T.J. Lang Agrees To Contract Extension

[Patler]

It's a 4 year extension. Agents make sure to phrase it that way so it shows he's getting 5M/year added. It's true.

I always look at these types of deals with this year added in.

If Matthews signs a 4 year extension, it would be a six year deal. I could see that happening some time this season. 6 years, 46M or so, 12 up front.

He would be getting 10M/year of new money on a 4 year extension, but it's a 6 year deal, so it's really 7.5/year.

That's the benefit of drafting a guy who over performs. You get to pay them early, and they deserve it, and at the same time, you're paying them less than other players of the same caliber because the last year or two of the deal shrinks the average.

Sometimes the new deal includes significant changes to the remaining year(s) of the old contract, in which case I think it makes sense to look at it as a new contract for the time from now to expiration. This often happens when the player has a high cap # in the current year, and the extension provides a significant change. Sometimes, the player was in danger of being released due to the cap situation, so the remaining year wasn't assured, or even likely.

Other times, as apparently is the case with Lang, the terms for the remaining year(s) on the old contract do not change, and additional years are added in. In those situations, it makes more sense to me to consider it as an extension for the term of the years added, because the current year was going to be paid in the same way whether or not the extension was signed.

In the end, it doesn't matter what we call it. The averages/year don't mean a lot to me regardless of how it is figured. The significant points for me are the guaranteed money, cap #s in specific years; and from the teams perspective, the ability to terminate the player without destroying the cap in the year of termination. Without knowing all the details, it appears that the Packers would be able to dump Lang just about whenever they would decide they want to, as the cap hit from the accelerated signing bonus won't be much more than his cap # for that year if he is kept. After just a couple years, it will probably be less. Of course, that is not uncommon in a relatively short contract, so long as it doesn't have an exorbitant signing bonus.

[Joemailman]

So how much does that leave us this year to try and sign Jennings or Matthews, Rodgers, or Raji early?

I read recently that the Packers were 11 million under the cap. Lang's contract increases his cap hit by $600,000 this year over what it would have been.