Early this afternoon, the New York Giants announced, via Adam Schefter, that Left Tackle Will Beatty had be re-signed to a new 5-year deal. And just like Tom Brady’s recently restructured contract will affect Joe Flacco’s deal, this one will have repercussions for Denver Broncos Unrestricted Free Agent Left Tackle Ryan Clady.
Or will it?
Here is Adam’s Tweet:
Giants make significant off-season move: NY signed offensive tackle Will Beatty to a five-year, $38.75million deal, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2013
NY Giants beat writer Jenny Vrentas verified the numbers a few minutes later:
LT Will Beatty re-signed with the Giants today on a 5-year, $37.5M deal (up to $38.75 w/incentives), per source. $19M fully guaranteed. #nyg
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) February 27, 2013
Rotoworld reports and Spotrac confirms that Beatty received a Signing Bonus of $12.5 Million
The deal includes a $12.5 million signing bonus, and $19 million guaranteed. It's a nice haul for a player who finally stayed healthy last season after missing 14 combined games between 2010-11. Three days shy of his 28th birthday, Beatty allowed just three sacks and 22 hurries in 967 snaps last season.
Now Ryan Clady isn’t the only Free Agent Left Tackle this offseason. Branden Albert and Jake Long will both be looking to get at least $8 Million a year themselves.
Here are the top Base Salaries for Tackles in 2013 per Spotrac
1 Jason Peters (PHI) $10,400,000
2 Joe Thomas (CLE) $10,000,000
3 Jordan Gross (CAR) $8,700,000
4 Will Beatty (NYG) $7,750,000
5 D'Brickashaw Ferguson (NYJ) $7,250,000
6 Russell Okung (SEA) $7,060,000
7 Doug Free (DAL) $7,000,000
8 Michael Roos (TEN) $6,000,000
3 tied at $5,000,000
Jason Peters-On Apr 28 2009 signed a 6 year $60.6 million extension with Philadelphia with $25 million guaranteed.
Joe Thomas-On Jul 27 2007 he signed a 5 year $42.5 million contract with Cleveland. Then, on Aug 22 2011, he signed a 7 year $84 million extension with $44 million guaranteed and a Signing Bonus of $6 million/
- 2011 Roster Bonus: $4 million
- 2011 Reporting Bonus: $1 million
- 2011 Workout Bonus: $100,000
- 2012-18 Workout Bonus: $200,000
- 2016-18 Roster Bonus: $1 million
Jordan Gross-On Feb 19 2009, he signed a 6 year $60 million contract with Carolina that included a
Signing Bonus of $5 million.
D'Brickashaw Ferguson-On Jul 8 2010, he signed an 8 year $73.6 million contract with the Jets, with $34.8 million guaranteed.
On Feb 23 2012, they restructured his 2012 salary to $985,000 and deferred his salary into a restructured $9 million signing Bonus.
Here are the 2012 Ratings as listed by Pro Football Focus
Rank | Player | Team | Snaps | Overall |
1 | Joe Staley | 49ers | 986 | 40.4 |
2 | Duane Brown | Texans | 1132 | 35.6 |
3 | Michael Roos | Titans | 962 | 27.9 |
4 | Ryan Clady | Broncos | 1141 | 26.9 |
5 | Joe Thomas | Browns | 1064 | 25.6 |
6 | D'Brickashaw Ferguson | Jets | 1097 | 23.5 |
7 | Andrew Whitworth | Bengals | 1019 | 22.5 |
8 | Jared Veldheer | Raiders | 1109 | 22.4 |
9 | William Beatty | Giants | 967 | 22.3 |
10 | Eugene Monroe | Jaguars | 1083 | 21.0 |
10 | Russell Okung | Seahawks | 946 | 21.0 |
11 | Nate Solder | Patriots | 1252 | 20.7 |
12 | Trent Williams | Redskins | 998 | 18.8 |
13 | Jordan Gross | Panthers | 1048 | 16.3 |
14 | Matt Kalil | Vikings | 1056 | 15.8 |
15 | Donald Penn | Buccaneers | 1075 | 14.9 |
16 | Branden Albert | Chiefs | 722 | 13.8 |
With the NFL being a "What have you done for me lately" league, I guess my point is that if the 9th ranked (by performance) Left Tackle in 2012 is worth $7.75 Million per year, how much more is the 4th ranked Left Tackle (Ryan Clady) worth?
Jake Long was on Injured Reserve in 2012 and was among the top 2 or 3 LT’s in 2011. Branden Albert was the 16th ranked and those two can demand $8 Million? If that is the case, Mr. Clady should have no problem getting a Jason Peters-like deal.
Getting back to the Brady-Flacco situation. For those of you who didn’t read between the Media/Agent smokescreen, the New England Patriots moved money to make cap room for this season. Tom Brady got paid to change those numbers around. He didn’t take a pay cut. What is happening with all these restructuring of contracts is to move Salary Cap Hits further ahead into future years. There will be a cost for that, because as we all know, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul simply does not work. Even Bernie Madoff couldn’t do it.
Now for the big finish.
The Denver Broncos aren’t immediately hurting for Cap space to re-sign Ryan Clady. At least not presently. If they can afford the (approximately) $9.66 Million Franchise Tag in 2013, there surely isn’t a problem. In the future however, the team salary structure will need to stabilize from the huge contracts of Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey and Peyton Manning. While Champ and Peyton carry the pricetag of future Hall Of Famers, Dumervil’s contract was a result of outplaying his rookie deal. Consider it a retroactive bonus, because that is really what it was. Has he performed like a $16 Million man? Maybe not last year statistically speaking, but if you look at his body of work, it is easier to justify. I believe many fans overlook that fact.
Anyway, who can say how many more seasons Champ Bailey will play. If the Broncos were to win the Super Bowl at the end of the 2013 season, he could proudly walk away into the sunset with a feather in the cap of a notable career. That would certainly gain a chunk of Cap room. Of course, there are a few players (Mays, DJ) earning a starter’s salary who may not be starting come September. And at the very least, one would expect Manning’s ~$20 Million hit to be reviewed and discussed. You have to protect that investment, but keeping that protection happy is justified as well.
Go Broncos!
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