- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
- Messages
- 584
- Reaction score
- 13
- Points
- 18
Washington Post Article: As NFL draft dominates discussion, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill contract decisions loom
The article cites an anonymous source saying "he expects the Redskins to exercise Griffin’s option year following the draft"... I apologize if this has been posted before... However, I'm curious about what the forum subscribers have to say... What do you say?
Allow me to provide some background on the 5th year option (for the few who might need it):
1) Teams have until May to decide whether to pick up a 5th year option...
2) The 5th year option is a team option, not a player option. It is guaranteed only for injury, so any weeks that a player misses for injury in the 5th year would be fully guaranteed.
3) The player can be cut before March (official beginning of next season) and 5th year option isn't guaranteed.
4) The player's contract can be re-negotiated/extended in January, during team re-signing period.
5) The guaranteed money equals that of a current year transition tag... so you get next year's contract at current year's transition tag numbers. QB transition tag this year is ~$16M and RGIII would play next year at ~$16M if his 5th year option is exercised, even if transition tag for next season goes up.
A few risks/drawbacks that I've heard identified are:
1) RGIII plays well enough to warrant keeping after March 2016, but:
a) not quite well enough for $16M
b) gets injured for most/all of 2016 season after March 2016...
2) You lose potential high 3rd round compensatory pick in 2016 if RGIII isn't worth $16M & is cut
3) You tie up $16M after March 2016 that could be used to sign other players
Here are my thoughts:
RGIII isn't concerned about the Redskins not picking up his 5th year option because he would have far more leverage going into 2016 if the Redskins didn't pick up his option. It's totally in the teams favor to exercise the option. It's totally in the player's favor to renegotiate a new contract based on QB franchise tag numbers than based on last year QB transition tag numbers.
If you are concerned about what compensatory picks you "might/might not" receive in 2016, just trade him for an equivalent pick now (which would be a high 4th round pick).
If you think he isn't going to be a part of your team in 2016, you are better off finding a QB who you feel will be part of your team now and building around that player in 2015. Get what you can for him now and move on...
I think it's a no-brainer to take the 5th year option on RGIII, if you think there is a chance he'll be your starter in 2016 and beyond. You lose too much leverage in contract negotiations by going with 2016 & 2017 franchise tag numbers. Agents will tell the team they will have to fork out $20M in 2016 & $24M (120% of previous FT year) in 2017 in order to keep the player on a franchise tag, so the Agent will have justification for a guarantee of $44M over the first 2 years of the contract for a high profile QB. Teams will add years and move guaranteed money to the back of the contract during negotiations, but the agent will start at those higher numbers. If you have the 5th year option, they can only justify $16M + $20M over first 2 years ($36M) during January 2016 negotiations.
This is why Russell Willson will likely get around $44M guaranteed over the 1st 2 years of his deal. It really depends on where the guaranteed money lands. He'll certainly get at minimum $20M in guaranteed money over the 1st year, it's just the leverage a player has in the 1st year over the leverage the team has. If the team is forced to franchise, they pay out around $20M in that year anyway. The team can then give the player a fully guaranteed 1st year contract + signing bonus of $20M and spread the bonus over the life of the contract in order to save cap... However, reports are that Wilson will get $126M with $62M guaranteed (which I think is absurd, but it isn't my money)... It all depends on where the money lands in the life of the contract.
Anyway, I only bring up Russell Wilson to discuss how contract negotiations will work. RGIII & team have to have a really great year before we talk about contract extensions & such... However, the 5th year option is a discussion that has to happen before May, and not exercising that option has pretty a significant impact on future years.
Sorry for being overly wordy... Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
SmootPoint
The article cites an anonymous source saying "he expects the Redskins to exercise Griffin’s option year following the draft"... I apologize if this has been posted before... However, I'm curious about what the forum subscribers have to say... What do you say?
Allow me to provide some background on the 5th year option (for the few who might need it):
1) Teams have until May to decide whether to pick up a 5th year option...
2) The 5th year option is a team option, not a player option. It is guaranteed only for injury, so any weeks that a player misses for injury in the 5th year would be fully guaranteed.
3) The player can be cut before March (official beginning of next season) and 5th year option isn't guaranteed.
4) The player's contract can be re-negotiated/extended in January, during team re-signing period.
5) The guaranteed money equals that of a current year transition tag... so you get next year's contract at current year's transition tag numbers. QB transition tag this year is ~$16M and RGIII would play next year at ~$16M if his 5th year option is exercised, even if transition tag for next season goes up.
A few risks/drawbacks that I've heard identified are:
1) RGIII plays well enough to warrant keeping after March 2016, but:
a) not quite well enough for $16M
b) gets injured for most/all of 2016 season after March 2016...
2) You lose potential high 3rd round compensatory pick in 2016 if RGIII isn't worth $16M & is cut
3) You tie up $16M after March 2016 that could be used to sign other players
Here are my thoughts:
RGIII isn't concerned about the Redskins not picking up his 5th year option because he would have far more leverage going into 2016 if the Redskins didn't pick up his option. It's totally in the teams favor to exercise the option. It's totally in the player's favor to renegotiate a new contract based on QB franchise tag numbers than based on last year QB transition tag numbers.
If you are concerned about what compensatory picks you "might/might not" receive in 2016, just trade him for an equivalent pick now (which would be a high 4th round pick).
If you think he isn't going to be a part of your team in 2016, you are better off finding a QB who you feel will be part of your team now and building around that player in 2015. Get what you can for him now and move on...
I think it's a no-brainer to take the 5th year option on RGIII, if you think there is a chance he'll be your starter in 2016 and beyond. You lose too much leverage in contract negotiations by going with 2016 & 2017 franchise tag numbers. Agents will tell the team they will have to fork out $20M in 2016 & $24M (120% of previous FT year) in 2017 in order to keep the player on a franchise tag, so the Agent will have justification for a guarantee of $44M over the first 2 years of the contract for a high profile QB. Teams will add years and move guaranteed money to the back of the contract during negotiations, but the agent will start at those higher numbers. If you have the 5th year option, they can only justify $16M + $20M over first 2 years ($36M) during January 2016 negotiations.
This is why Russell Willson will likely get around $44M guaranteed over the 1st 2 years of his deal. It really depends on where the guaranteed money lands. He'll certainly get at minimum $20M in guaranteed money over the 1st year, it's just the leverage a player has in the 1st year over the leverage the team has. If the team is forced to franchise, they pay out around $20M in that year anyway. The team can then give the player a fully guaranteed 1st year contract + signing bonus of $20M and spread the bonus over the life of the contract in order to save cap... However, reports are that Wilson will get $126M with $62M guaranteed (which I think is absurd, but it isn't my money)... It all depends on where the money lands in the life of the contract.
Anyway, I only bring up Russell Wilson to discuss how contract negotiations will work. RGIII & team have to have a really great year before we talk about contract extensions & such... However, the 5th year option is a discussion that has to happen before May, and not exercising that option has pretty a significant impact on future years.
Sorry for being overly wordy... Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
SmootPoint