Contract Details: Bryant, Thomas, Houston
In the wake of the four contract extensions signed yesterday by players who received the franchise tag, year-to-year details on structure, salary, and bonuses has begun to surface on three of those deals. While we still don’t have a lot of specific info on Stephen Gostkowski‘s new four-year contract with the Patriots, there are plenty of updates out there on the three big agreements of the day. Let’s round up the latest:
Dez Bryant (WR), Cowboys:
- Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com and Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter links) provide the yearly breakdown of Bryant’s base salaries and cap hits. Bryant’s modest $3MM base salary in 2015 will result in just a $7MM cap number. His cap charges increase to $13MM, $17MM, $16.5MM, and $16.5MM in the final four years of the pact.
- Bryant gets $32MM fully guaranteed at the time of his signing, and his contract doesn’t feature offsets, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter links).
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap lays out what Bryant’s full extension looks like in chart form.
Demaryius Thomas (WR), Broncos:
- Thomas’ contract includes an $11MM signing bonus, a $6.5MM roster bonus, and a fully guaranteed $4.5MM base salary for 2015, per Mike Klis of 9News. Thomas’ 2016 salary of $13MM is also fully guaranteed, while his 2017 salary ($8.5MM) is guaranteed for injury only at the moment — it becomes fully guaranteed early in the 2017 league year. The 27-year-old has a $4MM option bonus in 2018.
- Thomas’ extension doesn’t feature offsets, tweets Corry.
- Here’s what Thomas’ deal looks like in chart form, via Over the Cap.
Justin Houston (OLB), Chiefs:
- Houston’s new contract counts for just $5.1MM against the Chiefs’ cap in 2015 before jumping to $19.1MM in 2016. In a tweet, Corry breaks down the cap charges for all six years.
- According to Corry (via Twitter), Houston gets $12MM of his $20.5MM signing bonus within 20 days of signing the contract. The remaining $8.5MM is deferred until April 1, 2016.
Dan Connolly Announces Retirement
Veteran offensive lineman Dan Connolly has decided to retire from the NFL, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Connolly, who says the Patriots’ Super Bowl win last season helped him become more “at ease with the decision,” also cited health reasons when explaining why he’s ending his playing career. The SE Missouri St. alum has suffered four concussions throughout his NFL career, and made his decision to retire after speaking to his wife and doctors.
“It’s important to me to leave the game healthy,” Connolly said. “I’m able to be here for my kids and walk away on my own terms. I feel like I got everything I could out of football in playing 10 years, winning a Super Bowl, and playing alongside some truly great players.”
Connolly, 32, began his career with the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2005, then later caught on with the Patriots. Connolly became a regular contributor in New England in 2009, and a full-time starter on the interior offensive line in 2010. Over the last five years, Connolly has played at left guard, right guard, and center for the Pats, appearing in 70 regular-season contests (67 starts).
A free agent this offseason, Connolly drew interest from a handful of teams, paying a visit to the Buccaneers back in March. However, we heard last month that, despite a strong pitch from Tampa Bay, Connolly wasn’t interested in moving so far away from his family, meaning he wasn’t likely to continue playing unless he got a strong offer from New England.
As the Patriots prepare to move on to younger, more inexperienced options at guard, Connolly expressed gratitude to the team for having given him a shot: “With my football career coming to a close I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by the Kraft family and Coach [Bill] Belichick. It is an honor to have been part of such a great organization for the past eight seasons.”
Recap Of Extensions For Franchised Players
This time of year is generally fairly quiet when it comes to NFL stories, but July 15 is a notable exception, as the deadline arrives for players on the franchise tag to sign multiyear contracts. If those players don’t sign multiyear deals today, they have to play the 2015 season on a one-year pact, assuming they play at all.
While reports earlier this week expressed pessimism about the number of deals that would come together today, four of 2015’s five franchised players ended up signing extensions, with two of them getting finalized in the hour before the 3:00pm CT deadline.
Here’s a recap of today’s action, along with the contract details we know so far:
Extended:
Dez Bryant, WR (Cowboys)
Franchise tender: $12.823MM
New contract (full story): Five years, $70MM. $14MM per year.
Details: $32MM fully guaranteed at signing ($20MM signing bonus). $45MM guaranteed by March 2016.
Stephen Gostkowski, K (Patriots)
Franchise tender: $4.59MM
New contract (full story): Four years, $17.2MM. $4.3MM per year.
Justin Houston, OLB (Chiefs)
Franchise tender: $13.195MM
New contract (full story): Six years, $101MM. $16.833MM per year.
Details: $32.5MM fully guaranteed at signing ($20.5MM signing bonus). $43MM guaranteed by March 2016. $52.5MM overall guarantee.
Demaryius Thomas, WR (Broncos)
Franchise tender: $12.823MM
New contract (full story): Five years, $70MM. $14MM per year.
Details: $35MM fully guaranteed at signing. $43.5MM overall guarantee.
Not extended:
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE (Giants)
Franchise tender: $14.813MM
Tender remains unsigned — terms of the one-year agreement can be altered if both sides agree.
Broncos Extend Demaryius Thomas
3:01pm: With the deadline for franchised players to sign multiyear deals having passed, Albert Breer of the NFL Network confirms (via Twitter) that Thomas’ contract has been finalized and filed
2:51pm: According to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link), $35MM of Thomas’ $43.5MM overall guarantee is fully guaranteed at the time of signing.
2:38pm: Shortly after the Cowboys and Dez Bryant agreed to a five-year, $70MM contract, the Broncos and Demaryius Thomas have done the same, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Thomas’ five-year, $70MM pact will feature $43.5MM in guarantees, just slightly less than Bryant’s $45MM.
Heading into the day, a multiyear extension hadn’t been considered likely for Thomas, who was reportedly seeking a contract in the neighborhood of Calvin Johnson‘s mega-deal with the Lions — the Broncos appeared unwilling to budge from a figure much lower than that, in the ballpark of $13MM annually. However, this afternoon’s deadline – along with Bryant’s deal – got the two sides back to the negotiating table, and they got something done with less than a half-hour to go.
This morning, we learned that Thomas was planning to skip the Broncos’ training camp and preseason if he didn’t get a long-term extension today, and it’s possible that threat helped move the team to action. After all, with a new head coach and offensive coordinator in place, it would have set the Broncos back somewhat to be without their No. 1 wideout until September. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), the club upped its offer today.
It’s also possible that the threat of a collusion complaint from the NFL Player’s Association played a part, though neither the Broncos nor the Cowboys appeared to take that investigation too seriously. Now that Bryant and Thomas have been locked up, the NFLPA will likely stand down, but amidst the union’s claims of collusion, it’s interesting to note that the two wideouts appear to have landed virtually identical contracts.
Like Bryant, Thomas has been one of the league’s top receivers over the last several seasons, piling up 297 receptions and three consecutive Pro Bowl nods since becoming a full-time starter for the Broncos in 2012. During that stretch, Thomas averaged 99 catches, 1,494 yards, and 12 touchdowns per season, establishing new career highs with 111 receptions and 1619 yards in 2014. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has ranked the 27-year-old as a top-five wideout in each of the last three seasons.
Despite his gaudy numbers, Thomas wasn’t a lock to be extended by the Broncos, given the team’s uncertain quarterback situation beyond this season. Although Thomas’ success can’t be attributed entirely to Peyton Manning, there’s a chance his production will eventually drop off without the future Hall-of-Famer, who may not extend his career beyond 2015.
Still, having let standout pass-catchers like Eric Decker and Julius Thomas walk in free agency over the last two years, the Broncos appeared to be prioritizing Demaryius Thomas. By locking him up now, the team avoids having to make a tough decision next year, when both Thomas and Von Miller would be eligible for potential unrestricted free agency. With Thomas under contract, Denver now has the 2016 franchise tag available to use on Miller.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cowboys Sign Dez Bryant To Extension
2:31pm: Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com has tweeted out a photo of Bryant signing the contract, making it official.
2:16pm: Bryant will get $23MM in total money – including a $20MM signing bonus – for 2015, according to Pro Football Talk (Twitter links). The other $22MM will become fully guaranteed by March of 2016.
2:10pm: The Cowboys and Dez Bryant have an agreement in principle on a five-year extension worth $70MM, which will be finalized prior to this afternoon’s deadline for franchised players to sign multiyear contracts, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the agreement features $45MM in guaranteed money, though it’s not clear yet how much of that amount is fully guaranteed.
Earlier reports had indicated that the two sides were closing in on an agreement and that Bryant was on his way to the team’s facility to hammer out the final details. Based on Rapoport’s report, it sounds like the star wideout will be putting pen to paper shortly.
The agreement between Bryant and the Cowboys brings to an end a saga that has played out over the last several months, ever since the team assigned its franchise tag to the All-Pro receiver back in March. While both sides indicated all along that they wanted to get a long-term deal done, there were plenty of potential roadblocks along the way, with Bryant threatening to hold out into the regular season if he didn’t get an extension, and the NFLPA looking into possible collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos over Bryant’s and Demaryius Thomas‘ contracts.
Although Bryant’s franchise tag was worth $12.823MM, he had been seeking a larger annual salary on a multiyear contract. Reports earlier today suggested that Dallas had increased its offer to north of $13MM annually, and while it was said that the wideout’s camp still wasn’t satisfied with that proposal, Bryant seemed eager to get something done and get his contract situation put to bed. It appears his new deal will average $14MM per year.
Bryant, 26, has established himself as an elite, durable wideout during the first five seasons of his career. The former first-round pick has racked up 381 catches and 56 touchdowns while appearing in 75 of a possible 80 regular-season games since Dallas selected him 24th overall out of Oklahoma State in 2010. Bryant hasn’t missed a game since 2011 and is coming off his third straight season with at least 88 catches and 12 TDs.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder set a new career high for touchdowns in 2014 by reaching the end zone 16 times, and he also tied his previous best yards-per-catch mark (15.0). As a result, Bryant earned First-Team All-Pro honors and his second consecutive Pro Bowl invitation.
Among the NFL’s elite receivers who are extension-eligible this season, Bryant is the first to land an extension, and the deal could result in other star wideouts around the league making progress on their own contracts. Thomas, Bryant’s fellow franchise-tag recipient, will have to get something done with the Broncos by the top of the hour if he hopes to sign a long-term deal before 2016, but Julio Jones and A.J. Green could negotiate extensions with their respective teams at any time throughout the year.
One reason that it took some time for one of these top receivers to sign an extension was the uncertainty about how they fit into a market that featured a significant gap between the top two contracts. The gap between Calvin Johnson‘s $16.21MM average salary and the $12MM annual figure for Mike Wallace was significant, with players and agents angling for something closer to Johnson’s number, while teams argued that was an outlier. Unsurprisingly, Bryant’s per-year salary falls nearly right in the middle of the two figures.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Demaryius Thomas Updates: Wednesday
With less than five hours for Demaryius Thomas and the Broncos to finalize a long-term extension, the odds of the two sides reaching an agreement don’t look great. We’ll round up Wednesday’s updates on Thomas in this space, with any additional news and rumors added to the top of the page throughout the day. Here’s the latest:
- If the Broncos and Thomas are able to make a last-minute deal, expect it to be bigger than the five-year, $70MM deal Dez Bryant got from the Cowboys, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Thomas and the Broncos are talking, though they don’t have much time left.
Earlier updates:
- According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links), the Broncos have adjusted their offer to Thomas four times, but the last adjustment came over a month ago. That proposal, which is still on the table, was strong on guarantees but fell short of the per-year salary Thomas is seeking.
- A source tells Pro Football Talk (Twitter link) that the Broncos had been under the impression that Thomas would take the best deal on the table today. Now, the team isn’t so sure about that.
- As of 9:00am MDT, there had been no communication today between the Broncos and Thomas’ agent, Todd France, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. As Klis adds in a second tweet, if the two sides were intent on making a deal, they’d probably have to start hammering out specific details and language by now.
- Earlier today, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated that the Broncos are unlikely to budge from their current offer, which is in the neighborhood of $13MM per year.
- We also heard that the standout receiver is expected to skip training camp and the preseason if he doesn’t land a new deal today. Because he has yet to sign his franchise tender, Thomas wouldn’t be subject to fines for his absence. Within that same story, we passed along word from Troy Renck of the Denver Post that multiple agents believe Denver has offered Thomas more than $40MM guaranteed, though it’s not clear if that amount is fully guaranteed.
Cowboys, Dez Bryant Closing In On Deal
1:45pm: Assuming Bryant and the Cowboys finalize a contract, it’ll be for five years, tweets Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
1:37pm: Bryant is headed to the Cowboys’ facility now, in hopes of putting the finishing touches on an extension, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). There are still some minor points to work out, but there’s a sense it’ll get done, according to Schefter and Rapoport, who tweets that the two sides are finalizing a deal.
1:11pm: The Cowboys are moving closer to getting a long-term extension done with Dez Bryant, a source tells David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Nothing has been agreed upon yet, and the two sides have less than two hours to finalize a deal, but everyone appears optimistic that it’ll get done, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Earlier today, we heard that the Cowboys had increased their offer to Bryant, going north of $13MM per year. However, that proposal was viewed by Bryant’s camp as “still not great,” according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Based on recent reports from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report and others, it sounds as if Bryant may be anxious to get a multiyear pact done today, rather than waiting until after the season to resume negotiations. If that’s the case, then the star wideout may ultimately elect to accept the best offer on the table, even if his representatives would prefer that he hold out for more.
If the two sides don’t strike a deal by 3:00pm central time, Bryant would have to play on a one-year contract in 2015, if he plays at all. He has threatened to miss training camp, the preseason, and even regular season games if he doesn’t get a long-term extension today.
Patriots To Extend Stephen Gostkowski
While he didn’t receive nearly as much attention as the other four franchised players this offseason, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski also had until today to work out a multiyear contract with his team. And according to Christopher Gasper of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), Gostkowski has done just that, agreeing to an extension with the Pats. It’s a four-year deal worth $17.2MM, per Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Gostkowski, 31, has led the NFL in field goals in each of the last two seasons, making 73 of his 78 total attempts during that stretch for a 93.6% mark. Gostkowski has also made all 95 of his extra point tries over the last two years. That success prompted the Pats to designate him as their franchise player, rather than using the tag on safety Devin McCourty, who eventually signed a long-term deal with the club as well.
Because he signed his tender shortly after he was tagged, Gostkowski wasn’t in the same situation as the other four franchised players, who were not under contract heading into today. Although today was the last day Gostkowski could sign a multiyear contract, there was no question that he’d report to the club later this month and participate in training camp, with or without a long-term contract.
Gostkowski’s one-year salary on the franchise tag had been $4.59MM, so his new deal reduces his annual salary slightly – to $4.3MM – in exchange for some longer-term security. Gostkowski’s extension also figures to include at least a modest signing bonus, which should allow the Pats to reduce his cap hit for 2015.
Latest On Tom Brady, Greg Hardy Suspensions
As Roger Goodell continues to weigh whether or not to uphold Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension, NFLPA sources tell Ryan Smith of ABC News (Twitter link) that the union intends to challenge Goodell’s decision in federal court, even if Brady’s ban is reduced to one or two games.
That’s not a huge surprise, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets, pointing out that it has been the NFLPA’s plan all along to challenge the appeal decision in court. However, the final decision will be up to Brady himself. Breer also observes (via Twitter) that it wouldn’t make sense for the union not to plan on filing a lawsuit — it may not affect Goodell’s ruling, but the threat of legal action will make him consider every aspect of the decision more carefully.
Meanwhile, though we’re still waiting on an appeal ruling in Brady’s case, we got word last week that Greg Hardy‘s ban has been reduced from 10 games to just four games. That doesn’t necessarily mean the saga is over though — agent Drew Rosenhaus indicated at the time that he’d consult with Hardy, the NFLPA, and his lawyers before deciding whether or not to pursue legal action.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, that decision is coming “any time now.” Time will be of the essence if Hardy’s camp pursues litigation, since the regular season is less than two months away, so the goal is to make a call one way or the other by the end of the week.
Chiefs Sign Justin Houston To Six-Year Deal
11:40am: Houston’s signing bonus is worth $20.5MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). That means it’ll count against the cap for $4.1MM annually from 2015 to 2019.
11:22am: Houston has confirmed in a tweet that he has signed his contract with the Chiefs, thanking agents Joel Segal and Greg Barnett for their work getting it done. Meanwhile, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com has some specifics on the money involved, tweeting that Houston will get $32.5MM in fully guaranteed money, including $43MM by March 2016.
11:00am: The Chiefs and Justin Houston have agreed to a contract extension that will be the richest deal in team history, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Houston’s new contract will be worth $101MM over six years, including $52.5MM guaranteed, narrowly surpassing J.J. Watt‘s pact with the Texans.
Houston becomes the first of this year’s class of franchised players to reach a multiyear extension with his club, doing so about four hours before this afternoon’s deadline. Outside of perhaps Stephen Gostkowski, who already signed his franchise tender with the Patriots, Houston had long been considered the franchised player most likely to ink a long-term deal.
Multiple recent reports had indicated that Houston was looking to match or exceed Watt’s six-year, $100MM contract, which seemed to be a more attainable goal than equaling Ndamukong Suh‘s six-year, $114MM+ deal. Unlike Suh, neither Houston nor Watt reached the open market when they agreed to their new contracts. However, you could make a strong case that the Chiefs and Texans pass rushers are currently the two most valuable defenders in the NFL.
In 2014, Houston led the league in sacks, racking up 22 en route to his first All-Pro nod. Over the past three seasons, the 26-year-old has terrorized opposing quarterbacks, accumulating 43 sacks in 43 games — he also forced four fumbles last season, totaling 68 tackles. The advanced numbers back up Houston’s dominance as well, as he has ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 outside linebacker over each of the past two seasons (subscription required). Last year, his +51.1 grade nearly doubled the +26.0 mark posted by PFF’s second-best 3-4 OLB, Pernell McPhee.
A former third-round pick, Houston entered the league in 2011 with some off-field concerns after reportedly testing positive for marijuana at the NFL’s scouting combine. However, he has stayed out of trouble and on the field since then, instilling plenty of confidence in the Chiefs, who used their franchise tag on him before locking him up to a longer-term deal.
Had Houston not reached an agreement with Kansas City today, he would have had to sign his one-year franchise tender – worth $13.195MM – or negotiate a slightly modified one-year contract with the team. That salary would have been guaranteed once he signed his tender, but it looks like he’ll earn more than $13.195MM in 2015, between his signing bonus and his new salary. The Chiefs should also create a little breathing room under the cap, since they’ll be able to spread Houston’s signing bonus out over five seasons for cap purposes.
While the $52.5MM guarantee initially reported won’t all be fully guaranteed, Houston’s per-year salary makes him the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history. Interestingly, a report in May indicated the Chiefs wouldn’t want to pay Houston more annually than they’ve committed to quarterback Alex Smith, who is making $17MM per year. So it makes sense that Houston’s figure would come in just short of that, at about $16.83MM per season.
With Houston having landed an extension today, we’ll now be keeping an eye on Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, and Gostkowski, as the 3:00pm CT deadline for long-term contracts for franchised players looms. Jason Pierre-Paul is also eligible for a multiyear extension, but the uncertain nature of his hand injury makes a deal extremely unlikely.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.