NFL offseason thread

[Neil]

Good for Joe.  Let's see how the contract is set up.  $40-50 million signing bonus?

[CountDeMoney]

Good for Joe.  Let's see how the contract is set up.  $40-50 million signing bonus?

Dunno about the signing bonus, but

Flacco's deal is extremely front-loaded, according to sources with knowledge of the details. It includes a total payout of over $61 million in the first three years that tops New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' $61 million in the first three years of his $100 million contract.

He'll be the highest player in the league, but not for long.  Both Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers are up next.

[Neil]

Yeah, the only way they could make a front-loaded contract work with the cap would be a big signing bonus, since the signing bonus is pro-rated over the length of the deal.  Brees did the same thing.  That means that we're probably going to be looking at a cap number around $30 million for the last year of Joe's deal.  But there was never a chance of not paying him.  All the people bitching about the money should reflect on the Brian Billick era, and how bad it was to not have a dependable QB.  Sure, the Ravens have weapons now, but you can look at the Arizona Cardinals to see how effective a team with weapons is without a quarterback.

Yeah, I think we're going to see a bigger cap increase next year, so that'll create some room for Rodgers and Ryan.  Honestly, I think that Flacco and Brees deals are pretty much the largest practical deals that can be done until that cap goes up.

[CountDeMoney]

Interesting details on the deal coming out;  the signing bonus is $29M, and $30M, $51M and $62M are the amounts after each of the first 3 years respectively with $52M in guaranteed money, but the interesting part is that it is designed so the team only sees a $6.8M salary cap hit in 2013 ballooning to $29M in year 4, so they'll be able to have more cap wiggle room in order to put together some semblance of a title defense run.  Much better than a $19M cap hit if they had to franchise him.

[katmai]

Harvin to Seahawks.
Boldin to Niners.

[CountDeMoney]

Yup;  wouldn't accept a pay cut, and since cutting him by the deadline would've gained nothing, a 6th is better than nothing at all.

Still a rip-off though, and a real loss for the Ravens' offense.  Advantage: Niners.

[Neil]

Yeah, losing Boldin is a huge deal.  And especially to a team that the Ravens might see if they're looking to repeat.  I was down on the chances of the Miners for next year, what with Kaepernick about to be exposed, but Boldin brings instant credibility.

[CountDeMoney]

Local sports talk radio is hilarious.  Truly a barometer of the stupid. 

Because Anquan Boldin stated to NBC Sports a few weeks ago that he'd retire before playing for another team he loved playing in Baltimore so much, he's now worse than a free agent.  He is: traitor. 

[dps]

Local sports talk radio is hilarious.  Truly a barometer of the stupid. 

Because Anquan Boldin stated to NBC Sports a few weeks ago that he'd retire before playing for another team he loved playing in Baltimore so much, he's now worse than a free agent.  He is: traitor. 

People need to understand that sports is business. 

That said, it's one thing to move on for more money.  It's another to do so after vowing you won't.

[Valmy]

People need to understand that sports is business. 

Why?  It is not a business to them.  It is entertainment, hating traitors is part of what makes it fun.  I don't see CdM thinking it was cool the Colts fled in 1983 because it was a good business decision.

That said, it's one thing to move on for more money.  It's another to do so after vowing you won't.

Yep.

[Barrister]

Local sports talk radio is hilarious.  Truly a barometer of the stupid. 

Because Anquan Boldin stated to NBC Sports a few weeks ago that he'd retire before playing for another team he loved playing in Baltimore so much, he's now worse than a free agent.  He is: traitor. 

People need to understand that sports is business. 

That said, it's one thing to move on for more money.  It's another to do so after vowing you won't.

The reason people hate LeBron isn't because he left Cleveland - it's because he left Cleveland after talking so much about how he enjoyed it there, and how he kept dangling that he might stay.

[CountDeMoney]

That said, it's one thing to move on for more money.  It's another to do so after vowing you won't.

While I don't think anybody should've or did take what he said seriously about retiring, he also stated that while he'd never demand a pay raise, he'd never play for less either;  he signed a contract for $6m for next year, he wasn't going to play for any more or any less.  And it wasn't even a restructuring, but a salary cut.  But it is what it is.

If I were Boldin, I wouldn't take the 1/3 pay cut they were offering.  And in the Ravens' defense, as much of a stud as he was in the postseason, he didn't reach 1,000 yards for the season.  Sorta tough to justify $6M a year for a 33 year old receiver for that.  Time for Tandon Doss to stand up.

[CountDeMoney]

Chris Canty is in town today.   

[Neil]

I dunno.  Flacco got huge money having never thrown for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns.  Boldin had a monster postseason, and while he wasn't worth as much as he would have been if he were 5 years younger, he's worth $6 mil to the right team.  In Baltimore it didn't matter that he had lost some speed, because Smith and Jones took the top off the defence.  With his power and hands, he's still a legitimate threat.  It's like the Niners just got another Vernon Davis out there.

Mind you, if that money goes into signing Ellerbe, Reed and Pitta, and paying for some new draft picks,  I can live with it.  Dickson would be nice too.  He disappeared for most of the year, but made some clutch plays for the Superbowl.  I'd also like to see McKinnie come back, just until Baltimore finds their future left tackle.

[CountDeMoney]

Apparently they've already planned on using their savings on Boldin to lock up Pitta, Dickson and Arthur Jones today.  David Reed just signed a two year deal earlier today, and so did Ihedigbo.