Elvis Dumervil had agreed to a reduction of salary to remain with the Denver Broncos, but his agent did not send a fax to the team until 4:06 PM.
The Broncos were forced to cut Dumerville because his salary of $12 million would become guaranteed at 4:00 PM.
Dumervil agreed to reduce his base salary from $12 million to $8 million for 2013.
Dumervil signed a six-year, $61.5 million contract in 2010.