New rules tied to the NFL's ongoing labor dispute make it almost prohibitive for the Carolina Panthers to sign Pro Bowlers DeAngelo Williams and Ryan Kalil to long-term contract extensions this year. Williams and Kalil are among a group of the league's best young players in a contract limbo, forced to wait on lucrative new deals because of the "30 percent rule," which sets restrictive guidelines for renegotiating existing contracts - and could ultimately cause the Panthers to lose Kalil without compensation. Assuming Williams and Kalil stay unsigned this season, their status for next year is a mystery - dependent upon terms of a new collective bargaining agreement. Source: Charlotte Observer
