630 CHED Sports
2/14/2012
Jerome Messam is now a member of the Miami Dolphins
A CFL source requesting anonymity said the Edmonton Eskimos tailback signed a multi-year contract with the NFL's Miami Dolphins on Tuesday.
Reports late Saturday said the CFL's outstanding Canadian last year signed with Miami. However hours later a league source confirmed that while Messam had a copy of the contract in his possession he hadn't signed it and was instead going through it.
That left the 26-year-old Messam technically still under contract with the Eskimos. However, he was in the option year of his CFL deal and had until Thursday to sign with an NFL club.
Messam was one of the few remaining CFL players still with a window to sign NFL deals while in their option as he signed his present deal prior to the CFL's latest collective bargaining agreement in 2010. That deal called for the option window to be eliminated following February 2012.
Financial details of the three-year deal, including any potential signing bonus, weren't immediately available. But the NFL rookie minimum salary in 2012 will be US$390,000, which is significantly more than what Messam would make this season in Edmonton. (jrw/cp)
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