Drew Brees has a scheduled hearing with arbitrator Stephen Burbank on June 27th in Philadelphia, NFL.com reports.
Brees's current grievance, which involves what he feels is an unsatisfactory franchise tag situation, has been the colorful striped tent on top of the Saints 2012 offseason circus. Brees is reportedly due 120% of his scheduled 2012 salary in 2013 if New Orleans opts to utilize the franchise tag. Brees's camp is pushing for 144% of the $16.4 million he'll make if and when he reports for work this season.
The current CBA states that Brees deserves the lesser amount because another potential tag by the Saints would be the second time that the franchise exercised this option on their veteran QB. Brees is arguing that he should be paid based on the fact that another potential tag would be his third tagging overall. He was tagged once by his previous team, the San Diego Chargers, before they opted to part with Brees in favor of Phillip Rivers.
The Brees holdout could not have come at a worse time for the organization. Already saddled by the loss of their upper echelon head coach and star defensive player (Jonathan Vilma) for the season, the Saints can little afford to miss their team's leader when training camp begins next month.
Chase Daniel served as the starting QB in Brees's absence during the mandatory minicamp. Daniels has "compiled" eight pass attempts for six completions and 29 yards during his three years in the league. Last season, Brees completed 468 passes for 5,476 yards.
