I still maintain that Leon can be our Parker/Dunn/Barber, which means he is potentially worth 5-7 million. However, in his present state, he is worth no more than 5 million to the team. More like 4, but I'm willing to throw an extra mil to a guy that exemplefies the spirit of the offense. The thing is, he stands to receive 535,000 this year, and most likely the top RFA tender will be around 3 mil next year, so as it stands now, he can expect to make 3.5 million over the next 2 years or 1.75 mil/year. This is well below his actual value, but fair within the rules of the NFL. So his incentive to re-sign at a lower number than his open market is that 1.75/year for the next two years number. By offering him 5/year, we are in essence giving him an extra 3.25 million than we have to over the next two years, netting him an extra 6.5 million. Spread the extra 6.5 over the length of a new 5 year contract and he already is getting an extra million per year. He also gets way more up front than if he had to wait two more years to collect on his value. Give him a nice 1 mil/year signing bonus and he is suddenly pulling down over 10 million dollars two years before he would have with no new contract. 5 million may not be his open market value, but it is more than fair regardless of how he will be utilized in the future. My guess: $25 million over 5 years, 15 guaranteed, 5 million signing bonus.
I think 5 year $25 million is fair compensation for Washington. Especially considering his gamebreaking ability.
