Andujar has grow to be an above-average hitter with the Athletics and Cincinnati Reds.
MLB contracts are totally assured, so gamers holding out for extra money or higher alternatives elsewhere have a tendency to not occur.
Chris Kirschner
NHL
There aren’t apple-to-apple hockey comparisons lately. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman missed all training camp in 2024, however he was a restricted free agent in want of a brand new contract, not a participant demanding a commerce. His negotiation with the Bruins leaked into the general public at factors, however the sides finally agreed on an eight-year, $66 million deal two days before the start of the season.
Swayman didn’t play within the Bruins opener after lacking camp however made his season debut two nights later.
“The truth that we went by means of this course of and the instruments that I discovered with it, it’s gone now. All I care about is being a Bruin,” he said on signing the brand new deal.
Restricted free brokers lacking a part of coaching camp just isn’t a shock within the NHL world, however usually they’re due to contract negotiations, not a commerce request. The scenario between Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres is one other one. He was traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights after a rift between him and the Sabres developed over the kind of surgical procedure he ought to endure.
Peter Baugh
(High picture: Stacy Revere/Getty Pictures)
