Reiss: Tedy's deal

[MoLewisrocks]

$1.2M signing bonus, $1M 2008 salary, $1.9M 2009 salary.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

 

[signbabybrady]

$1.2M signing bonus, $1M 2008 salary, $1.9M 2009 salary.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

Tedy is the man nice small contract...he gives discount again. Gimme 52 Bruschi's and a Tom Brady and I will take on the rest of the NFL.

 

[mgteich]

I trust this makes you feel better. It is not at all clear that other teams would pay Bruschi $2.2M to play this year. I'm glad he decided to play, but that doesn't make his salary a discount.

Tedy is the man nice small contract...he gives discount again. Gimme 52 Bruschi's and a Tom Brady and I will take on the rest of the NFL.

 

[signbabybrady]

I trust this makes you feel better. It is not at all clear that other teams would pay Bruschi $2.2M to play this year. I'm glad he decided to play, but that doesn't make his salary a discount.

Did you see Zach Thomas Contract?

 

[Clonamery]

I trust this makes you feel better. It is not at all clear that other teams would pay Bruschi $2.2M to play this year. I'm glad he decided to play, but that doesn't make his salary a discount.

So you're saying the Pats overpaid?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Did you see Zach Thomas Contract?

Exactly. He may be a bit quicker, but he doesn't know the system inside out and he's another concussion away from being IR'd again. I know this last one was off the field, but Jason Cole who probably followed his carreer more closely than any of us did says he's had over 15 concussions in his career. And he basically got $2M that incentives could push to $3M.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Tedy back for another year. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww yyyyyeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Rob0729]

Bruschi took less than he probably could have gotten on the open market, but even if he didn't, he has been playing his entire career on below market deals. I wouldn't have minded if the Pats overpaid him a bit this time around since during his prime years he was paid well below market value.

 

[Dago]

$1.2M signing bonus, $1M 2008 salary, $1.9M 2009 salary.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

sorry but i have some problems with salary cap...

for 2008 in the salary cup it will be 1M or 2,2(1 M + 1,2 M of signing bonus?)
or other?

 

[hwc]

Based on the sketchy information provided by Reiss, the cap number should be $1.6 million:

$1 million salary
$600k bonus (half of the amortized 2-year bonus).

That would leave a cap number next year of $2.5 million if Brushci plays or a dead money hit of $600k if he retires after 2008.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

His 2008 cap will be $1.8M. His 2009 cap will be $2.5M (or a $600K dead cap). The signing bonus is spread over the 2 year term of the deal at $600K per season.

Tedy's 2007 salary was $1.7M and his cap hit was $2.57M.

 

[patchick]

Both sides had to know that he wasn't signing anywhere else, so this seems like solid value for both. Congrats, Tedy, and welcome back!

Bruschi's always been at the extreme end of valuing "who" and "where" over "how much" in his employment decisions. Everybody has to find their comfort point on that spectrum. But his choice will surely pay off in slow and steady ways for the rest of his life, because it also places him at the extreme end of fan devotion, which opens long-term opportunities in endorsements and media jobs. Tedy will still be doing local ad campaigns when he's old and gray.

 

[Dago]

ah ok.
signing bonus hit depends from team...there is not a rule...
thanks...

 

[hwc]

ah ok.
signing bonus hit depends from team...there is not a rule...
thanks...

No. It's a rule.

A signing bonus is amortized in equal amounts for each year of the contract. That's the rule.

There are other ways of structuring a contract besides a signing bonus. If, for example, the Pats wanted to accelerate Bruschi's deal to make it a $2.2 million dollar cap hit in 2008 and no dead-money in 2009 if he retires, they could have figured out a structure to accomplish that.

However, teams generally try to push cap hits into future years when they are paying for this year's dollars with next year's higher cap.

Conversely, the Pats could have added fake years onto the end of Bruschi's deal and pushed the bonus amortization farther into the future. But, if they know he's one and done, that just makes the dead-money hit higher next year.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

ah ok.
signing bonus hit depends from team...there is not a rule...
thanks...

No, there is a rule: bonus hit = [amount of bonus] / [remaining years on contract].

So: [$1.2 million] / [2 years] = $600,000 per year.
Similarly, Wes Welker gets a $3.5 million roster bonus this year. So that counts as $3.5 million / [4 years left on his contract] or $875,000 each year from 2008 to 2011.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

No. It's a rule.

There are other ways of structuring a contract besides a signing bonus. If, for example, the Pats wanted to accelerate Bruschi's deal to make it a $2.2 million dollar cap hit in 2008 and no dead-money in 2009 if he retires, they could have figured out a structure to accomplish that.

The amortization applies to any guaranteed payments (signing bonuses, roster bonuses, and guaranteed salaries). The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the amortization is allowed or mandatory. Obviously, if it's mandatory, then it would have been difficult for the Pats to do what you suggested unless they (A) signed him to a one-year deal, or (B) did not guarantee any of his money.

[I've asked Miguel to chime in here, BTW.]

 

[hwc]

There are usually ways for teams to play some games with the wording of a bonus to move it from the "guaranteed" column to the "not guaranteed" column for cap purposes.

For example, Tedy's deal could have simply been a straight $2.2 million salary for 2008, which would not be "guaranteed" for cap purposes, but which would be guaranteed the first day of the season.

There might even have been a way to protect the $1.2 million with some kind of option payment if he is not with the team. That's the way a lot of these split bonus deals are structured. The player is "assured" of getting his money, but the future roster bonus is not actually "guaranteed" for cap purposes.

It's not a big deal one way or another in the case of Bruschi. That's a pretty small contract and is structured to allow him to play one or two more years (i.e. no big number in year two that forces the team to cut him).

 

[Mike the Brit]

Welcome, Dago!

The basic system is clear enough (the signing bonus is counted against cap by dividing it equally over the years of the life of the contract; there is no discretion about that -- if a team wants to "front load" the cap hit for some reason, it pays another kind of bonus up front). I wanted to give a plug to Miguel's cap pages (www.patscap.com) that explain this sort of thing (see particularly the FAQs) with unmatched authority!

There is a further complication with the so-called June 2 rule which, as best I understand it, says that, if a player is cut after June 2, then the current season only counts as one year of the player's remaining contract (instead of the "dead money" hit being all of the remaining years); the rest of the bonus becomes a dead money hit in the following season. (So, if a player is cut with three years remaining on the contract and $3 million in bonus, $1 million would be the dead money hit in the current season and $2m in the following one.)

(Miguel, I tried to check this on your web site but I see that your FAQs don't have an explanation of the June 2 rule and the link to the Falcons web site is broken.)

 

[BionicPatriot]

He's average at this point in his career. He brings knowledge of this system that could be crucial for young guys. To sign a vetaren who can easily handle part time duty could end up paying huge dividends. I think Bruschi would be much more effective if not expected to start.

 

[jct]

Tedy is the Man!!