jps_tex
Member
- Messages
- 47
- Reaction score
- 0
Hawks sign Burleson to offer sheet
The Seahawks signed Vikings WR Nate Burleson to an offer sheet today, giving Minnesota seven days to match or lose the three-year veteran to Seattle.
Get this (and I am not making this up): The offer is a seven-year, $49 million deal with $5.25 million guaranteed and two hilarious poison pills guaranteeing the contract if he plays a certain number of games in the State of Minnesota
, or if his average-per-year exceeds the average of the highest-paid running back on the team (I need to confirm the specifics on the second poison pill, but you get the point). (You think Burleson can ever average more than Alexander? 
)The poison pills are obviously direct retribution for the contract Minnesota used to sign LG Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks.
Obviously this deal will be reworked after a few years, but they did what they had to do to make this look like the seven-year, $49 million offer the Vikings made to Hutchinson. I hope to have more on the financial breakdown, but like I said, the fact that $5.25 million is guaranteed tells you this is, in reality, a four-year deal dressed up as a bigger package to make a point. Now we'll see if the league addresses these poison pills.
If Minnesota does not match the Seahawks' offer, the Vikings would receive Seattle's third-round choice in the upcoming draft. It's a low third-round pick given that Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl last season, but the pick would still give the Vikings ammunition should they try to trade up the draft board.
The timing of the offer sheet is perhaps a little surprising given that NFL teams have until April 21 to make offers to restricted free agents, and this is a league that sometimes needs a deadline to get things done. But Seattle's interest in Burleson has been well established since the team visited with him last week at Seahawks headquarters. Seattle also might be looking to move proactively after suffering some free-agent losses, notably Hutchinson and WR Joe Jurevicius. The team also fell short in a recent attempt to acquire DE John Abraham from the Jets.
Burleson, who turns 25 in August, caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns in 2004. His numbers fell to 30-328-1 last season as injuries limited him to nine games. The Vikings also suffered through a disappointing season headlined by that most classy of forays into nautical naughtiness on the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
Seattle views Burleson, 6-0 and 192 pounds, as possessing needed play-making ability. The team would presumably be looking to pair Burleson with WR Darrell Jackson, allowing WR Bobby Engram to retake his former position as the third receiver. This would leave WR D.J. Hackett and WR Peter Warrick fighting for time as the fourth receiver, with WR Alex Bannister trying to return from a broken clavicle.
Is Burleson the answer for Seattle? Depends on the question. Skeptics will point out that his lone 1,000-yard season came with WR Randy Moss on the other side of the field. Believers will note that Burleson is a young player with Seattle roots (O'Dea High) and good stats when healthy.
The Vikings have not been particularly aggressive in trying to sign Burleson for the long term. They have a new staff and they also have WR Koren Robinson, the player Seattle envisioned in its lineup all along. Without the off-field issues that ruined Robinson's career in Seattle, the Seahawks wouldn't be in the market for a young prospect such as Burleson.
For a more detailed look at the restricted market, check out this story by ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, and check out the chart at the bottom of this NFL.com story to see how frequently RFAs change teams.
The Seahawks signed Vikings WR Nate Burleson to an offer sheet today, giving Minnesota seven days to match or lose the three-year veteran to Seattle.
Get this (and I am not making this up): The offer is a seven-year, $49 million deal with $5.25 million guaranteed and two hilarious poison pills guaranteeing the contract if he plays a certain number of games in the State of Minnesota
, or if his average-per-year exceeds the average of the highest-paid running back on the team (I need to confirm the specifics on the second poison pill, but you get the point). (You think Burleson can ever average more than Alexander? )The poison pills are obviously direct retribution for the contract Minnesota used to sign LG Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks. Obviously this deal will be reworked after a few years, but they did what they had to do to make this look like the seven-year, $49 million offer the Vikings made to Hutchinson. I hope to have more on the financial breakdown, but like I said, the fact that $5.25 million is guaranteed tells you this is, in reality, a four-year deal dressed up as a bigger package to make a point. Now we'll see if the league addresses these poison pills.
If Minnesota does not match the Seahawks' offer, the Vikings would receive Seattle's third-round choice in the upcoming draft. It's a low third-round pick given that Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl last season, but the pick would still give the Vikings ammunition should they try to trade up the draft board.
The timing of the offer sheet is perhaps a little surprising given that NFL teams have until April 21 to make offers to restricted free agents, and this is a league that sometimes needs a deadline to get things done. But Seattle's interest in Burleson has been well established since the team visited with him last week at Seahawks headquarters. Seattle also might be looking to move proactively after suffering some free-agent losses, notably Hutchinson and WR Joe Jurevicius. The team also fell short in a recent attempt to acquire DE John Abraham from the Jets.
Burleson, who turns 25 in August, caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns in 2004. His numbers fell to 30-328-1 last season as injuries limited him to nine games. The Vikings also suffered through a disappointing season headlined by that most classy of forays into nautical naughtiness on the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
Seattle views Burleson, 6-0 and 192 pounds, as possessing needed play-making ability. The team would presumably be looking to pair Burleson with WR Darrell Jackson, allowing WR Bobby Engram to retake his former position as the third receiver. This would leave WR D.J. Hackett and WR Peter Warrick fighting for time as the fourth receiver, with WR Alex Bannister trying to return from a broken clavicle.
Is Burleson the answer for Seattle? Depends on the question. Skeptics will point out that his lone 1,000-yard season came with WR Randy Moss on the other side of the field. Believers will note that Burleson is a young player with Seattle roots (O'Dea High) and good stats when healthy.
The Vikings have not been particularly aggressive in trying to sign Burleson for the long term. They have a new staff and they also have WR Koren Robinson, the player Seattle envisioned in its lineup all along. Without the off-field issues that ruined Robinson's career in Seattle, the Seahawks wouldn't be in the market for a young prospect such as Burleson.
For a more detailed look at the restricted market, check out this story by ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, and check out the chart at the bottom of this NFL.com story to see how frequently RFAs change teams.
