CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Defensive end Greg Hardy has signed his franchise tag tender with the Carolina Panthers, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing has not been made official. Hardy, who said in January hed have no issue if the team used the franchise tag to keep him, will make $13.1 million for one season if he doesnt sign a long-term extension. The Panthers have until July 15 to sign Hardy to a long-term deal. After that date they cant discuss a contract extension until after the season is over. When the Panthers used the franchise tag on Hardy Friday, general manager Dave Gettleman said in a press release it was done so to buy more time to potentially work out a long-term extension with the former Mississippi star. "The franchise mechanism gives us time to secure the services of a very good player while we continue to look at the future of Greg with the Carolina Panthers," Gettleman said. "We have had great dialogue with both Greg and his agent. It was important to keep our defensive front together." The four-year NFL veteran had 15 sacks last season, tying a franchise record previously established by Kevin Greene in 1996, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Hardy has 26 sacks in his last two seasons. Hardy led the Panthers with 38 quarterback pressures last season and posted a career-high 67 tackles for the NFC South champions. The Panthers led the league in sacks last season with 60. Gettleman said Hardy was "a big reason we were able to lead the league in sacks last year and keeps our defensive line intact." Charles Clay Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman. Jordan Poyer Jersey . "I could have been equipment manager but nooooo" from Lisa on Ice. Season 6, Episode 8. http://www.officialbuffalobillsfootball.com/authentic-lesean-mccoy-jersey-womens . Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. John Miller Jersey . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. Logan Thomas Jersey . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived.MONTREAL -- The Canadian Football League fined two players undisclosed amounts Tuesday for making inappropriate comments about openly gay football player Michael Sam. Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Arland Bruce was fined for a crude posting on social media urging Sam to "submit to God." Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Bryant Turner Jr. was disciplined for a reported anti-homosexual tweet that has since been deleted. "The comments made by these players are extremely disappointing and do not represent the CFLs views or the views of the vast majority of our players," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement. "The CFL is supportive of openly gay athletes in professional sports and we commend the courage shown by Michael Sam. During the off-season, we have been working with an organization that specializes in this subject and look forward to announcing a formal partnership with them in the near future." Patrick Burke, co-founder of the You Can Play movement that hopes to eradicate anti-homosexual attitudes from sports, called Bruces posting "disappointing." Burke tweeted that his group "has been in contact with the CFL for months now and are in touch about this." It is CFL policy not to disclose the amount that players are fined. Several pro football players have come out in support of Sam since the University of Missouri defensive lineman made public that he is homosexual, but others have questioned having an openly gay player in their leagues. Bruces posting, in which he misspelled the word gay, asked Sam if he was scared to touch women and added "you gaey man up and do some MFN pushups and get on your knees and submit to God fully." The 36-year-old Bruce, a three-time CFL all-star and two-time Grey Cup champion, has played 11 seasons with Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, B.C. and Montreal. The Olashe, Kan., native is going into his second season with the Alouettes. Turners tweet reportedly said: "Michael Sam locker room gonna come with complimmentary robes.dddddddddddd" Turner posted an apology in a series of tweets on Tuesday that read: "I would like to apologize for my inappropriate and insensitive tweet. My tweets are solely from me, and I accept full responsibility for my actions. I am sincerely sorry for any shame that I may have caused the great city of Winnipeg, the CFL or the wonderful Blue Bomber organization." Turner has played three seasons with the Bombers. He had seven sacks in 14 games in 2013. The Alouettes released a statement saying they "unequivocally denounce the regrettable comments made by Arland Bruce III. The statements and feelings expressed by Bruce III are disappointing and do not reflect the opinions and values of the Montreal Alouettes Football Club." In the same statement, Alouettes general manager and head coach Jim Popp said: "Our organization supports all types of diversity. Every individual is unique and free to make his or her own choices. We evaluate players, coaches and support staff based on their skill set and not by gender, colour, religion or sexual orientation. The Montreal Alouettes have a simple criteria to determine who can be a member of our organization. We seek individuals who will make a positive contribution to our team goals and to the Montreal community." Popp later said that no decision has yet been made on whether Bruce will remain with the team. He did not rule out releasing the veteran. "As an organization, well discuss the matter thoroughly and decide what to do next," said Popp. The Bombers statement said team president Wade Miller and general manager Kyle Walters have spoken to Turner. "It is unfortunate that Bryant made this comment through social media," it said. "Any athlete with the ability and determination has the right to succeed in their sport." The 24-year-old Sam is expected to be picked in the early rounds of the NFL draft after a season in which he was a first-team all-American and was named MVP of his team. 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