The Patriots included a provision in Asante Samuel?s contract that will keep him from being franchised again next year if he?s on the field for a certain number of plays, or if the Pats win a certain number of games. The Patriots must have believed he?d leave town without signing the $7.79 million tender. Otherwise, it?s hard to see why they acquiesced on the 2008 franchise tag, since they seemingly had all the leverage. Samuel was in serious danger of losing $458,000 weekly game checks if his holdout lasted any longer.