Exploring Dez's contract options

[Galian Beast]

Calvin Johnson got 48 million guaranteed. I'm sure Dez wants 50 million guaranteed (RESPECT). Honestly not a terribly huge deal.

If signed to a 7 year deal it would be 98 million dollars. Let's round up to 100 million for Dez (RESPECT). 50 million guaranteed. This would guarantee the first 4 years of his contract given the first two years aren't going to be his full average, which I don't think should be an issue. That's squarely in the Romo era.

You give him a 14 million dollar signing bonus. Which I think is fair. That means the first 36 million in base salary is guaranteed. You break the contract into two halves. Guaranteed and non guaranteed.


100 million is the overall value

- Subtract 14 million for signing bonus money

86 million dollars over 7 years

- First 36 million is guaranteed

That means last 50 million is not guaranteed.

To not blow up the 2015 and 2016 caps which are smaller and more restrained for us, you backload the contract, which is simple fiscal and monetary sense.

First 4 years at 36 million
Last 3 years at 50 million

Year 1 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 2 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11. 8 million
Year 3 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 4 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 5 - 16.6 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 19.4 million
Year 6 - 16.6 million = 16.6 million
Year 7 - 16.6 million - 16.6

You then essentially restructure the first year though (though it isn't a restructure on the surface).

I'm forgetting what the minimum salary is for the amount of years Dez has played. Let's call it 1 million. So you take 9 million and subtract 1 million. You then spread the remaining 8 million over the course of 5 years. Which is 1.6 million.

Year 1 - 1 million + 1.6 million + 2.8 million = 5.4 million

That means that Dez's cap hit for the first year is probably only about 5.4 million. Well under the 14 million average.

Year 2 you would actually do a restructure which would push money into the non prorated years. You would restructure his contract at least through the first 3 years to do this.

You do this because you can only stretch signing bonus money for 5 years. I built a restructure in the first year not because it is an actual restructure, but to protect the 2015 cap.

Year 5 is where you really have to make a decision about Dez, but likely we would see him as a wily veteran by then, and it would be his job to help bring along a young QB, whose impact on the cap would be negligible.

There is no reason we should have a difficult time with Dez's contract. Pay the man, and leave yourself an out at the same time.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Damn you really thought this out. Thats a very reasonable contract for both sides. I think thats doable.

 

[Nightman]

Calvin Johnson got 48 million guaranteed. I'm sure Dez wants 50 million guaranteed (RESPECT). Honestly not a terribly huge deal.

If signed to a 7 year deal it would be 98 million dollars. Let's round up to 100 million for Dez (RESPECT). 50 million guaranteed. This would guarantee the first 4 years of his contract given the first two years aren't going to be his full average, which I don't think should be an issue. That's squarely in the Romo era.

You give him a 14 million dollar signing bonus. Which I think is fair. That means the first 36 million in base salary is guaranteed. You break the contract into two halves. Guaranteed and non guaranteed.


100 million is the overall value

- Subtract 14 million for signing bonus money

86 million dollars over 7 years

- First 36 million is guaranteed

That means last 50 million is not guaranteed.

To not blow up the 2015 and 2016 caps which are smaller and more restrained for us, you backload the contract, which is simple fiscal and monetary sense.

First 4 years at 36 million
Last 3 years at 50 million

Year 1 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 2 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11. 8 million
Year 3 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 4 - 9 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 11.8 million
Year 5 - 16.6 million + 2.8 million in prorated signing bonus = 19.4 million
Year 6 - 16.6 million = 16.6 million
Year 7 - 16.6 million - 16.6

You then essentially restructure the first year though (though it isn't a restructure on the surface).

I'm forgetting what the minimum salary is for the amount of years Dez has played. Let's call it 1 million. So you take 9 million and subtract 1 million. You then spread the remaining 8 million over the course of 5 years. Which is 1.6 million.

Year 1 - 1 million + 1.6 million + 2.8 million = 5.4 million

That means that Dez's cap hit for the first year is probably only about 5.4 million. Well under the 14 million average.

Year 2 you would actually do a restructure which would push money into the non prorated years. You would restructure his contract at least through the first 3 years to do this.

You do this because you can only stretch signing bonus money for 5 years. I built a restructure in the first year not because it is an actual restructure, but to protect the 2015 cap.

Year 5 is where you really have to make a decision about Dez, but likely we would see him as a wily veteran by then, and it would be his job to help bring along a young QB, whose impact on the cap would be negligible.

There is no reason we should have a difficult time with Dez's contract. Pay the man, and leave yourself an out at the same time.

I wanted to go 7/88m just for the whole '88' thing which would still put him 3rd behind CJ and Fitz at 12.6m a year

The guarantees and structure you outline look very do-able, but I wouldn't guarantee the whole 50m right away. I would still give the 14m signing bonus but I wouldn't guarantee his annual salary until March for the first 3 years(36m total or 12m a year) for a little protection.

 

[Galian Beast]

I wanted to go 7/88m just for the whole '88' thing which would still put him 3rd behind CJ and Fitz at 12.6m a year

The guarantees and structure you outline look very do-able, but I wouldn't guarantee the whole 50m right away. I would still give the 14m signing bonus but I wouldn't guarantee his annual salary until March for the first 3 years(36m total or 12m a year) for a little protection.

I mean, I think you can look at the nitty gritty of an actual contract, throw in performance bonuses and roster bonuses along the way. I'm just talking about the basic structure of an agreement I think would work for both sides. I don't know if Dez is going to be willing to do 12 million a year. I think if that were the case he would be signed already.

 

[Nightman]

I mean, I think you can look at the nitty gritty of an actual contract, throw in performance bonuses and roster bonuses along the way. I'm just talking about the basic structure of an agreement I think would work for both sides. I don't know if Dez is going to be willing to do 12 million a year. I think if that were the case he would be signed already.

You are probably right and I wouldn't risk losing him over going to 14m a year. I just thought he might be superstitious or something about the number 88.

 

[mugsybows]

I think he wants more guaranteed money as crazy as that sounds. But if I were him I'd take that

 

[Galian Beast]

I think he wants more guaranteed money. They tried to give him a Tyron contract but he turned it down cuz a lot wasn't guaranteed. But if I were him I'd take that

Tyron only got 22 million guaranteed, I'm calling for over double that.

 

[Galian Beast]

I'm sure you can also put in a clause for conduct detrimental to the team.

 

[mugsybows]

Tyron only got 22 million guaranteed, I'm calling for over double that.

I know but I think he wants more than 50 mil. If I were him I'd take your contract in a second

 

[Galian Beast]

I know but I think he wants more than 50 mil. If I were him I'd take your contract in a second

Don't think he will get more than 50 million guaranteed by anyone. Calvin Johnson sets the ceiling for WRs in this league, and Dez certainly hasn't done anything to suggest he should break that ceiling.

 

[mugsybows]

I think he wants his contract to make a statement that he is the best wr in the league by a lot

 

[Galian Beast]

I think he wants his contract to make a statement that he is the best wr in the league by a lot

I think Dez has recognized that Calvin Johnson is as good if not better than he is.

 

[mugsybows]

Don't think he will get more than 50 million guaranteed by anyone. Calvin Johnson sets the ceiling for WRs in this league, and Dez certainly hasn't done anything to suggest he should break that ceiling.

yeah but I think dez wants to set the new ceiling. I think at the end of the day he thinks hes gonna be better than Calvin and from what I've seen so far he could be on to something.

 

[mugsybows]

I think Dez has recognized that Calvin Johnson is as good if not better than he is.

I agree but i also think his agents are saying cuz of the salary cap and the wr rate is gonna go up so it seems like a lot now but in like the 5th year of your contract that's going to be a bargain. With all that said I'd take 50 mil guaranteed in a heartbeat

 

[Eskimo]

Didn't Romo only get $40M guaranteed?

I would start by franchising Dez while trying to determine what is the going average annual contract for a top 5 WR. I think that is a fair deal for all sides in the end. I don't think there should be any real interest for the Cowboys to make Dez the top paid WR when he has not clearly been the top WR in the league. He has major shortcomings as a WR including lack of ability to generate separation and I think a simplified option tree for route running due to errors in complex route adjustments. He gives you back the circus catches, a great red zone target, YAC and seems to be a great teammate. Being a great teammate also means you want your fellow player to be paid fairly which means you too must accept being paid fairly.

I know some may disagree but I think an offense will usually be better off with 2 very good WRs than with 1 elite WR and 1 below average WR. The reason is that you can slant coverage to the better one and single up the below average one to compensate. If you have two good WRs with the present limitations on DBs it is very hard to maintain coverage if the OL gives them time to run their routes and we have the OL to do it.

I still hope for a top 5 deal for Dez that locks him up for about 6 years or so. I would really not like to go through the whole offseason with Dez stuck with the franchise tag as it will really limit what we can do to improve the team. I really don't want to go into the season with Dez still on the franchise tag as it does not make good business sense for either party. But you just shouldn't be setting the precedent of blowing up pay scales just because a player thinks that is what he is worth. We have played it well with Murray (who I expect to leave in FA) and I hope we do the same with Dez (knowing we have the franchise tag in our back pocket).

We are so close to being legitimate SB favorites if we can just keep Dez and shore up the DL with a couple of smart acquisitions followed up by a great draft and continued development of the young roster we have. Everyone has to band together and sacrifice to some degree for it to happen, though. This is where NE and GB have been so successful for so long by getting so many of their players to accept this sacrifice and I hope our players will follow the leads of Romo and Tyron and not the leads of Hatcher and Ware.

 

[Galian Beast]

I agree but i also think his agents are saying cuz of the salary cap and the wr rate is gonna go up so it seems like a lot now but in like the 5th year of your contract that's going to be a bargain

Even looking at Johnson/Fitzgerald's contracts they are overinflated. The ceiling is dropping, not rising.

 

[Galian Beast]

The fiasco in Denver is likely to really hurt Dez's bottomline.

 

[mugsybows]

Even looking at Johnson/Fitzgerald's contracts they are overinflated. The ceiling is dropping, not rising.

They're falling for aging wide receivers but for new blood like Odell best believe it's raising

 

[mugsybows]

The fiasco in Denver is likely to really hurt Dez's bottomline.

It'll be interesting to see what demariyus takes.

 

[Galian Beast]

It'll be interesting to see what demariyus takes.

If Peyton Manning leaves, I don't see them breaking the bank for Thomas. Which will hurt Dez.