Barnett Contract Done

[GBRulz]

Found this on the PG...

Barnett's extension: 6 years, $35 million

He'll earn $12.5 million in the 1st year

By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com


Linebacker Nick Barnett’s contract extension with the Green Bay Packers is a six-year deal worth a total of $35 million.


He will receive in the neighborhood of $12.5 million in the first year in the form of bonuses and base salary.

The deal, which runs through 2012, was completed early this morning and was announced in a statement by General Manager Ted Thompson.

Barnett, 25, has led the Packers in tackles in three of his four NFL seasons. A 6-foot-2, 232-pounder, Barnett was to make $1.95 million in base salary this season, the last year of his original rookie contract.

Barnett’s agent, Chuck Price, called his client “a throwback player.”

“Nick is about as old school a football player as you can find,” Price said in an afternoon press conference. “His values of team, his values of loyalty — he’s old school. That’s why I like working with him.”

Barnett, who has participated in the majority of the Packers’ offseason strength and conditioning programs, said he didn’t want to make his contract demands public like former teammate Javon Walker, who was dealt on draft day a year ago.

“Not a knock against their character or anything — I’m just not that type of person,” Barnett said.

No Packers officials were immediately available for comment.

[Partial]

After the first year the deal averages 4.5 mil/yr. Thats a freaking steal since we don't need the space this year anyway.

We'll have a lot of space next year too, the way it is looking. Hawk gets an 11 million dollar bonus this year in addition to his salary.

[Packnut]

Cap space

After the first year the deal averages 4.5 mil/yr. Thats a freaking steal since we don't need the space this year anyway.

We'll have a lot of space next year too, the way it is looking. Hawk gets an 11 million dollar bonus this year in addition to his salary.

I don't think we'll have to worry about cap space for the next few years. No reason to believe Thompson will change stripes in regards to free agency. He's putting all his eggs in one basket with regards to the draft. Nothing else to do now but sit back and watch how he fills 5 holes on this team with this years draft.

[ND72]

ok, #1, I'm really happy this got taken care of. I for one am a Barnett fan...but I also know he can get a ton better, which is the part I like. Here's another part I love....how much is that gonna hurt the Bears signing of Briggs cause you know he's gonna want more than Barnett now.

I do like how Teddy does his contracts...Barnett's deal after year 1 & 2 basically comes out to a 4 year $16 Million dollar contract. Which means his cap hit won't kill us by year 5 and we'll have to cut him. That's the stuff I like. Good job Teddy...taking care of our people is what I'm all about.

[RashanGary]

"At least we did something. I'm guessing 6 years 36 million with 12 upfront."

This is what I said at 9:45 this morning at PC. I go there while at school cuz my school IP is apparently banned and I can't read but anyway...This was my prediction..

I'm pretty proud of that

[Bretsky]

Re: Barnett

12 million for this season so it is heavily front loaded which everyone expected.

What a surrprise

[RashanGary]

Re: Barnett

12 million for this season so it is heavily front loaded which everyone expected.

What a surrprise

I was just thinking how disappointed you'd be that we have to wait till our own new core comes up to really spend it.

TT is making sure that when his draft picks come up for paydays that he has the $$. He's basically planning on having a bunch of good drafts; something Sherm clearly didn't do.

[Bretsky]

Re: Barnett

12 million for this season so it is heavily front loaded which everyone expected.

What a surrprise

I was just thinking how disappointed you'd be that we have to wait till our own new core comes up to really spend it.

TT is making sure that when his draft picks come up for paydays that he has the $$. He's basically planning on having a bunch of good drafts; something Sherm clearly didn't do.

I've learned that if I want to win the Big Bowl soon, I need to expect disappointment out of Ted Thompson. He's planning for the future; not next year. To me it seems like the perfet model to keep us average until he changes his philosophy.

[RashanGary]

List some SB winners in the last 10 years who did it any other way B...

[RashanGary]

“We felt all along that now is the perfect time,” Thompson said. “(Barnett is) entering into the last year of his contract. Obviously from a player’s point of view, there’s always the risk of injury. From the club’s point of view, the closer you get to free agency, then it gets a little bit dicey. We just felt like and have always felt like somewhere right in this time is a good opportunity for both sides to work something out.”


Thompson is basically saying what many here have been saying all along. When you draft your own you get the RFA discount or the get yours early discount. Sherman was an idiot the way he paid full market value. People compare this to ADalius Thomas who got 20 mil up front on a similar per year contract but the guy who IMO Barnett is most like is Nate Clements. He's 26 and a borderline probowler. Clements got like 26 up front on a 70 million dollar deal. Barnett would have shattered this contract if he would have hit the open market. Jenkins and Kampman are both underpaid looking back too.

This is going to be a very good deal for the Packers and just more proof that teams can afford way more talent and better overall rosters when they draft well and get the RFA discount.

[Merlin]

I believe that Barnett's stance has always been that he deserves the middle.

He doesn’t DESERVE the middle any more than Hawk, Popps, or Hodge. It’s M3 that ultimately decides who plays where. He deserves to play where it makes the defense the best.

Barnett never said "I deserve the middle". His stance was that coming up on a contract year, why take a position move and jeopardize his next contract. I agree with that. If they moved him to the outside last year and he didn't adjust right away, it would ultimately effect what he would have signed for a contract. Although I am sure that has little to do with the coaches choice to keep him in the middle. Barnett has always maintained that he will play where ever they put him. And knowing the class that he has shown given all the bullshit he has been through, I know he would play safety if it meant he was on the field.

As far as he "doesn't deserve the middle anymore than Hawk, Popps, or Hodge", that is just hate talk there. He has the most experience and he is the most qualified on our roster. So if you are going to use the selfish "deserves", he does in fact deserve it more then any other LB we have.

[Bretsky]

List some SB winners in the last 10 years who did it any other way B...

The Green Bay Packers for one

[Bretsky]

This is going to be a very good deal for the Packers and just more proof that teams can afford way more talent and better overall rosters when they draft well and get the RFA discount.


Interesting proof by using a Mike Sherman draftee and a Ted Thompson deal to make your argument. One could say the same thing for Kampman, who was also a Sherman draft pick.

[retailguy]

Re: Barnett

I've learned that if I want to win the Big Bowl soon, I need to expect disappointment out of Ted Thompson. He's planning for the future; not next year. To me it seems like the perfet model to keep us average until he changes his philosophy.

Isn't that really what happened in Seattle? They were a solid team in a weak division, never getting over the hump... until... Thompson got the gig in Green Bay. They plugged a couple of holes with some free agents and got to the Super Bowl....

Mediocre? Guess that's better than the 70's and 80's.

Hope it's better than that.

[Scott Campbell]

I think some of you guys would be happier if Dan Snyder bought the Packers.

At least until September, when they started playing games.