Shaq Mason extension: 5 years, up to $50M

[maineman209]

Need to see how much this increases Mason's 2018 cap number. The Pats have just over $9.5M in cap space after Decker's retirement and Pleasant's release.

Hmm... "Pleasant's release" has an odd ring to it.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Need to see how much this increases Mason's 2018 cap number. The Pats have just over $9.5M in cap space after Decker's retirement and Pleasant's release.

Hmm... "Pleasant's release" has an odd ring to it.

FWIW, he got $23.5M guaranteed. My guess is only half or so is signing bonus.

 

[Joey007]

We PAID SOMEBODY!!!



Shaq’s a human bowling bowl. Love it.

 

[Snooky97]

Can't wait to see the breakdown of the contract.

 

[TheRainMaker]

He really needs to work on his pass blocking. I don’t want to see his name when Brady is back to pass.

I’ll have to go back to see what I posted earlier but I think I projected his ceiling at $10M a year. Any more than that is overpaying.

 

[maineman209]

FWIW, he got $23.5M guaranteed. My guess is only half or so is signing bonus.

The "guaranteed" may well include his 2018 salary of $1.9M, and perhaps at least a portion of whatever his 2019 salary will be. Also, the details of what amount is fully-guaranteed vs. guaranteed for injury only haven't come out yet.

 

[Love The Drake]

Hi hate to bring this up but could it have anytbing to do with the long term view on Wynn's recovery?

 

[Midship]

Absolutely love this.

Edit: makes me feel a bit better about the Wynn news I guess

 

[luuked]

Mason was game to take something in the vicinity of current market value and the security that comes with that over making maybe 2-3m APY more by hitting FA next year. Not every player will choose this path and as always it requires two to dance to come to an extension.

I am sure BB and Caserio have discussed extension plans with Flowers' agent but ultimately they might want to hit FA to maximize the money.

But great to hear that our OL will have tons of stability for the rest of Brady's tenure.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Well that settles the question of how BB, ownership, FO and Scar feel about Shaq....

Pey dat men hiz muney.

 

[Hyped]

This is a surprise to me...yesterday, I would have bet anyone on this forum $20 that Mason was a goner next year and LIKELY a trade bait in the upcoming few days.

That being said...I am happy we took care of this before March, 2019. Now, no more giving up pressure to guys like Graham...please!

 

[HailHydra]

Anyone looking for comparison Andrew Norwell got 5 years 66 Mil and mason imo is every bit as good if not better.

Mason's good but he's not nearly on that level of Norwell.

 

[luuked]

Hi hate to bring this up but could it have anytbing to do with the long term view on Wynn's recovery?

I dont think so. A contract extension like that is not negotiated, drawn up and signed in a week as a knee jerk reaction to someone who is playing an entirely different position. If anything Wynns injury might have made Mason maybe consider the gained security a bit more.

 

[luuked]

Mason's good but he's not nearly on that level of Norwell.

Mason is one of the best run blockers in the league. And above average in pass protection and still improving. Unlike most guards he essentially came into the league with zero experience of pro pass protection. When it is all said and done he has a good chance to be among the best guards in the league.

 

[Brady_Moss]

Absolutely love this.

Edit: makes me feel a bit better about the Wynn news I guess

Is Wynn even on IR, yet?

 

[maineman209]

Hi hate to bring this up but could it have anytbing to do with the long term view on Wynn's recovery?

Interesting that Wynn hasn't been sent to IR yet. With the rule change this year, teams are now llowed to send a rookie to IR without exposing him to waivers.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

VG deal for both sides but remember this is a player that still has a ton of upside. Shaq is far from a finished product.

Great news

Where do you see him having the most room for improvement? Also, what would be the typical prime years for a guard? Mason's 25th birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, guy... have $30M guaranteed

 

[luuked]

Where do you see him having the most room for improvement? Also, what would be the typical prime years for a guard? Mason's 25th birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, guy... have $30M guaranteed

It is not about his age but the fact that he came from a triple option offense in college and is still working on and polishing his pass pro techniques. Other guards coming from more pro-style offenses have literally years of reps more than him.

 

[JMC00]

I told people they'd extend him.

 

[BobDigital]

I would be curious to see the details. First off let me say this.

I HATE PAYING GUARDS BIG MONEY. I think one of the things which caused the Patriots issues for years was the Mankins deal. Yes he was a very good player. But to have the highest paid guy at one of the least impactful positions, to me, hurts your ability to win championships. They were unable to be really active in free agency for a number of years. It wasn't until 2014 (the year they planned to trade him away) that they felt comfortable making moves. I doubt they sign Browner/Revis if they don't have an idea in place about trading Mankins and dumping his salary.

That contract was signed in 2011 They paid him for 3 years of play for 5.5/7/10M in 2011, 2012, 2013 and traded him in 2014. In 2014 they had to pay him 4.25 in dead money and in 2015 they had to pay 4M in dead money. (That is an average of 7.5M for 3 years without counting the dead money and 10.5M for 3 years of play counting the dead money).

You can factor in that they got a 4th round pick as well for signing the deal in 2015 (as that is what they eventually traded him for).

This deal however isn't as bad as the Mankins deal relatively speaking.

in 2011, 2012, 2013 the cap was 120, 120.6, 123M. For the dead money years the cap was 133, and 143M.

Considering this contract won't start to take effect until 2019 when the cap will be over 180M this deal looks a lot better even if the cap increase slows down after 2019.

There's about a 50% increase in cap space compared to 2011.

That means in a player worth 6.67M in 2011 is now worth 10M in 2019. Maybe slightly more as the cap was stagnant for most of those 3 years and may go up even into 2020 to some amount.

Masons deal is clearly the better of the 2 even if he isn't as good a player as Mankins

All that being said. I still don't love paying a guard this kind of money but it isn't a deal that i think will handicap the Patriots ability to sign other good players in today's cap age.