04-27-2006, 04:43 PM
Would you take less money if you are Mario Williams to be drafted #1 overall? I'm guessing if you would take say what Alex Smith got last year (24 Million) it would be less than what Reggie Bush is going to want.. and you could be #1 overall..
Personally I would... knowing that the NFL will rework your deal if you deserve it.
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NO. 1 PICK CAN GET AT LEAST $27.64125 MILLION GUARANTEED
Okay, so maybe we weren't wrong after all.
On Tuesday morning, we took issue with a suggestion by John McClain of the Houston Chronicle that it would be impossible for the top pick in 2006 to get as much as $22 million in guaranteed money, even though the first overall pick in 2005 received $24 million in guaranteed cash.
On Tuesday night, we acknowledged that we were wrong and that McClain was right. (Tastes like chicken.)
But now that we've cleared up our remaining area of confusion regarding the manner in which the 25 percent rule applies to rookie deals, we'll acknowledge only that McClain was on the right track, but that his attempt to explain the situation was woefully incomplete.
Per a league source with experience negotiating the contracts of high first-round picks, the maximum guaranteed money of $21.2625 million to the first pick is premised upon the receipt of an option bonus that extends an initial five-year deal to a six-year package. If the player is willing to forgo an option bonus and thus sign a straight six-year deal, the maximum amount of guaranteed money that can be paid shoots to $27.64125 million.
The downside for the player, however, is that $6.37875 million of the guaranteed money won't be paid out until 2011. In fact, a whopping $17.01 million under such a deal would be paid out after January 1, 2009, and the present value of that money would be significantly lower.
Still, if the player wants maximum "guaranteed" money beyond the $24 million that Smith received in 2005, there's a way to get it. But the player will simply have to wait until 2011 in order to pocket it all.
And as we explained on Tuesday night, there are other ways to funnel lots of money to the player without calling it "guaranteed."
Bottom line -- if the guy taken with the No. 1 overall pick wants his contract to reflect the 20 percent jump in the salary cap under the new CBA, there's a new way to make it happen, even with only a five-percent bump in the rookie pool.
Personally I would... knowing that the NFL will rework your deal if you deserve it.
---------------------------------------------------
NO. 1 PICK CAN GET AT LEAST $27.64125 MILLION GUARANTEED
Okay, so maybe we weren't wrong after all.
On Tuesday morning, we took issue with a suggestion by John McClain of the Houston Chronicle that it would be impossible for the top pick in 2006 to get as much as $22 million in guaranteed money, even though the first overall pick in 2005 received $24 million in guaranteed cash.
On Tuesday night, we acknowledged that we were wrong and that McClain was right. (Tastes like chicken.)
But now that we've cleared up our remaining area of confusion regarding the manner in which the 25 percent rule applies to rookie deals, we'll acknowledge only that McClain was on the right track, but that his attempt to explain the situation was woefully incomplete.
Per a league source with experience negotiating the contracts of high first-round picks, the maximum guaranteed money of $21.2625 million to the first pick is premised upon the receipt of an option bonus that extends an initial five-year deal to a six-year package. If the player is willing to forgo an option bonus and thus sign a straight six-year deal, the maximum amount of guaranteed money that can be paid shoots to $27.64125 million.
The downside for the player, however, is that $6.37875 million of the guaranteed money won't be paid out until 2011. In fact, a whopping $17.01 million under such a deal would be paid out after January 1, 2009, and the present value of that money would be significantly lower.
Still, if the player wants maximum "guaranteed" money beyond the $24 million that Smith received in 2005, there's a way to get it. But the player will simply have to wait until 2011 in order to pocket it all.
And as we explained on Tuesday night, there are other ways to funnel lots of money to the player without calling it "guaranteed."
Bottom line -- if the guy taken with the No. 1 overall pick wants his contract to reflect the 20 percent jump in the salary cap under the new CBA, there's a new way to make it happen, even with only a five-percent bump in the rookie pool.