MoLewisrocks said:
Signing bonus is part of the contract. As a result salaries in the first couple of years at least are usually at or near league minimum. Or the bonus is lower. Otherwise you are risking being on the hook for the most expensive one or two year deal in the league for that position player. TO is getting $7.5M this season. Harrison about $10M. You would be paying Deion Branch $15M the first year and another $11M in 2007, or about $10M more than he's looking for.
With respect:
I know how the basic contract works, as do you. I don't, however, agree with your math, so if you're correct you'll have to explain to me how.
First of all, one of us is misinformed about the tag. Maybe it's me. But where the franchise tag is the average of the top five salaries at the position, that doesn't mean that's what the top 5 players actually brought home. It is exclusive of the signing bonus, correct? So the top five TEs by salary actually made MORE than the franchise cap figure, correct? If not, then I have to adjust my thinking.
Branch under this deal would be paid 15.25 the first year. You can think of it as one year's salary if you wish. I prefer to think of it as the majority of three year's salary.
In 2007, Branch would be slightly underpaid at 5.5 million. I don't know where you're 11 million figure comes from.
Best I can tell, your accounting has Branch making 15.25 the first year, 5.5 the second year, and 5.75 the third year.
My accounting has Bethel making 7.25 the first year, 7.5 the second year, and 7.75 the third year. There's no real difference except in accounting and Branch's checking account.
Is that slighty over-paying? By 2006 numbers, yeah, probably. But he is a number one receiver still getting better. In 2008, this will most likely be a steal. On my second consideration, I would probably rather lower those annual salaries by maybe a half-mil per year. But as GM, I would overpay to those levels. The reality is we're going to have to slightly overpay to have any chance of retaining him. We might convince him to trade in free agency for contract security, but it will have to be at a price slightly above market in order to give him some incentive.
I appreciate everybody's contribution to this thread. Just for kicks, since I'm overpaying, here's my opinion on the importance of players to the Patriots right now. This might be its own thread. By the way, contrary to what seems to be popular belief, I think Watson is more replaceable than Graham. Graham can do Watson's job at probably 85% effectiveness. However, Watson doing Graham's job, IMO, would be somewhere around 65% effectiveness. And Graham absolutely has better hands than Watson.
Players most important to Patriots' future success under Belichick, by which I mean will be will be hardest to replace without drastically overpaying. You'll notice this is more scheme related than judging absolute talent. Also it serves mentioning that this is based on 2006, so I didn't hold a player's age against him:
1. Brady
2. Seymour
3. Wilfork
4. Vrabel
5. Colvin
6. Harrison
7. Graham
8. Light
9. Branch
10. Bruschi
11. Samuel
12. Watson
13. Warren
14. Dillon
That's about it. Everybody else could be replaced fairly seemlessly. That doesn't mean I don't want those guys back rather than new guys, just that if they were free agents, I wouldn't fret about losing them too much.
