Why its taking so long to extend Mo?

Because of the 5th year option Muhamad Wilkerson still has two seasons left user contract. He plays for just over $2 million in 2014 and then for about $7 million in 2015. It makes no sense to sign Mo to a contract yet because $2 million is a huge steal for the Jets at his level of play, but 2015 is actually a steal as well, not to mention the potential of the franchise tag in 2016. We have control over Wilk for the next 3 seasons, so there really is no reason to jump the gun and throw away money.

Firstly, say we pay Wilk 9 or so million per year in his extension, maybe more but we'll just say 9. The difference of the $7 million raise in his pay in this years cap gets rolled over into 2015 so in a way we are gaining interest on cap room by not spending it sooner. So say we have about $20 million on this years cap and $25 million on next yeas cap. From what I understand, if we don't use the remaining cap room for 2014 we get $20 million added on to 2015's cap space, giving us $45 million in space.

If we were to however extend Mo now, we throw an extra $7 million at him for 2014 reducing our cap to $13 million. Because that adds $2 million to his salary for 2015 as well, that means instead of $45 million in space for 2015 we're at $36 million. So in effect we are down about $10 million on next year's available cap space and we are in absolutely no different of a position than we would be if we just waited to extend Mo until next offseason.

I was posting before about how I thought 2015 was the real year the Jets could make a SB run, I just feel that this team is too young to really make a push like that even if we get to the playoffs. If we have a really solid year this year, Idzik will be able to extend Mo next offseason, but have $43 million available to spend however he sees fit, possibly on extending players like Kerley, or snatching up somebody really worth it in FA, or perhaps make a trade for a top of the line player that another team just can't afford to fit on their salary cap.

 

And maximus just ended this thread.
well done sir

 

No problem, the financial details are more intricate because it depends on where you allocate the money (types of bonuses and base salary etc) but that's essentially how it works. Not a single player drafted in the first round in 2011 has received an extension yet, because the 5th year option offers control over the players an extra year. Most players receive an extension in the offseason or season before they are scheduled to be a FA, although sometimes QB's can get extensions with more time left. Since he is scheduled to make significantly more in 2015 than this year, and it is guaranteed for injury, there isn't a reason for Mo to hold out, even if he was the type of guy who would.

 

I do feel Mo deserves to make more than 2 million this year. Hopefully his extension is the first thing they focus on next off season. I'd hate to see him get upset and leave the team because they keep low balling him. If anybody on the roster deserves it, it's him. I know it's a great steal for the team, but if it could potentially lose us our best player, I'm down with extending him now. Chances are he'll be worth much more next year, so a temporary cap relief for the team might not be worth the future cap hits that it will cause.

If they did this to Mo, I'd be very upset because it guarantees he's going to take his talents elsewhere. He might not be the type of guy to hold out, but he's top 5, probably top 3 at his position and that guarantees he's gone.

 

If we lose Mo I would really question the sanity of being a Jets fan.

 

Because Idzik loves to take his time with contract signings,just ask Domnique Rodgers Cro

 

I don't even want to ponder that idea,I thought Revis would be a Jet for life and he is now a New England Patriot.After seeing that happen nothing would surprise me

 

I would think that Idzik's plan also revolves around the fact that if we make it into next off season with the $25 million or so we have in cap space now then it rolls over giving us tons of space. Then you can resign Kelley and Mo right away and still have $25 million+ to work with in free agency especially factoring in the big wide receiver free agent year we have coming up.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about him. He is debatably the top CB in the league though, and contracts are all about leverage. The thing about Peterson is that he was the 3rd overall pick and thus his salary over the remaining years are significantly higher than Mo's, so there is less of a disparity between what he was going to make in 2014 vs what he is now making post extension.

I believe the biggest reason Peterson was awarded his contract is because of Richard Sherman's deal. Sherman was from the same year as Peterson but he was drafted in the 5th round and thus not eligible for the 5th year option. Peterson's agent would have raised hell had he not been given a new contract on par with Sherman's.

If Watt or Mo signed a new deal, the agent of the other may have the leverage to push for one in the same way. I can say with much confidence that should Sherman have had the possibility of receiving that 5th year option, neither he nor Peterson would have gotten a new deal until next offseason, and if you look at Peterson's deal he barely got any salary bump at all in 2014. He doesn't get the big money until the coming years. I'd be surprised if many more of those 2011 first rounders get deals before the coming offseason.

 

I guess the question that comes up is why didn't other teams take this approach? The Seahawks and Cardinals had the same level of control over Sherman and Peterson and yet extended them to huge deals. Not sure if it's showing loyalty to players or fear that their price might go up but something must have motivated them to make those deals. Personally I'd like to extend Wilkerson before Watt. I'd rather the Jets define the market than have to adjust to it.

Edit: Nvm just saw Maximus' answer right above and it goes a long way in answering the question

 

tryon smith signed am extension, as well

but both of those guys were top ten picks (more expensive this year and next) on teams with messy cap situations

 

now this is a sound level headed argument. that said, its flawed, why try so hard to save for next year when the team is in such a cap space reprieve at that point?

i think you're thinking a little too in the now and not enough in the future. what we should want is a Wilkerson deal thats flexible, and not incredibly expensive on annual basis. he's a steal now, sure, but I think an argument can be made for sacrificing this lower cost in order to get a better deal over the long run.

Lets say we're using 9 million as just a hypothetical annual number. lets say his new contract expires after the 2019 season.

Would you rather Idzik give Wilkerson a 9 mill cap hit per year deal with guarantees that only last through 2016 at best (in case he needs to be cut for some reason) OR waiting a bit and having a heavier cap hit per year than he would have if he were signed now and maybe another year or so waiting for him to be able to be cut and gain cap savings?

Point being, if we were to lock him up NOW, its likely that a new deal will be more flexible in the future for various reason's, which could help us retain the likes of Richardson or who knows who else in the long run. waiting a little too long can simply make his price steeper and make his contract harder to manage, all for the sake of cap savings in a period of abundance. Why not let the hardest to escape part of his new deal happen within this period of cap space fresh air and brace oneself for a wave of new signings by way of getting a big one out of the way early? besides, we'll be ready for ANY big name signing or re-signing next year regardless of Wilkerson. (maybe 30-40 million)

a better counterargument to signing him now would be that we don't know his appropriate value is, so its best to use this year to find out what he should REALLY be making since theres no fear of him leaving next year. Maybe I'm misinterpreting you're statement, but not signing him to save on the cap next year is pretty short sided and counter intuitive when you think about.

theres no urgency to do it now certainly, but there is still an opportunity knocking by doing the deal now, If the price is right. Just playing devils advocate.

 

I would guess you'd save a couple million at most per year by doing it the way you are describing, if I understand it correctly.
I believe you're basically saying that if we give him a new deal now with some more front loaded numbers for say 2014 and 2015 we could have lower cap hits towards the back end of the deal, thus giving him the same cash total but reduce the risk of having to cut him later due to his cost exceeding his play, simultaneously giving us more cap space for other players in those later years. Additionally, there may be one less year of major guarantees thus making him an easier cut should that necessity arise. This all makes sense and I see what you're saying, but I think there are a few other factors here.

1. How much exactly would we save per year by doing this? I can't imagine it is more than $1-1.5 million per year.

2. It would set a precedent for our other 1st round picks to seek contracts going into their 4th year. If the precedent is that you wait until the offseason leading into your contract year, that is what will be deemed fair by other players.

3.We will most certainly have an abundance of cap space in 2015, so your plan of front loading is not necessarily a bad one but we can do the same thing with 2015 and 2016. This is made more reasonable by the fact that Mo is so young, he is only 24 and thus a deal that extends from 2015-2020 will have Mo going into his contract year at age 31, hardly decrepitude.

4. I cannot envision a realistic situation in which we would need to cut Mo after the 2016 season at age 27, in the midst of his prime. He has been picture of health every year, he has shown tremendous skill mastery, been an excellent teammate, and has an absolutely spotless off the field history. This is exactly the kind of guy who you bet the bank on, and I really don't feel that having big guarantees through 2017 is a radical risk.

5. I'm really not overly worried about the flexibility of Wilkerson's deal considering his age. There is a strong chance we will be able to move numbers around in a second extension down the line, perhaps until age 34 or so. You really aren't forced to backload a contract when you have so much space to begin with, so I just don't see the major concern about his later years' annual salaries. I understand it might make it "more" flexible your way, but I guess my point is basically that if we avoid throwing money around to overpriced free agents we will already have quite a lot of flexibility due to the other factors here.

We have such a young team that we are basically guaranteed multiple years of a low-cost core of players. Even as the younger players grow and will require new contracts, our older contracts for players like Harris, Brick, Mangold, and even Decker will be up and thus make more room for players like DeMario Davis, Coples, and eventually Richardson and probably Milliner to be resigned. The the team building process is structured around bringing in maximum talent through the draft, and continually rejuvenating that young cheap talent. If the result of that is we have to let some good players go down the line because we have too many to afford, I'm really ok with that.

 

Oh yes, I have to look at that contract as well but as I said before, contracts are all about leverage. The Cowboys have a dreadful roster, and the bright spots only consist of Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, and Tyron Smith. Should Tyron Smith have held out (which is plausible, although no threat went public it does not mean it didn't happen) the Cowboys would suffer far too much from the lack of his presence in protecting Romo, their prized asset. They in fact did not give him much of a raise in terms of a cap hit in 2014, but he got his bonus money of course. He actually has a very backloaded deal, which was necessary to continue under that cap hell they've put themselves in. On top of that Smith is probably the #2 talent at LT in the league, and by far the most physically gifted, and that gives you a lot of leverage as a player.