Drew Brees Going to Get Paid A Whole Lotta Cash

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Stephen Burbank, special master, decides on Franchise Tag ruling in Brees favor, which ups his potential 2013 salary by another $4 million. Which means he has one more point in his favor in negotiations.

Might be looking at $40 million guaranteed over first two years of deal minimum or the Saints would need to turn him loose to FA next year.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/03/brees-ruling-potentially-throws-a-wrench-into-negotiations/

I wonder if the NFL (or NFLPA) can change special masters like arbitrators? If so, Burbank might get the Shyman Das treatment.

[Guiness]

I don't think it changes things all that much. It's the money for next year, not this year. For what he's asking, they could still franchise him the next two years, not lay out a whole lot more money than he's asking, and not have to worry about a 36yr old QB with 3 years left on his contract. He's looking in the neighbourhood of $20mil/year, which is what he'll make if they tag him twice.

How do others feel about this negotiation? I tend to lean towards thinking Brees is being greedy. The cap hasn't moved much the past few years, but he's expecting his salary to keep climbing the way salaries have in the past. I think he's going to hamstring the team if he gets what he wants.

[pbmax]

With a $4 mil increase in the tag for 2013, it puts his two year compensation at over $40 million guaranteed. That, I think, is unprecedented. Both Manning and Brady got over $20 mil in averages, but a portion of that calculation included dummy money for Brady and Manning didn't have that number guaranteed over the first two years without committing to far more years at a Colts friendlier number.

The guarantee, I would argue, makes it a big deal. Being tagged makes it tougher, since he will need to be healthy next offseason to get the 2nd year, but its the exact opposite of padded contracts like Haynesworth's deal.

Not sure about a hamstrung team. That was supposed to happen to Manning but he still got to two Super Bowls. Brady had a higher cap number at some point and no one thought twice about it (since he had won 3 SBs already).

[gbgary]

he must be demanding a totally unrealistic amount for their cap. guess they'll just have to cut the payroll somehow. that should make him popular in the locker room.

[pbmax]

he must be demanding a totally unrealistic amount for their cap. guess they'll just have to cut the payroll somehow. that should make him popular in the locker room.

Not necessarily. He's older, been seriously hurt and the Chargers were previously arguing they deserved a discount because they signed him after injury.

Add to that trying to match contracts with Manning/Brady with a new and not increasing CBA. Easily understood. He wants top dollar and the Saints are trying to whittle that down. Benson looks like a doofus with the umbrella, but he is no dummy.

[smuggler]

The Saints do not have cap space to frontload a contract for Brees. That's the problem with their negotiations. They need him to play for around $25 million for the first two years combined and then backload the rest, but his camp, for obvious reasons, is not cool with that.

In order to do it with bonuses, the Saints need enough years on the contract to spread it out reasonably, but they won't give him a contract longer than 4 years...

In short, this will probably drag out into the preseason. He'll have to sign the tender at that point and play for $15.5 million

[Guiness]

With a $4 mil increase in the tag for 2013, it puts his two year compensation at over $40 million guaranteed. That, I think, is unprecedented. Both Manning and Brady got over $20 mil in averages, but a portion of that calculation included dummy money for Brady and Manning didn't have that number guaranteed over the first two years without committing to far more years at a Colts friendlier number.

The guarantee, I would argue, makes it a big deal. Being tagged makes it tougher, since he will need to be healthy next offseason to get the 2nd year, but its the exact opposite of padded contracts like Haynesworth's deal.

Not sure about a hamstrung team. That was supposed to happen to Manning but he still got to two Super Bowls. Brady had a higher cap number at some point and no one thought twice about it (since he had won 3 SBs already).

Ok, going to look at those Manning and Brady deals. I remember they had cap numbers around the $20mil, but did they actually end up counting that much?

Ok, looking at Brady's deal, it averages $18mil/year.

Manning's Colts contract probably was over $20mil against the cap...they didn't seem too upset about getting rid of him, maybe not just because of the doubt with his injury, but they realized the contract was unsustainable when the cap didn't climb the way it had been doing so. His current contract with Denver is a 4yr/$96mil contract, but could end up being 1yr/$18mil. I think one of two things has to happen for him to collect more than that from the Broncos - he has to renegotiate or the cap takes an unexpected jump.

[pbmax]

Brady's deal started slow as I recall and ratcheted up in cap hit. Toward the end of his deal, he was above Manning's cap number.

But, as in all cases, the true measure is the upfront and guaranteed money. And, if nothing else, Brees has another arrow in Tom Condon's quiver* with the additional $4 mil in Year 2.

* So to speak.

[Guiness]

Brady's deal started slow as I recall and ratcheted up in cap hit. Toward the end of his deal, he was above Manning's cap number.

But, as in all cases, the true measure is the upfront and guaranteed money. And, if nothing else, Brees has another arrow in Tom Condon's quiver* with the additional $4 mil in Year 2.

* So to speak.

Ya, I think it does, and it got worse when he restructured this spring. They converted his salary and roster bonus to a singing bonus, pushing some money from 2012 to 2013 and 4. Helps now, but not so good next year.

Still, I don't see how Brees can expect to get more money than he or Manning got when teams have no more money now than they did 2 years ago.

[pbmax]

If the Saints are amenable to forking over something close to Brees' cash demands early in the contract, the normal avenues are available for them to delay the cap hit to later in the contract. There isn't as much room as some expected in 2014, but it will be going up eventually. While the cap is lower now than in 2009, its not lower than it was when Manning and Brady signed their big deals, if my memory is correct about the years involved.

[Tony Oday]

well this teams window is closed so let the guy go.

[pbmax]

well this teams window is closed so let the guy go.

It is strange that with all the other negativity, the Saints are letting this linger. But its possible Condon and Brees are playing hardball. Even Thompson got snowballed by Grant during the Summer of Favre.

[Guiness]

If the Saints are amenable to forking over something close to Brees' cash demands early in the contract, the normal avenues are available for them to delay the cap hit to later in the contract. There isn't as much room as some expected in 2014, but it will be going up eventually. While the cap is lower now than in 2009, its not lower than it was when Manning and Brady signed their big deals, if my memory is correct about the years involved.

Manning signed this year, of course, so the same money is available, and it averages under $20million. His Indi contract, although ridiculously front loaded ($61.8 million in the first 2 years is what I'm seeing???) still averages under 20/year.

Brady signed his contract in 2010...the uncapped year.

I'm sure it's possible for a team to succeed while carrying these monster contracts, but it's hard to see how. It puts much more emphasis on drafting well/lucky than developing veteran talent. Football is a business and you're going to lose that veteran talent when someone else can offer them an extra $500K/year because they don't have 15%+ of their cap tied up in one player.

Patler, oh Patler, where are you? Seems like you should be chiming in on this thread!

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I don't think Manning's new Bronco contract is a good comparable since he did not play last year and obviously has questions about his physical status. His terminated contract with the Colts was obviously designed to terminate early, so it might not be much use either. Though $28 million not to play has certainly come up in the discussions.

Brady signed in 2010 but his deal (its not clear cut after a restructure for 2012) was, at a minimum, 3 years 48.5 million guaranteed. His restructure in 2012 got him another 10 million in bonus. If that bonus was guaranteed, his three year take could be north of 58 million, for a three year value of $19.33 per year. There are two years after that. If the contract guarantees his restructure bonuses over the last two years, its less likely he would be released as it would be a big cap hit. But he could force a renegotiation.

Brees is younger than both. I think getting above $20 million per year is doable. Whether its wise, harder to say. This is probably the same debate they have at the meetings.

EDIT: Brady's restructure was to a signing bonus prorated over the last 3 years of the deal. So its cap prohibitive to cut him until the last year. In 2013, he will earn a roughly $14.5 million (I already counted the new signing bonus above). So its a four year deal at about $17 mil per. If my numbers are close (and I assume the bulk of all bonuses are paid), maybe it will be a stretch.

[Guiness]

From my cursory glance at P. Manning's contract, I thought it was designed to go the distance. He was getting over 20 the first two years, and the contract averaged 18, so the last 3 years should've been relatively cheap. Not sure though, I can't even find out just what he got in year 1. Not sure what a 'pro rated bonus' is, and I've seen that the signing bonus was 16, and in other places 20. Here's one of the articles I found that lays it out well:

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2012/2/12/2792012/peyton-manning-andrew-luck-and-the-salary-cap

but it contradicts some of the info here

http://contractsalary.blogspot.ca/2012/03/peyton-manning-indianapolis-colts.html