Staffords Contract

[Maybe Next Year Millen2]

Heres a breakdown of Staffords contract from a George Seifert article. 2010 there is an insane amount of money going to Stafford. 1) they are counting on an uncapped year in 2010 2) or all the 19 million dead money that comes off the books we have now will be going to Stafford in 2010 3) they are paying Stafford the most in the year he is expected to be the starter for sure 4) his cap number is only 3.1 this year which keeps under 5) some of the bonus is based on playing time for the 9.1 bonus, probably playing time this year if they are smart so if Stafford sits which he will we might not have to pay that 6) 17.4 million optioon bonus prorated over 5 years isn't bad 7) 2011 cap number will be largest but we will be going with him anyway, if by 2011 he doesn't work out, he will be cuttable. Smart contract,front loaded

Last weekend, I used a speculative example to help explain how Detroit will be able to fit quarterback Matthew Stafford's record-setting contract under its rookie pool allotment of $8.074 million this year. Now, thanks to some digging from an informed blogger, we can use definitive numbers.

Based on the salary numbers compiled here by J.I. Halsell, a former salary cap analyst for Washington, we can tell you that Stafford will have a 2009 salary cap figure of $3.1 million. (Halsell's work also appears over at Football Outsiders.)

Below are the highlights of the deal, which is for six years and $72 million -- with escalators that could bring the total to $78 million. The guaranteed portion is $41.7 million. (I verified the figures with an independent source who has access to them, and they are spot-on.)

The Lions guaranteed Stafford's base salaries in 2009 ($3.1 million), 2010 ($395,000) and 2011 ($9 million). Also, $2.7 million of his 2012 base salary ($10.5 million) is guaranteed. Total here: $15.195 million guaranteed.
Stafford does not receive a signing bonus. Instead, the Lions will pay him two different types of bonuses in 2010: A one-time payment of $9.105 million based on playing time and an option bonus of $17.4 million. They account for the remaining $26.505 million in guarantees.
As a result, Stafford will receive $3.1 million in compensation in 2009. In 2010, he will receive a whopping $26.9 million. In 2011, his compensation will be $9 million. Assuming he makes it through the fourth year of his contract, Stafford will have earned $49.5 million over that span.
By scheduling option and one-time bonuses in 2010, the Lions created a situation where Stafford's 2009 base salary is the only factor in his cap number for this year. That's how a player with a $72 million contract can be squeezed into a rookie pool number.

For cap purposes, Stafford's one-time bonus will all count in 2010. The option bonus, by NFL rule, will prorate over the final five years of the deal. It's the exact strategy contemplated here by another informed blogger, AdamJT13, who we have referenced before here and here. He proposed the structure as a way to give players more guaranteed money while limiting the 2009 cap hit as a possible uncapped year looms in 2010.

[Addict]

It's a little early (as in: in the morning) so I may not be taking this all in right, but the Lions essentially used the cap-free year to give him a gigantic portion of his guaranteed money? That's ingenius...

[Maybe Next Year Millen2]

Basically what I get from this is
Cap number 2009 3.1 million(guranteed base salary,no bonus)
Cap number 2010 with playing time bonus of 9.1=12.975 (.395+9.1+3.48)
Cap number 2010 without playing time bonus=3.875 (So if he doesn't play in 2009 then we save some of or all of the 9.1 million incentive bonus)
Cap number 2011=12.48 million (base is guranteed of 9 +3.48 for option bonus/5). We wouldn't give up on him until after this year anyway.
Cap number 2012=13.98 million (although only 2.7+3.48 is guranteed) 7.8 million is unguranteed base salary. So therefore cuttable or negotiable to lower 7.8 million of base salary in 2012 if he doesn't work out.
2013=? high salary most likely only guranteed is 3.48 million
2014=?

17.4 option bonus/5 years=3.48

So if they don't play Stafford, I see 9 million reasons why they wouldn't. However, if he is ready money isn't an issue with an uncapped year in 2010. 15.2 million of the 41 million guranteed is his base salary anyway not signing bonus.

[Addict]

Originally Posted by Maybe Next Year Millen2

Basically what I get from this is
Cap number 2009 3.1 million(guranteed base salary,no bonus)
Cap number 2010 with playing time bonus of 9.1=12.975 (.395+9.1+3.48)
Cap number 2010 without playing time bonus=3.875 (So if he doesn't play in 2009 then we save some of or all of the 9.1 million incentive bonus)
Cap number 2011=12.48 million (base is guranteed of 9 +3.48 for option bonus/5). We wouldn't give up on him until after this year anyway.
Cap number 2012=13.98 million (although only 2.7+3.48 is guranteed) 7.8 million is unguranteed base salary. So therefore cuttable or negotiable to lower 7.8 million of base salary in 2012 if he doesn't work out.
2013=? high salary most likely only guranteed is 3.48 million
2014=?

17.4 option bonus/5 years=3.48

So if they don't play Stafford, I see 9 million reasons why they wouldn't. However, if he is ready money isn't an issue with an uncapped year in 2010. 15.2 million of the 41 million guranteed is his base salary anyway not signing bonus.

I'm not one to say way to go, FO... but that sounds pretty damn smart. Essentially sitting Stafford isn't only the best thing to do for Stafford devellopment-wise, but also cap-wise.

Wow.

[Prowler]

that's a lot of math. i'm just going to judge the contract by other people's reactions to it. i'm going to say it was a shrewd move.

[Addict]

Originally Posted by Prowler

that's a lot of math. i'm just going to judge the contract by other people's reactions to it. i'm going to say it was a shrewd move.

well it certainly looks that way.

[Whitebull]

A link to the blog:

http://adamjt13.blogspot.com/2009/05...-contract.html

This is a very good contract for us. It's heavily incentive laden. If he's hitting the qualifiers and incentives, that's fantastic and it's worth it, especially since he's a quarterback.

If he's not, then his cap numbers each year are are very very reasonable and won't be soul-shattering to our team's future at all.

[Addict]

I gotta say I fully understood why the signing process took so long. Great deal, great way to set it up this way.

[Matthew Stafford]

There paying me crazy money but I have to say my agent did all the work and I just signed the contract.

[Addict]

Originally Posted by Matthew Stafford

There paying me crazy money but I have to say my agent did all the work and I just signed the contract.

It's they're, Matthew, not there. Maybe leaving before senior year wasn't such a good idea ;)

[noondog]

When someone's raking in that kind of jack, I'm pretty sure they can live with the odd grammatical error :)