Redskins Sign Albert Haynesworth to $100M deal
OK, I'll admit it - I don't exactly get it. How is it possible that every year the Redskins are reported to be locked into salary cap hell and yet every year they seem to be able to go out and sign some high priced, top shelf FA for megabucks. Please see the link here, which is admittedly somewhat dated, because it was compiled 23rd January of this year and there have been lots of personnel moves since then. Nevertheless, the link estimates that the Redskins are $3M over the cap for 2009. Perhaps they made some moves to free up some space, but doesn't seem possible that they could free up enough for this Haynesworth deal. I believe the Redskins give huge up front signing bonuses and virtually no salary in the first year, so the salary cap hit in that first year is minimal. The contracts are back loaded and Redskins will come up on some years where they are stuck, but they seem to wiggle out of it more often than it seems they should be able to do.
Scott talking to Jets
Scott is a very good LB and could be a good player on the Giants, even though he played ILB on the Ravens 3-4 defense and the Giants need is primarily at OLB this year. Scott would have been a good fit for the Giants, because he is quick enough to play OLB in a 4-3 defense and he could have moved inside the following year when/if Pierce needs replacement. It was only logical that Scott, as the biggest name on the FA market at the LB position would draw lots of attention, especially from his former DC, Ryan who is now coaching the Jets. I would not have minded to see the Giants get him, but I don't think the Giants should engage in a bidding war to get him. This is why I said in previous posts that the Giants should try to get a WR at the pro level and OLB in the draft. There are lots of good OLB's in the draft and the Giants should be able to get a good one there. I haven't given up on Wilkinson yet and certainly Kehl showed some skill last year in his rookie year. Wilkinson just can't seem to stay healthy and on the field. Some players go through that their entire career and just can't be productive, while others have some injuries in their first few years and seem to get past it. We'll see about Wilkinson.
Salary Cap Info
Salary cap information is always very fluid because it changes so frequently and so often. For the public it is a little bit of a guessing game, because every detail of every contract, every bonus payment, is not made known to the public. There is a reasonable estimate of salary cap status in a web site from scouts.com which has a different placeholder for each team. This estmate came from a group following the Miami Dolphins. You can see it in the side frame on the right of the posts, under the heading ALL SPORTS where I list other related links or by clicking here.
1 comment:
The Skins have a master tactician in Eric Schaffer, VP of Football Administration -- negotiator extraordinaire. But you're right -- the most notable Redskins' contracts over the past few years have all very much been back loaded (if I have your definition of back loaded, correct).
Haynesworth, barring a perfect-case scenario, will never see beyond the 4th year of his contract -- so essentially, he signed a 4-year, $48 million contract with Washington where he'll earn $11MM in 2009, $24.6MM in 2010, $5.4* in 2011 and $7.2MM in 2012 (* = additional $1MM he could earn in an offseason workout bonus prior to camp... he'll most likely get this). Thus, leaving payouts of $29MM in 2013, $10.8MM in 2014 and $12MM in 2015 (the contract, under certain incentive clauses, can actually reach up to as high as $115MM if what I've read from various sources is true).
Being a lifelong Reskins fan, it's become very clear that this is Synder & Co.'s M.O. Deion Sanders and Brandon Lloyd are two players that come to mind, who signed enormous contracts (albeit not nearly as high as Haynesworth's $100MM) with the Redskins, but never made it to the pay window in the later years of their contracts.
That said, Haynesworth contract is groundbreaking, and has forced Washington to make some personnel shifts and restructure a number of contracts since his signing. Regardless of whether this contract proves to be successful or not, the impact of this deal are going to be felt by the organization for years to come.
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