Very good article. It explains why the Jets didn't guarantee Ferguson's contract for skill AND injury (reallocation rule) and why the only way you can give a shit load of guaranteed money to a guy like Revis is via a signing bonus (which every owner hates). http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yorkjet...one?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter There is a little-known rule in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement that is having a big-time impact on the New York Jets' stalled negotiations with star cornerback Darrelle Revis -- and it likely will sabotage any chance of signing Revis to a contract extension before the start of the season. It's called the "reallocation rule,” and it explains, in part, why the Jets’ offer to Revis includes virtually no fully guaranteed money. By “fully” guaranteed, we mean it’s guaranteed against skill and injury, ensuring the player gets paid no matter what. The rule stats that, when doing a contract extension in an uncapped year, future guarantees against skill and injury must fit under the team’s 2009 salary cap. In the Jets’ case, that doesn’t leave much at all, as they had only about $300,000 in leftover cap space – a relative drop in the bucket. They can offer more than that for skill or injury, but not both. Hence, the recent D’Brickashaw Ferguson contract. The Jets’ Pro Bowl left tackle signed a six-year, $60 million extension that includes $34.8 million guarantees, most of which is guaranteed against skill, but not injury. In some circles, Ferguson and his agent were criticized for accepting that kind of risk. The Jets, too, got ripped, with people saying they were being tight with the purse strings. In reality, both sides had to deal with significant restrictions based on the rules. Yes, Ferguson could suffer a career-ending injury in 2010, which would jeopardize $22.9 million in guarantees from 2011 to 2013 (he needs to be on the roster Feb. 15 for that to trigger). The Jets gave him the option – skill or injury guarantee – and he chose skill. By the time he steps on the practice field Aug. 2 in Cortland, he will have an insurance policy that will cover the $30 million in remaining guarantees in case of a catastrophic injury. No doubt, the Jets’ offer to Revis is based on a similar structure. It’s believed to be about $11 million-to-$13 million-per-year range, with guarantees against skill or injury – but not both. Presumably, the offer includes little or no signing bonus. There’s no way Revis, due to make $1 million this season and threatening a training-camp holdout, will accept that kind of deal. He was insulted when it was first proposed. But the Jets can’t totally hide behind the reallocation rule as the reason for not re-upping with Revis. There’s no rule that prevents them from trying to satisfy Revis with a huge signing bonus of say, $25 million. That would be quite a statement, owner Woody Johnson announcing to his customers (and would-be customers) that he wants to build a championship-caliber team with staying power. That, too, would eliminate the whispers about a cash-flow problem due to lagging PSL sales. But there’s little chance of that happening. For one thing, the days of the eight-figure signing bonus are just about gone. The Jets’ last one came in 2008, when they signed LB Calvin Pace to a free-agent deal that included an $11 million signing bonus. In addition, with a 2011 lockout looming, Johnson, like other owners, is freaked out about doling out enormous bonus checks. The Jets told Ferguson during negotiations there was no way they were going to cut a monster check. Knowing the uncertain labor landscape, and the tight restrictions with regard to contract extensions, GM Mike Tannenbaum probably shouldn’t have told Revis after the season that they wanted to re-do his contract. It was false hope. Revis took it as a promise. Now here they are, two weeks before training camp, miles apart on a deal that probably won't get done this year.
just another comment: If I promise you I'm buying you an upgrade on your old car I'm not promising I'm buying you a Ferrari! A Mercedes class E is still an upgrade even if cost half of the Ferrari. If Tanny promised Revis to make his contract better it doesn't imply he was going to offer more than Aso's money! IF Tanny said he was going to give him more money than Aso then he's on the wrong side but I don't think he did something THAT stupid.
Cimini writes this as if Mike Tannenbaum didn't know about this when he told Revis that the team wanted to restructure his contract.
+1e6 This also shows the holes in the previously posted article relating Leon's injury to the stalled negotiations and player's fear of that happening to them. Obviously D'Brick was willing to take that chance. AFA guaranteed money, Revis is one of the few guys that I have no qualms about giving the money up front...as far as his play is concerned. Pulling a TJ OTOH, seems completely within the realms of his business persona.
Everybody bashes Cimini, and sure he's on the negative side, but he's got a lot of informative articles out there, and he's consistently been one of the better beat writers for a while.
Even a blind squirrel writes the occasionally not fucking awful article about the Jets. Good info, though.
So Brick takes out an insurance policy. Why the hell doesn't Revis just do that and sign a contract guaranteed against skill? Hopefully it isn't just Revis' ego getting in the way of wanting to be the highest paid CB in the League with tons of fully guaranteed money. Thanks for the article, helps me understand a bit more.
The article is good, but does he have to frame it as though the sky is falling? The article is headed "Why A Revis Extension Probably Won't Get Done". It's taken a couple of months but he's reverted to "Raincloud of Doom" status.
Has Cimini ever had anything good to say about the Jets or written any article that was complementary or portrayed a positive image of the Jets????
I wonder if the team is allowed to pay for an insurance policy agaonst injury. If so, the player can be guaranteed to be paid against skill in the contract and guaranteed to be paid against injury by the insurance paid for by the team.
That's my problem with him. It's a form of sensationalism that has pervaded mainstream journalism for a while. The "Why salad may be bad for you" types of stories piss me off to no end, and most of Cimini's articles are exactly like that, informative or not.
Yeah it's not the quality of the facts in the article that concerns me, as what he interprets them to mean. Consistently. And hey I tend to be a bit of a skeptic myself. But I don't say a nice day with blue skies is a bad one because my f'ing flowers need the rain, either. He is definitely too negative. Other point is can't Revis get an injury insurance contract or something. as someone else mentioned?
There's something called a Loss-of-Value insurance policy that an athelete can take which can pay out the total value of their contract, or guaranteed money, if they get injured. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a career-ending injury. I think Tony Romo got something like this a while back. EDIT: He did. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...-policy-all-but-guarantees-romo-will-get-paid
http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=57637 You know he stole this information from her article. Probably waited a few weeks so it wasn't so obvious.
