I have never said that there would be no bonus. A signing bonus is spread evenly across the contract when it comes to cap. I have no idea why you still think that an evenly spread sum means that you have to backload the contract. In the exact opposite it makes it easier to have an even contract. A signing bonus does not in any way at all mean you have to give an extremely low base salary in the first year.
Lets just take a contract with $14M AAV that has $26M in signing bonus and a total value of $42M as an example. That could be $8M in signing bonus each year and then $6M each year in salary, roster bonus and whatever. So simply $14M each year. A contract you constantly say is not possible with signing bonuses. But to save som cap space in 2015 we could have salaries, roster bonuses, and whatever of $3M in 2015, then $7,5M in 2016 and $7,5M in 2017. That way we save $9M this year and then pay Revis $15,5M for every year in the following years when the cap is higher. Made possible thanks to the signing bonus which is evenly spread.
You start with a $24M signing bonus and salaries of $6M a year, for an AAV of $14M a year.
You then take $3M of the salary and move it into 2016 and 2017 to result in a 2016 and 2017 cap hits of $15.5M. Mechanically, the way this is done is to create an additional $4.5M bonus. So the salaries are $1.5M, $6M and $6M.
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Let's do this in two steps
CONTRACT 1 ($24M bonus; $6M per year salary, total $42M)
CAP
2015 $8M plus $6M =$14M
2016 $8M plus $6M = $14M
2o17 $8M plus $6M = $14M
THE TEAM NOW WANTS TO MOVE $3M INTO 2016 and 2017
The way this is done is to create a second bonus.
CONTRACT 2 ($24M bonus plus $4.5M bonus plus salaries of $1.5M, $6M and $6M)
CAP
2015 $8M plus $1.5M plus $1.5M = $11M
2016 $8M plus $1.5M plus $6M = $15.5M
2017 $8M plus $1.5M plus $6M = $15.5M
This result is similar to I have suggested, and what is the norm in the NFL. It is also what you have suggested and called it backloading. We might actually be able to get by with a bonus of a bit less than the $28.5M you implicitly suggest.
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ALTERNATIVE
If you mean to say that there should be an $8M bonus actually DUE AND PAID each year at the option of the patriots and Revis, this is an entirely different concept. The second and third year bonus are called "roster bonuses" and are due before the years starts (like Wilfork) or by the first week or so of March. The cap effect would be the same as CONTACT 2.
This contract would give Revis $14M cash each year with the team having an option to sign him for $14 in 2016 and 2017. All this does is pay $8M of compensation in the beginning of the year.
If this is what you want, you have wasted a lot of time. I will answer for Revis. He has absolutely ZERO interest in a contract that guarantees him $12M for year 1 plus a year 1 salary of $1.5M for a total of $14M, plus the patriots also get an option to sign him each year for $14M. I don't know what his requirements for guarantees are, but there are more than $14M
BTW, even under this scenario, the salaries are backloaded, going from $1.5M to $6M.