Offset Language
Since the NFL’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has made rookie contracts fairly regimented, negotiations between teams and draft picks have become smoother than ever, with few – if any – players expected to be unsigned by the time training camp gets underway. Still, a number players have yet to ink their rookie deals, including several first-rounders.
Although we don’t know the inner workings of each negotiation, one factor that continues to play a role in contracts for first-round picks relates to offset language. Over the last several years, only a handful of players in each year have managed to avoid having offsets language written into their deals. In 2015, Marcus Mariota‘s camp haggled with the Titans until the two sides finally reached an accord with partial offset language, a compromise that was not consummated until late July. In 2016, Joey Bosa’s holdout dominated headlines until the linebacker inked his deal on August 29th. In most cases, a lack of offsets for a player simply relies on which team drafted him — clubs like the Rams and Jaguars traditionally haven’t pushed to include offsets in contracts for their top picks, even in an era where most other teams around the league do.
Offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.
However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.
Although the negotiation of offset language might potentially delay a rookie’s signing, the offsets rarely come into play, since few top picks flame out badly enough that they’re released during their first four seasons. And even in those rare instances, if a player has performed poorly enough to be cut in his first few years, he likely won’t sign a lucrative deal elsewhere, so offset language wouldn’t help his old club recover more than perhaps the league minimum.
Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry, modified from an earlier post by PFR editor emeritus Luke Adams. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from OverTheCap.com was used in the creation of this post.
Latest On Rob Gronkowski Trade Rumors
On Friday morning, Twitter became flooded with rumors of a potential Rob Gronkowski trade. However, it appears that Patriots fans can breathe easy. There is “zero truth” to rumblings of the Patriots trading Gronkowski, a source tells Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston (on Twitter). 
[On This Date In 2012: Gronkowski, Patriots Agree To Record-Setting Six-Year Extension]
At Pro Football Rumors, we typically do not go out of our way to address rumors from unsubstantiated sources, but the word of a potential Gronkowski trade has dominated the Twittersphere for several hours. Given the Patriots’ history of embracing the next-man-up mentality, a trade of the most dominant tight end in the game would be a surprise, but hardly an impossibility.
Gronkowski stayed away for much of the Patriots’ voluntary offseason team activities this year in an apparent effort to have his contract reworked. His arrival in Foxboro this week seemed to signal that a resolution was on the horizon, but the two sides have yet to hammer out a revised deal. Gronkowski’s brief flirtation with retirement this offseason could also be a signal that the “Patriot Way” has grown tiresome for him.
One source who has been with the Patriots for years told Curran (Twitter link) the team’s treatment of Gronk at the start of 2017 was similar to how other players have been treated before being dealt. Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot in and of itself, and the tight end was not traded last year.
So, for now, we can put the Gronkowski trade rumors to rest. While major trades are more commonplace than ever in the NFL and Bill Belichick‘s methodology remains unpredictable, there’s no reason to believe that Gronkowski will be in another uniform in 2018.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Rowe, Jets
The Patriots‘ final roster could include a sixth cornerback, as Doug Kyed of NESN.com writes. Right now, he expects the Pats to roll into the season with Stephon Gilmore, Duke Dawson, Jonathan Jones, Jason McCourty, and Eric Rowe as their top five cornerbacks.
However, J.C. Jackson is also making a strong case and has been getting more reps in the starting defense than Rowe this offseason. Keion Crossen and Ryan Lewis have also looked sharp and Cyrus Jones‘ return ability should keep him in the conversation. The only corner who seems to be out of the conversation is Jomal Wiltz, an Iowa State product who spent last year on New England’s taxi squad.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- New Jets safety J.J. Wilcox can earn up to $1.25MM on his one-year contract, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The deal includes $210K fully guaranteed, which may be more than what he had on the table with the Niners. In the wake of Rontez Miles‘ torn meniscus, Wilcox appears to be in line for an important role behind starting safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.
- On Thursday, we learned that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has been suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season, pending an appeal. Here’s a look at some of the potential fallout from the news.
- Six years ago today, Rob Gronkowski inked a record-setting deal with the Patriots.
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This Date In Transactions History: Rob Gronkowski
Six years ago, Rob Gronkowski inked the most lucrative deal for a tight end in NFL history. The Patriots tacked another six years on to the two remaining seasons of his rookie contract at $54MM, locking him down through the 2019 campaign. 
The deal made plenty of sense for both sides at the time. The pact included $13MM fully guaranteed and $18MM guaranteed for injury, which provided the 23-year-old with financial security early in his career. Through his first two NFL seasons, the former second-round pick made less than $2.5MM in total.
Meanwhile, the Patriots locked down a tight end coming off of a First-Team All-Pro selection. Although he impressed as a rookie, Gronk took his game to a new level in 2011 as he caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns with a catch percentage of 72.6%. Even today, those numbers stand as Gronk’s career bests.
A broken forearm sidelined Gronkowski for five games in 2012. Shortly after returning, he re-aggravated the injury in the Pats’ first playoff game and missed out on the AFC Championship game. In the offseason, the forearm became infected, forcing the tight end to undergo the third and fourth surgeries of his career. In June of 2013, he had back surgery. Then, in a late-season contest against the Browns, he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Gronk was undoubtedly grateful for his injury guarantees at that time.
There were more ailments to come, including a less serious knee injury in 2015 and a pulmonary contusion in 2016, but Gronkowski continued to be one of the very best at his position. Meanwhile, the salary cap continued to grow and the tight end market advanced. Over time, Gronk’s record-setting deal started to look more and more team-friendly. In 2014, Jimmy Graham signed a deal that made him the league’s highest-paid tight end with an average annual average value of $10MM and $16.5MM in full guarantees.
Eventually, something had to give. Prior to the 2017 season, the Pats tweaked Gronk’s deal to incentivize his performance while protecting the team against another injury-marred season. The deal gave him a base salary of $5.25MM with incentive packages at three different tiers:
- A total salary of $10.75MM with either 90% play time or 80 catches or 1,200 receiving yards or an All-Pro nomination.
- A total salary $8.75MM with 80% play time or 70 catches or 1,000 receiving yards or 12 touchdowns.
- A total salary of $6.75MM with 70% play time or 60 receptions or 800 receiving yards or ten touchdowns.
With 1,084 yards (off of 69 receptions with eight touchdowns), Gronkowski satisfied the middle tier requirement. However, thanks to his First-Team All-Pro selection, the tight end maxed out his 2017 package.
Gronk still has two years to go on the deal he inked in 2012 and the Patriots will probably have to sweeten the pot for him again. The tight end has decided that acting and/or pro wrestling can wait, but his absence from early-season OTAs likely signals his desire for an improved contract. In the coming weeks, it’s likely that Gronkowski will receive yet another upgrade to separate him even further from the rest of the tight end pack.
Extra Points: XFL, Luck, Kaepernick
This week, Vince McMahon’s XFL appointed Oliver Luck as its new commissioner and CEO.
“The XFL will be a labor of love as I get to combine my experiences as a player and executive,” Luck told ESPN.com in an email. “I’m thrilled to have this unique opportunity to reimagine the game that has been a constant in my life for 40 years.”
Luck, the father of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, will relocate to Connecticut as he gears up for the league’s launch in 2020. That also means leaving behind his previous job with the NCAA, in which he oversaw eligibility requirements and academic affairs.
“I always felt there was an opportunity for another pro league as long as it had the key ingredients, and I found all those ingredients present in the new XFL,” Luck said. “There was the leadership and vision from Vince [McMahon] who is a tremendous entrepreneur with a solid track record and there is a potential to have good quality football if it is well capitalized, which of course it is.”
Here’s more from around the world of football:
- Colin Kaepernick’s lawyers are expected to subpoena President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as a part of the quarterback’s collusion case against the NFL, sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. The goal, sources say, will be to delve into the administration’s involvement with the NFL during Kaepernick’s free agency and the league’s handling of player protests. It remains to be seen whether Trump would comply with such a request, or whether he could be forced to participate. Already, Trump’s lawyers are fighting subpoenas in the Russian collusion probe.
- On this date in 2010, the 49ers traded Issac Bruce to the Rams. The move allowed the wide receiver to retire with his original franchise.
- This week marked an anniversary for another standout wide receiver. Terrell Owens inked a lucrative extension with the Cowboys roughly ten years ago today.
This Date In Transactions History: Issac Bruce
On this date in 2010, the 49ers traded Issac Bruce to the Rams. However, this wasn’t a typical trade. The deal was facilitated in order to allow Bruce, then 37, to retire with his original franchise. 
Bruce started his career with the Rams in 1994, the team’s final season in Los Angeles. The second-round pick played sparingly as a rookie, but he broke out as an NFL sophomore in St. Louis with 119 catches, 1,781 yards, and 13 touchdowns, all of which went down as his career bests. In his 14 illustrious years with the Rams, Bruce amassed four Pro Bowl trips and eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in eight different seasons.
“Sixteen years was enough for me,” Bruce said at his farewell press conference. “I think a lot was done. But that second training camp practice (in two-a-days) may have played a part in it. I was ready to move on and do something else other than playing football.”
After so many productive seasons in the NFL, Bruce had little left to prove. Bruce was the leading wide receiver in the Rams’ “Greatest Show On Turf” Super Bowl-winning season and left the team as its all-time receiving leader with 14,109 yards. His second act with the Niners was not quite as flashy with 835 yards in his first SF season and 264 yards in his 2009 finale.
“The two years I was away, I kept tabs on this organization,” Bruce said. “I played against this organization, I played against its players. The funny thing is I found myself encouraging them when things didn’t look bright for them. I looked down and saw myself in a different colored uniform. It was honestly just to me personally — it just wasn’t right.”
So, with the trade, Bruce returned back to the Rams and became the last member of the Rams’ first Los Angeles run to hang ’em up. Later, his No. 80 jersey was retired by the team.
Bruce was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the second time in 2018, but he remains a likely candidate for induction down the road.
Browns, Duke Johnson Agree To Extension
The Browns and running back Duke Johnson have agreed to terms on a long-term contract extension, sources tell Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a three-year addition worth $15.6MM, including $7.7MM guaranteed. 
With nearly $70MM in cap space, it wasn’t difficult for the Browns to make room for Johnson’s deal. The two sides have been in talks throughout the offseason and a pact came together well in advance of the team’s mandatory minicamp.
If the deal were to start this year, Johnson would be ninth amongst all NFL running backs in terms of annual average value. When the pact kicks in next year, Johnson will probably be just outside of the top ten at his position.
Johnson, 25 in November, has averaged 4.2 yards per carry in his three NFL seasons while playing largely in a backup capacity. In 2017, the Browns often utilized him as a pass-catcher and the results were tremendous. Johnson set new career highs in catches (74) and receiving yards (693) and was a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating season for Cleveland. This year, he’ll serve as the Browns No. 2 ball carrier behind free agent addition Carlos Hyde.
Johnson was initially set to enter the final year of his rookie deal with a modest $2.084MM cap number. He has now received a significant pay bump.
In addition to Hyde and Johnson, the Browns further bolstered the running back group by drafting former Georgia standout Nick Chubb in the second round of last month’s draft.
Latest On Eagles, Brandon Graham
Back in February, Eagles linebacker/defensive end Brandon Graham said he was pushing for an extension on his contract. Now on the cusp of his walk year, Graham says he is willing to play out the final year of his deal (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). 
In 2017, Graham racked up a career high 9.5 sacks to go along with 47 total tackles. He also graded out as the eighth-best edge defender in the NFL with a 91.6 overall score from Pro Football Focus, nearly matching his 93.9 grade from 2016. Presumably, Graham is looking for a contract that will reflect his performance as one of the league’s top defensive ends.
Last year, the Eagles rewarded Graham with an extra $1.5MM in incentives for the final two years of his deal as a showing of good faith. His next deal will probably require a more substantial bump. Graham’s $8MM cap number for 2018, which ranks just 15th amongst 4-3 DEs in the NFL.
After dealing with a serious cap crunch this offseason, the Eagles will be wary of overextending themselves on a new deal for Graham. At the same time, they’ll run the risk of Graham pricing himself out of their range if he turns in another excellent season. In March, the Eagles watched defensive end Vinny Curry sign a three-year, $23MM free agent deal with the Bucs. Though Curry is a solid player in his own right, Graham stands to command considerably higher offers if he reaches the open market.
Latest On Patriots QB Tom Brady
On Thursday, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spoke to the press about his relationship with the team and his absence from OTAs. Though he was reluctant to delve deep into his absence from voluntary OTAs, Brady did say that his relationship with the club continues to be in a good place (video link via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe). 
[RELATED: Julian Edelman Suspended By NFL]
Brady reiterated that he was away from the club for “personal reasons.” When asked if those personal reasons include friction with coach Bill Belichick, Brady claimed there are no issues on that front, despite all of the rumors to the contrary.
“Not at all,” Brady said. “[Our relationship] is great, we’ve always had a great relationship. I’ve been here for a long time and I love this team, I love this organization, and I love playing quarterback for him. I loved it last year and I’m having a lot of fun now, so that’s obviously what’s most important to me.”
Meanwhile, Brady was non-committal when asked whether he’ll take part in the Patriots’ next set of OTAs. It’s safe to assume that Brady will be on hand for mandatory minicamp later this summer, though he could be putting pressure on the team to revise his contract between now and then.
Last year, Brady led the league with 4,577 passing yards and completed 66.3% of his throws. The Pats went 13-3 in the regular season under Brady’s command and defeated a tough Jaguars team in the AFC title game before falling short against the Eagles in the Super Bowl.