7 yrs, 38.5 mill for wes!!

[DaBruinz]

When has Schefter ever been right?

He was right about Thomas, Brady and Morris, if you must ask.

 

[Caspir]

Can someone let me know when the Pats franchise Samuel? Thanks.

There's no time for that. Drew Bledsoe just got drilled, and some rookie is coming in! We're doomed.

 

[Return of the Nizz]

Clearly this deal has a smaillish signing bonus, I'd guess about 5 mill, and probably a total of 10 mill or less including SB in the first 3 years, with 28 mill phony salaries in the back 4. Probably the backloading supports the poison pill.

I can easily see Welker as Troy Brown circa 1999. If Troy Brown had been a FA after the 1999 season, this type of contract would have paid off very well.
Remember in our offense, QUICK is better than big or fast.
I haven't seen much rac on short crossing routes since Brown in 00-02. Branch had some of that ability but never seemed to really use it like I would have wanted to see. I think THAT is the biggest plus from Welker.

There is no doubt he will be a super returnman as well. In the few games we have seen him returning vs us, Ive seen the #1 quality in a PR I like to see, he catches the ball, and aggresively gets to full speed in a hurry.
IMO, this signing equates to a decent certainty of Tim Dwight at the max of his potential, which he surely didnt reach.
Excellent PR and KR, and a #3 WR who can make big plays out of little plays, but moreso, the type of guy who best fits (as a PIECE of the puzzle) the WR position in our chosen systme of offense.

I thought I saw Schefter being quoted as saying 10.5 million bonus.

 

[Ring 6]

I thought I saw Schefter being quoted as saying 10.5 million bonus.

Sounds high to me. We'll see.

 

[Brady to Brown]

I say Welker gets $3.2 million/yr over 5 years. The rest of the contract is poison.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Sounds high to me. We'll see.

Right - we have no way of knowing what the poison pill is (or if its even in there) - but for all we know its a $38 million contract, "including a $30 million bonus if Welker plays 8 games a year in Florida"

Hence, while its a $38 million contract for Miami should they match it, we'll have to wait to see what the "real" contract for New England is.

Suffice to say its good enough that Welker wanted to sign it.

 

[Belisarius]

I say Welker gets $3.2 million/yr over 5 years. The rest of the contract is poison.

I dunno, I think that undervalues him in the current market.

It's clear that we're in a decidedly new money era, and appropriately so: It is harder to reach free agency than ever, with teams using tags so aggressively, the cap is going up at a sharp yearly rate with an exceptional lurch up occurring recently after the new tv contract, and teams seem to have been, on the whole, a bit to conservative in the last few years with their money, leading to a glut of cap room relative to past offseasons.

In the new money era, 35 y.o. Kyle Brady is worth a "real" 2 yrs/5 mil contract with a sizable signing bonus.

I'd wager that Welker's deal will be mostly legit (with some outs at the midway point), and will amount to 15 mil over the first three years bare minimum, and structured in such a way that that's a fairly "safe" 15 mil for him.

EDIT: No I wouldn't. On second thought that does seem a bit stiff to set as a lower bar. Maybe more like 3/12... but I think it's probable that his "real money" will be higher than 3.2 per.

Remember, in 2003 the Pats cap was 74.6 million.

In 2005 the Pats cap was 82.6 million, 10.7% higher than two years previously.

For 2007 the League cap is 109 million 32.0% higher than two years previously, and 46.1% higher than in 2003.

 

[holyredeemer]

C'mon people. This is BB and Pioli we are talking about here. These guys know what they are doin, and even though we do not know yet the full details of the offer sheet, regardless of the offer, they must really love this kid. And all of you will too, after the 2nd rounder is gone and we spent that cap, Welker will change our receiving core overnight. Of course, that's just my opinion. LOL

 

[pats63]

Wow!!!They are moving fast....BRILLANT.....:rocker:

 

[signbabybrady]

Remember, in 2003 the Pats cap was 74.6 million.

In 2005 the Pats cap was 82.6 million, 10.7% higher than two years previously.

For 2007 the League cap is 109 million 32.0% higher than two years previously, and 46.1% higher than in 2003.

I pretty much new that the cap has been going up that much but to see it put like that makes you wonder how teams are in cap trouble.

 

[kptmorgan04]

Forget Girls Gone Wild, it's now BB Gone Wild.

HAHAHAHA, one of the funniest quotes I have seen!
WHAT A DAY!!!!

 

[DarrylS]

7th year is worth 20 million if he plays fro miami in 5 games... as he plays fro the pats and already got 3 million signing bonuse.His numbers should be less than 2million when you consider guaranteed money .

Bingo this is similar to the Hutchinson deal that Minny gave him last year, pretty crafty way to get around Miami's ability to match this contract.. read somewhere if he played 4 games, but makes no difference.. it is largely backloaded and no big deal in the NFL world.