As per ROTOWORLD Patriots agreed to terms with TE Rob Gronkowski on a six-year, $54 million extension through 2019. Gronk has not only emerged as the most dominant all-around tight end in the game, he's also off to arguably the greatest start in NFL history at the position. A closer look at the contract details (accessible at the link below) reveals a steal of a deal for the Patriots. They got him for $13.23M in the first three years, and the contract is backloaded without guarantees beyond the third season. Ultimately, only $13.17M is fully guaranteed. Still, the extension suggests the Pats have no qualms about Gronkowski's offseason ankle surgery. Wes Welker may not be thrilled with the news, but the Pats are smart to lock up their young nucleus talent. Gronk is now under New England's control through his age-30 season.
Gronk seems to have blown it (relatively speaking) with this deal - he could have got himself ridiculous money come 2014.
Hes the highest paid TE in the league (prior to this he only had rookie contract money). So in case he ends up having a freak injury or something hes still rich as hell However he got shit for guaranteed money, so that was his big mistake
No money guaranteed past 3 years, whats the over/under on him actually playing out this contract that has him locked up until hes 30 ? Knowing the Patriot Way they just cut him loose and send him to the trash heap soon as Brady is done and cant carry him anymore.
It's the right deal for both sides. Gronk had no leverage for a few years anyway. The Pats wanted to reward him for last season without breaking the bank. Both issues well satisfied by the extension. Belichik has been moving money from defense to offense steadily over the last few seasons. It's pretty clear that he thinks the NFL is going Arena Football mode at some point and defense will be kind of an afterthought.
The fact that nothing is guaranteed beyond 3 years is really only an issue if he suffers a serious injury. There's no way the Pats cut him otherwise so he's gonna see the base salary + a few escalators.
By the Patriot way, I'm assuming you mean smart fiscal football practice. A concept the Jets could use a lesson in BTW.
I think its a huge issue for when Brady retires. The guy is the highest paid TE in the league. If his production significantly slips (which of course it will when Brady is gone) and injuries catch up to him at all (being hes a physical TE) then who knows what could happen
^ per rotoworld This sounds to me like a man who is not going to be on the Pats for the 2016 season (especially since Brady will likely not be on that team either)
You're delusions are entertaining to read. First of all, Rob Gronkowski is a very valuable member of the offense regardless of who the QB is. If you can't see that, you're just in denial. The guy has clearly established himself as the best TE in the league. Secondly, in 2016, when Gronk turns 27, salaries across the board will have raised to the point where he won't be the highest paid TE anymore. He'll be entering his prime and that deal will still be a good one for the Patriots. Barring injuries there is no way he doesn't play out that deal.
Im not denying that the man isnt a very talented TE. Theres no question about it. But to pretend that hes going to play BETTER and not worse once he loses one of the better all time QBs is an absolute joke. That combined with the fact that Gronk isnt the same model as your basketball TEs (those guys admittedly arent as physical or as good blockers as Gronk) which means more wear and tear on him. Plus the nfl salary cap isnt increasing THAT much (its slowly being brought up year by year) so its not like there will be a major difference. Odds are he will still be one of the highest paid TEs in the league, even without Brady pillowing his stats. Ill be honest when I say I dont think theyll necessarily cut him in 2016, but I strongly doubt he plays out his contract in its entirety. The fact that your FO gave him shit for guarenteed money only goes so far to show what they thing of his long term prospect. Eitherway it makes no difference if you have Gronk or not when you dont have a Brady and Bill anymore
Pushing the majority of the money to the end of the contract gives us a lot of flexibility to do different things. We can cut him if the production doesn't match the pay without Brady. Or we can try to negotiate an extension at that point with a smaller yearly average. Or we can restructure (either his contract or another player's) at some point in the meantime to make things work. I really don't see the backloaded structure of his contract being a negative in any way.
His production might go down, but he isn't all of a sudden gonna become a worst player with someone else on the field. No, it goes to show the leverage they held over him in negotiations. He was scheduled to make 1.2 million over the next two years, and he certainly would have gotten the franchise tag in 2014, and maybe in 2015 as well. If Gronk wanted to make some serious coin, he was gonna have to wait a long time, which is a risky proposition for any player. You can only hope
