When the day began there was nothing but bad news on the contract status of Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver Dez Bryant, Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and Kansas City Chiefs outisde linebacker Justin Houston. A few hours later all three were happy and in the fold. Right before the 4 p.m. EST deadline, four teams announced closing lucrative deals for their franchise players.
Thomas and Bryant signed virtually identical 5-year,. $70 million deals, with Bryant getting a little more in guaranteed money ($45 million) than Thomas ($43.5 million). Houston really cashed in, getting a six-year deal worth $101 million and $52.5 million in guaranteed cash.
Lost a little in the big news was the four-year, $17.2 million contract signed by Stephen Gostkowski with the New England Patriots. New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who blew off a finger over the fourth of July weekend, did not reach a long term agreement with the New York Giants as expected.
Houston’s deal with the Chiefs is the biggest in the history of the franchise and the largest contract for a linebacker in NFL history.
Putting ✒️ to 📄@JHouston50 solidifies the return of #SackCity to KC in long term deal: http://t.co/kWer4oK3aa pic.twitter.com/ZNKAomdrXv
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 15, 2015
“They told me at the end of the season to be patient and we’ll get a deal done, just be patient and just wait, and time will take care of it,” Houston told reporters Wednesday. “That’s what I did. I sat back and waited for them.”
It was worth the wait for Houston. He’s not the second highest-paid defensive player in the NFL right behind Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who signed a $114 million contract at the beginning of free agency.
“Justin is a great football player,” Kansas City GM John Dorsey said. “We’ve said all along if you can retain your own great football players, that helps you sustain [success]. He’s young enough where he’s going to have many great years with the Kansas City Chiefs organization.”
Bryant opened the day threatening not only to skip all of training camp, but possible a regular season game or two. By 4 p.m. he was signing a new contract with his son sitting on his lap.
— Nick Eatman (@nickeatman) July 15, 2015
Bryant got to pocket a $20 million signing bonus after closing the deal with the Cowboys.
Thomas and Bryant were always going to have similar deals, but it’s certainly odd how close they actually were. The NFLP is investigating collusion between the Broncos and the Cowboys and common sense would say they have a case. My guess is, after today, it will be dropped.
Statement from DEN: "Suggestion our club may have colluded with another team about a negotiation is completely false and without any merit.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2015
Details of Thomas’ signing bonus have been released, but it’ll be close to Bryant’s. Thomas and the Broncos closed their agreement shortly after the Cowboys announced Bryant’s deal, showing that the two sides were, at worst, going to use it as a bench mark.
https://twitter.com/BroncosTV/status/621419457898897408
While both Thomas and Bryant headed into this offseason trying to get Calvin Johnson money, it’s interesting that neither guy got all that close. In 2012 Johnson signed a 7-year, $113.45 million contract with a $16 million signing bonus and $53.25 million guaranteed. Johnson is already half-way through it and will, barring injury, play through the whole thing since he’s still the most dominant player at his position in the league.
Thomas and Bryant’s contracts will pay them both an average of $14 million a year. Johnson’s contract is good for an average of $16.2 million a year. In 2015, in real money, Johnson will make $16.5 million and that’s not even counting his prorated signing bonus.
Mariota still not under contract in Tennessee
The issue with No. 2 overall pick and 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota is one of contract language and it has kept the former Oregon quarterback as the only unsigned 2015 first-round pick in the NFL.
The contract language, of course, has to do with money. Specifically the money the Titans can get back from the deal if they cut Mariota at some point during the contract’s lifetime and he signs with another team. Think of it as an NFL pre-nup with an alimony cut-off.
Mariota and his agent haven’t gone for it yet, but the Titans aren’t budging. Tennessee interim CEO Steve Underwood got a little philosophical about the whole thing.
“Whatever you do echoes into eternity with player contracts,” Underwood said. “We just can’t afford to take a step back, at least this early in the process. We’re still a couple of weeks away from training camp.”
