OT: Freeney signed: 6-yrs/$72M, $30M guaranteed

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Wow. On the surface that looks like a horrible contract for the Colts.

The guy is a one-trick pony. It's a good trick and he's very good at it, but he isn't even the best in the league at his trick.

Other teams gameplan for the guy, but in a bad way. "Run the ball at Freeney because he doesn't defend the run well" is not what you want to hear about the highest paid defenseman in the league.

This should only embolden Asante. Asante's ranking among CBs is fairly similar to Freeney's spot among DLs, except that Freeney has a track record. Neither is the best at his position but is probably considered top 5. 12M/year for that is downright silly.

 

[shakadave]

Freeney is a great player, who is now quite overpaid.

It does go to show the wisdom of extending Seymour before that 25% NFL annual inflation put things out of reach!

 

[JoeSixPat]

This should only embolden Asante.

Except that Freeney as a show of good faith didn't hold out of offseason workouts and generally kept his mouth shut.

If Asante pays attention and sees that such an approach is the way to get a longterm contract he'll realize that he's better of signing the tender and playing, lest he hold out and be franchised again next season.

 

[Kokomodave]

The Colts weakness against the run wasnt Freeney. It was Gilbert Gardner at LB and Raheem Brock getting pancaked ever block. Insert Rob Morris LB and Dan Klecko Dt both good (not great players)

 

[Krazy Koz]

I'm waiting for miguel to come on this thread and start defending the colts about how much they're saving, blah blah blah

 

[Jimke]

The snowball effect of this signing is going to affect the re-signing

of Richard Seymour and Ty Warren. Their future asking price has

sky rocketed.

 

[wdkantro2]

Re: OT: Freeney signed: 6yr/$72M, $30M guaranteed

Would we have expected anything else from the Colts? This deal will just mean even worse special teams/depth for them in the coming years.
To illustrate how ridiculous this deal is, let's look at some of the best defensive players in the league currently, who I would take over Freeney.
Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Polamalu, Bob Sanders, Adalius, Urlacher, Seymour, just off the top of my head. Freeney becomes the highest paid defender in history, but he's not even in my top 10 of current players.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Except that Freeney as a show of good faith didn't hold out of offseason workouts and generally kept his mouth shut.

If Asante pays attention and sees that such an approach is the way to get a longterm contract he'll realize that he's better of signing the tender and playing, lest he hold out and be franchised again next season.

Right, because players always recognize differences that work against them. As far as Asante is concerned the only reason Freeney didn't create a ruckus was because he knew the Colts were willing to "respect" him with a stupid contract.

 

[richpats]

As far as Asante is concerned the only reason Freeney didn't create a ruckus was because he knew the Colts were willing to "respect" him with a stupid contract.

Well, the Colts don't have to worry about silly things like "depth" because their players rarely get injured. One example is that they have had the same 1 & 2 receivers for 90 straight games

EDIT: I haven't been a fan of the Colts' cap management but I believe it does keep them a perennial playoff contender. As we saw, eventually the breaks fall your way if you keep yourself in the hunt.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Wow. On the surface that looks like a horrible contract for the Colts.

The guy is a one-trick pony. It's a good trick and he's very good at it, but he isn't even the best in the league at his trick.

Other teams gameplan for the guy, but in a bad way. "Run the ball at Freeney because he doesn't defend the run well" is not what you want to hear about the highest paid defenseman in the league.

This should only embolden Asante. Asante's ranking among CBs is fairly similar to Freeney's spot among DLs, except that Freeney has a track record. Neither is the best at his position but is probably considered top 5. 12M/year for that is downright silly.

His best move is the 2-step spin he puts on offensive lineman. At least when I watched, he had the hardest time tackling a big power back like Dillon. Bob Sanders bailed him out a couple times. Once he's out of football he'll probably wind up on, "Dancing With the Stars".

 

[RyanTheColtsFan]

Hate this deal. Should have let him walk. No way Sanders leaves town but its gunna be harder to keep him now.

Colts fans can say bye bye to Tarik Glenn. And possibly Peyton's legs if Ugoh doesn't learn quickly.

 

[PatsSteve1]

FWIW, if ESPN's stats are right. In the 4 Colts playoff games last year against the Chiefs, Ravens, Patriots and Bears, Feeney had a total of 2 sacks and 5 tackles. The 2 sacks were both against the Chiefs and against the Ravens and Bears was 0 and 0 in tackles and sacks. That said, he is the type of very fast, up field rush type DL that Dungy craves for his D. Kind of a polar opposite of what BB wants for DL's. I don't know how many players teams were devoting to stop Feeney which would still make him a very effective player despite his seemingly low playoff stat numbers. Low for the now highest paid D player anyway. IMO, he isn't the best D player at all. According to John Clayton though:

Freeney will receive $37.72 million over the first three years of the contract. In doing the deal, the Colts will save $3.68 million of salary-cap room that they can use to keep other players whose contracts are expiring. The Colts had $3.4 million of cap room before reaching agreement with Freeney.

So yes, it does save cap space from the franchise tag number.

 

[PatsSteve1]

Hate this deal. Should have let him walk. No way Sanders leaves town but its gunna be harder to keep him now.

Colts fans can say bye bye to Tarik Glenn. And possibly Peyton's legs if Ugoh doesn't learn quickly.

* So Ryan, do you think the Colts panicked a little so they could get teh extra cap space over the franchise number?

 

[richpats]

Hate this deal. Should have let him walk. No way Sanders leaves town but its gunna be harder to keep him now.

Colts fans can say bye bye to Tarik Glenn. And possibly Peyton's legs if Ugoh doesn't learn quickly.

That's some homer-free analysis I figure most Colts fans won't criticize it because a) they have their star DE back and b) they've won the SB anyways so the organization is bulletproof (for now).

 

[MoLewisrocks]

His best move is the 2-step spin he puts on offensive lineman. At least when I watched, he had the hardest time tackling a big power back like Dillon. Bob Sanders bailed him out a couple times. Once he's out of football he'll probably wind up on, "Dancing With the Stars".

LOL Polian better hope that isn't any time soon. His deal apparently calls for a $15M signing bonus (that would pro rate as $2.5M per year for 6 years) and a $15M option bonus due next February (that will pro rate at $3M per for 5 years). So after this year his amortization is $5.5M per before salary.

When a deal averages $12M per and the initial cap hit is only $6M or so there are likely some backloaded salaries and some mid to high teens cap hits at the end of this deal. And if he for some reason doesn't play well enough to justify that in say 2010, his dead cap will be at least $16.5M prior to any restructures.

With Manning needing a total makeover that isn't going to come cheap "guaranteed money" wise pending high teens to low 20's cap hits over the next 3 seasons, and Wayne's deal inching out of his early cap friendly years, and Harrison still in that high cap mix unless they start to put the screws to him, it will be interesting to see what happens with guys like Sanders and Glenn. The more players you have in that top five at the position cap wise the more you have to rely on flotsum and jetsum to fill out the roster. The Colts ranked 1st in total salary and 29th I believe in median salary last season. 2007 will obviously continue that trend. Remember, the thing about repetitive cash over cap spending (regardless of whether it leads to cap penalties at some point) is sooner or later that cash does hit some years cap - even if the some of the players it was spent on are no longer hitting anyone on the field.

I think Belioli hoodwinked Richard into signing what may turn out to be the cap friendliest deal of all. He's tied up through 2009, the year he turns 30. His cap hit doesn't break double digits until 2009, and then just barely at $11M. If he stays healthy from here on out they may extend him a couple of years or tack on a tag year. But if he doesn't he'll be somebody elses problem on the other side of 30. Richard is 4 months older than Freeney. 3 x 10 sounds a whole lot more manageable than 6 x 12. God Bless Belioli.

 

[patfanken]

....In doing the deal, the Colts will save $3.68 million of salary-cap room that they can use to keep other players whose contracts are expiring. The Colts had $3.4 million of cap room before reaching agreement with Freeney.

So yes, it does save cap space from the franchise tag number.

BOTTOM LINE- Freeney is absolutely one of the best pass rushers in the league. He has proven he is durable and CONSISTANT. He is a player that OC's build their offenses around defending. He even is a little better against the run than his is usually given credit for (not much better) However we can all agree that even with his pass rushing abilities it is a HUGE over pay.

Here's what I want Miguel to explain to me. Last season the Colts spent $133MM in REAL dollars, about 20MM more than the next highest team. (BTW-IIRC, the Pats also spent over the cap in real money last year, but only by a couple of million) Now THIS season they are going to have to give a huge chunk to Freeney as well as the rest of their well paid crew.

When will the merry-go-round stop. When will the Colts finally have to pay the piper with all those big bonuses to so many players????

Or will they ever have to pay. Have the found the loop hole that allows them to continually put off the day they have to "pay the piper"???

On the same note. IIRC when you over pay in real cash, there are supposed to be penalties for doing just what the Colts did. However they didn't have to pay those penalties, because their OVERAGE was countered by teams that DIDN'T spend to the cap in real dollars. I'd like Miguel to further explain or rather better explain what I just mentioned, assuming I'm even correct

 

[Miguel]

...as well as the rest of their well paid crew.

May I suggest researching the last part of your statement as it relates to cash received in 2007 as compared to cash received in 2006??

When will the merry-go-round stop. When will the Colts finally have to pay the piper with all those big bonuses to so many players????
Or will they ever have to pay. Have the found the loop hole that allows them to continually put off the day they have to "pay the piper"???

May I suggest researching how much the Colts have spent in cash over the years in comparison to the league rather than focus on one year??

On the same note. IIRC when you over pay in real cash, there are supposed to be penalties for doing just what the Colts did. However they didn't have to pay those penalties, because their OVERAGE was countered by teams that DIDN'T spend to the cap in real dollars. I'd like Miguel to further explain or rather better explain what I just mentioned, assuming I'm even correct

All I can add is that there were so many teams that did not spend that the 2007/2008/2009/2010/2011 caps were adjusted up by $134,000.

FYI - I typically do not comment on deals right after they are announced because of the fluff/agent factor.

 

[Miguel]

May I suggest researching how much the Colts have spent in cash over the years in comparison to the league rather than focus on one year??

Here's an hint. In even-numbered years the Colts typically finished in the top half in payroll spending. In odd-numbered years the Colts typically finished in the bottom half.

 

[Miguel]

Have they found the loop hole that allows them to continually put off the day they have to "pay the piper"???

If you are referring to the LTBE loophole, the Colts did not find it. Other teams have been taking advantage of it for years.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I think it's clear the Pats' cap philosophy is at least somewhat different from Indy's. I think this deal makes it clear that the two FOs have different ways of placing a value on "big plays." I think that on both offense and defense, that gets reflected on the field. I think both teams have been tremendously successful, despite divergent valuations and philosophy.

To synthesize a few of the comments thus far:

- Freeny is a serviceable defensive lineman in general, and an excellent pass rusher. I agree with the "one trick pony" analysis; his claim to fame seems to be sacks. Like Asante's interceptions, they can be huge plays, but sometimes they're not game-changers. You are looking (on average) at two sacks every three games... either the Colts brass see something I don't, or Freeny's QB-chasing ability (pressure plus sacks) is worth $12M/year on average in Dungy's mind/mindset.

- Details of the deal seem somewhat unclear/uncertain. I base this on reticence on the part of our local capologist, combined with a note by another poster that there seem to be a few years at the end of the deal that are heavily laden with cost.

- What seems to be agreed is that there is a $15M signing bonus and a $15M bonus due in 2008.

- the backloading of some big bucks would put an evaluation point perhaps four years into the deal. The Colts are looking to tie Freeny up as long as he is productive. They think that highly of him.

I'm in the camp that just does not buy Freeny's rating.

PFnV