Further evidence that the league needs to decide what are the rules with regards to contracts comes from Ed Hervey deciding to release LB Micah Awe because he was promised this "by someone who is no longer with the team", the exact opposite of what Popp decided to do with Wilder and Butler under similar circumstances.

Hervey, who was hired by the Lions in late November to help turn around the team after a lacklustre 7-11 in 2017, said that Awe was “promised an opportunity by someone who is no longer with the organization, but we’re not about to stand in his way.”
It doesn’t sound like Hervey is going to to give out such options frequently.
“This isn’t going to be a common practice,” Hervey also said when asked about the situation.
Oddly enough, the CFL connection with the NFL has become a hot-button topic around the league of late. Toronto Argonauts running back James Wilder Jr., announced earlier this month that he plans to sit out the season because the Argos won’t let him out of his contract to pursue NFL opportunities.
Toronto defensive lineman Victor Butler wrote on 3DownNation, a website covering CFL, that the Argos are going back on a gentleman’s agreement to let him out of his deal to look for an NFL job.
http://nationalpost.com/sports/footb...0-abfc626663f3