The Official Gonzo Extension Watch Thread

[JoeSixPat]

My guess is the team wants him to play


Problem with Bedard's take is good CBs getting an extension before their 4th season is starting to be a trend. Stingley and Gardner got new contracts before their 4th year and Surtain got an extension before his 4th year.

Gonzalez or at least his agent/agency is sitting there going well these guys got it and my guy is as good or better. Also Gonzalez and Surtain are repped by the same agency so it's probably been a point used in talks.

Well the system is pretty much designed that way

They get paid rookie contracts and if they're not worth it, they don't get the 5th year extension for a high salary. If they're worth that high salary even for one year, they're worth keeping beyond that so the teams have an incentive to bring the 5th year amount down from the $18 million Gonzales is due to get with an extension - note that Sauce Gardner only got a $14 million signing bonus and a $9 million cap hit for this year - but effectively is guaranteed $70 mil over 3 years

Keep in mind that Gonzo has only made $12 million over his career so far, so he can double that with his signing bonus on an extension while still saving the Pats up to $10 million on the cap next year compared to his 5th year option.

This is the way the NFL and players have designed it and for a player who is worth the 5 year extension, it's fair to both sides, which is why this gets done. And yes, his agent will probably wait until Witherspoon is signed, but they'll both just get a small raise over what Sauce Gardner got - though they'd better hope their contract isn't designed to be traded like his was.

 

[jdlboot14]

I think they can do an extension that doesn't hit the massive top-dollar money until next year. It'd be like signing him to a big deal next offseason, but they do it now to appease the player and still give him a bump of ~$15M as a bonus now. But his base deal would be the same this year, and everything kicks in next year. That would make sense for both sides.
Also, I'm all in favor of establishing an injury clause in all longterm/gtd money deals - where if they miss X number of games, their annual salary is cut to a minimum injury amount. The guaranteed money thing needs to be adjusted league-wide. There's just no way a team should be forced to pay $30M to a player who doesn't play, and they still have to go sign & pay another FA to fill that spot.

 

[ScottishPatriots]

I just hope this doesn't drag on and on.

You start sitting out days of camp due to contract issues those are days your body needs to prepare for a gruelling season that you can never get back, that's when you start picking up all these muscle injuries during the season.