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New York Jets: What Is in a Contract? .........Great details


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http://www.ganggreennation.com/2015/3/25/8292517/new-york-jets-what-is-in-a-contract

 

The Jets spent big in free agency. They had plenty of money, and they used most of it. Sometimes contracts aren't what they seem in the NFL, however. In other sports, contracts are guaranteed. If you hear a basketball or baseball player has signed a contract for $60 million over 5, years, that player is getting $60 million over 5 years. That isn't so in the NFL. Contracts are not fully guaranteed. Guarantees are part of the negotiations. Depending on guarantees and how the deals are structured in base salaries vs. bonuses, two contracts that look identical in terms of years and money can be wildly different. With that in mind, I want to take a look at some of the big salaries the Jets added, and the implications their contracts really have for the future.

Fortunately, the wonderful site OverTheCap.com can provide us with breakdowns.

 

Brandon Marshall

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 7,700,000   2016 8,100,000 0 2017 8,500,000 0

 

 

Instead of going the free agent route at wide receiver, the Jets gave up a fifth round pick. Looking at how lesser receivers like Jeremy Maclin and Randall Cobb got eight figures worth of guarantees, it is easy to see why the Jets went the way they did. Heck, had the Jets kept Percy Harvin, they would have given up a higher pick and paid more money to a limited receiver. Marshall is a premium receiver, and his 2015 cap hit is not in the top fifteen at the position.

Because of the way the cap works on Marshall's deal, the Jets owe nothing against the cap if they cut him after 2015. This contract amounts to a 1 year $7.7 million contract with two team options to follow worth $8.1 million and $8.5 million respectively.

David Harris

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 7,500,000   2016 7,500,000 7,500,000 2017 6,500,000 0

 

 

The Jets gave Harris a three year deal. This above all Jets offseason moves is the one I don't get. I love Harris. I respect what he has done. The Jets gave him premium money, and he has not been a premium player in five years.

Harris' contract likely keeps him on the team through 2016. As you can see, he counts just as much against the cap if he is on the team in 2016 as he would be if he was cut. He costs zero to cut before 2017, though. This might be a three year deal on paper, but it is in effect a 2 year, $15 million deal with a $6.5 million team option tacked on.

 

Antonio Cromartie

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 7,000,000   2016 8,000,000 0 2017 8,000,000 0 2018 9,000,000 0

 

 

With as much passion as I disliked Harris' contract, I really like Cromartie's. The Jets can cut him after any season on his contract and have zero dead money as a penalty. This is an ideal contract for a talented but inconsistent and aging player. If Cromartie plays well, the Jets can keep bringing him back at a reasonable rate for a good starter. If he doesn't they can let him go without any cap pain.

This really is a 1 year, $7 million contract with three team options, the first two at $8 million and the third at $9 million.

 

Buster Skrine

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 2,750,000   2016 7,750,000 10,250,000 2017 7,250,000 2,500,000 2018 7,250,000 1,250,000

 

 

It was reported as a four year deal. In effect, it is really a two year deal. Skrine will likely be back in 2016. It would take something dramatic for the Jets to want to pay more to have Skrine not be on the team than to be on the team. They would have to eat some dead money to cut him after 2016 or 2017, but we are talking about small sums, $2.5 million and $1.25 million respectively.

This makes Skrine's deal 2 years, $10.5 million. Then you have two team options worth $7.25 million apiece. The first has a $2.5 million buyout and the second has a $1.25 million buyout should the Jets decline either option.

 

Marcus Gilchrist

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 3,125,000   2016 5,625,000 1,875,000 2017 6,625,000 1,250,000 2018 6,625,000 625,000

 

 

Again, we have a four year contract on paper. The Jets arereally only tied into the first year. It will never cost them more than $1.8 million to walk away. Think of it as a 1 year, $3.125 million deal with a team option for $5,625,000 followed by two more team options for $6,625,000 apiece. There are buyouts of $1,875,000, $1,250,000, and $625,000 respectively.

 

Darrelle Revis

 

 

 

Year Cap Charge if on team Cap charge if cut 2015 16,000,000   2016 17,000,000 25,000,000 2017 15,333,333 8,000,000 2018 10,833,333 1,666,667 2019 10,833,334 833,334

 

 

This is really the only case where the Jets invested any significant resources more than two years down the road. Cutting Revis after 2016 cost $8 million. That would be more than$7 million cheaper than keeping him so there is an out if he has really declined in two years. For the Jets to eat $8 million, they'd probably need to see a substantial decline. Years four and five come with cheap charges to cut him so they are essentially a pair of team options for $10.83 million with inexpensive buyouts. If Revis ages gracefully, those could provide the Jets with nice value.

There are two points I hope to make here.

 

  • Even though the Jets spent a lot of money, they did not mortgage their future. These are players who were brought in to hold the fort over the short term. If they do their jobs well, they might see year three. If not, the team can move on. In either case, the Jets are not going to be tied down long-term and see the same salary cap madness that marked the demise of Mike Tannenbaum (as long as Mike Maccagnan doesn't get crazy restructuring deals like Tannenbaum did).
  • The Jets have not compromised their ability to lock up Muhammad Wilkerson on a long-term deal. They have plenty of flexibility in the years a Wilkerson contract would involve.
This isn't anything new. In the NFL, there isn't the same division of build for now vs. build for the future you see in other sports. It's because contracts like these aren't uncommon. The lack of guarantees for NFL players allows teams to get rid of unproductive players quicker. The smart teams don't choose between building for now or building for the future. They do both. What the Jets did was bring in pieces to plug holes in the short run. Now over the next few years, they will need to find and develop young, cheaper talent to ultimately replace these players.
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The only contract I disliked was the Harris one. I actually like the Revis contract.

I hope they put in some penalties if he holds out.... but at those prices, no way he tries to get more!

 

I think he got $35 mil guaranteed. Crazy $ for a non-QB

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The only contract I disliked was the Harris one. I actually like the Revis contract.

Hard to get a consensus on JN about anything, but disliking the Harris deal seems to be pretty universal. I'm really interested to see how Bowles uses Harris, as he was clearly a big priority for them in free agency.

I don't love the Revis deal, but I don't mind it either. Revis cares about two things:

1.) Money

1a.) Being the best

So while it's an exorbitant amount of cash for a CB, you give it to Revis with confidence that he's going to work and study hard every day, and show up big time on Sunday.

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Great read, thanks for the post.

Mac did an awesome job aquiring talent without blowing our future cap. When I first heard Cro's deal I was shocked at how much he got, and I love Cro personally but was concerned he was overpaid. Now looking at the details it's a perfect deal for a player like Cro, and gives us flexibility if Milliner does recover from the achillies this year and shows enough to be our #2 opposite Revis in 2016.

The Marshall trade might be my favorite overall decision when you take into account the player, the other players available at his position, and the money the other WRs got. It was definitely worth the 5th IMO to get Marshall on his current deal then to keep Harvin at over $10mil and costing us a 4th, or signing a Maclin or Cobb (who are different types of WRs anyways) for the money they signed for. There wasn't a WR comparable to Marshall available and if there was he would of got more than what

Marshall currently is under contract for anyways.

Harris was the only guy we overpaid for IMO but I can live with it since we needed to spend money, it's essentially a 2 year deal, and Harris does bring leadership and intangibles to the table as well. If he hit free agency it's almost a forgone conclusion Rex would of went after him, so it was going to cost us a little more to lock him up before he became available.

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I am not a huge fan of the Harris deal, but one thing you can say is that he won't slack off.  Harris and Revis give you honest effort every year.  They prepare, they take care of themselves.  They are the guys you want the other players to copy in terms of approach to the game.  I don't see either getting arrested or failing drug tests.  Knock wood.  If you are going to gamble throwing money around, they are pretty good choices. 

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This just might be what it feels like to have a GM with a plan. If Macc can do well in the upcoming draft we might actually have something here. 

 

Good job on the players they acquired and the contracts they handed out. Shows some foresight into the future which was what ultimately got Tanny in to trouble. 

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Good thread.  It's a shame all of the so called "cap experts" on the board won't read it

and get a good understanding on how contracts work in the NFL.  They'll still be whining

about how bad a deal Cro got

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I am not a huge fan of the Harris deal, but one thing you can say is that he won't slack off. Harris and Revis give you honest effort every year. They prepare, they take care of themselves. They are the guys you want the other players to copy in terms of approach to the game. I don't see either getting arrested or failing drug tests. Knock wood. If you are going to gamble throwing money around, they are pretty good choices.

Agreed. That 2007 Draft worked out pretty well, getting two cornerstones for our defense for a solid 8-10 years in the first two rounds.

I'll take that every year no quesiton, even with having to trade up which limited us to 4 picks. We also got Chansi Stuckey in the 7th, who was used in the trade up for Sanchez if I remember correctly.

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Good thread.  It's a shame all of the so called "cap experts" on the board won't read it

and get a good understanding on how contracts work in the NFL.  They'll still be whining

about how bad a deal Cro got

 

Who are you talking about?  The only real cap expert we have is Jason, but he doesn't post here that much since he switched his site to overthecap.com.  Sperm, Slats, me and some of the others tend to spend a bunch of time looking at contracts and we are all pretty good about looking at stuff like this.  The Cro deal was announced as $20M guaranteed.  That was what got most of us bothered.  It was up on Spotrac that way for over a week.  TBT, I am still not that in love with it.  I think he is superfluous with Revis and Skrine and getting a bunch of money, but I guess Bowles knows what he is getting.

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Who are you talking about? The only real cap expert we have is Jason, but he doesn't post here that much since he switched his site to overthecap.com. Sperm, Slats, me and some of the others tend to spend a bunch of time looking at contracts and we are all pretty good about looking at stuff like this. The Cro deal was announced as $20M guaranteed. That was what got most of us bothered. It was up on Spotrac that way for over a week. TBT, I am still not that in love with it. I think he is superfluous with Revis and Skrine and getting a bunch of money, but I guess Bowles knows what he is getting.

He meant the people who complain about cap without actually having a clue
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To defend Tannenbaum somewhat: yes, he did create salary cap Hell by restructuring everyone... BUT that's what you oftentimes have to do if you think you have a legit SB window to keep the core together for an extra couple years. Obviously it didn't work out that way, but that was his mindset. Not denying that the Sanchez extension was inexcusable though by any rational measure and should've cost him his job, which it did.

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Good read and analysis on the contracts. The big thing is that there will be cap room to re-sign Wilkerson and Sheldon when the time comes. Those guys are of paramount importance. Now, let's wait and see how Mac drafts people before we anoint him the Savior. Like Jesus, one week they are putting palms at your feet when you enter Jerusalem and the next week you get crucified.

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