The Steelers appear to have gotten a bargain Thursday with the signing of nose tackle Casey Hampton. While the Packers, Patriots and 49ers are -- at least for the moment -- going year to year with their beefy defensive tackles, using the franchise tag to lock in one-year, $7-million deals with Ryan Pickett, Vince Wilfork and Aubrayo Franklin, respectively, the Steelers have taken a different route, probably due to their ability to forge a favorable agreement.
The Steelers negotiated a three-year deal with Hampton for a little over $21 million. It’s essentially payment for three individual years at the 2010 franchise number of $7M. Sounds fair enough. However, looking at the deal closely skews it in favor of the club.
Had the Steelers gone year to year with Hampton, he could have played through 2010 on the $7M tag, then been tagged again in 2011 -- assuming there’s football and payment of contracts -- for a one-year figure 20 percent higher, or $8.4M. Then, after 2011, they would have had to negotiate a new deal or move on, since using the tag three years in a row would require a quarterback tag number, which would be prohibitive.
So instead of going year to year with Hampton for two years at $15.4M guaranteed, the Steelers were able to hammer a deal for three years at $21M, although that number is not as real as the guarantee number of $11M. For approximately 70 percent of what it would cost in guaranteed money to have Hampton for two years playing under a franchise tag, the Steelers now have Hampton under contract for three years.
How will Franklin, Pickett and Wilfork react to this deal? Probably not well. I sense they had stars in their eyes about getting at least half of what Albert Haynesworth received from the Redskins at this time last year. With Haynesworth’s deal exceeding $40M in guaranteed money, certainly these guys were hoping for/expecting $20M. Now there's a new and more relevant data point comp that the Packers, Patriots and 49ers will hold up as Exhibit A: $11M. Ouch.
If the Hampton deal is a sign of a new way of doing business in the NFL compared to 2009 -- with Hampton receiving barely 25 percent of the guaranteed money Haynesworth received a year ago -- the players need to hold on tight and get ready for a bumpy ride in 2010.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith has a tough job ahead. Unfortunately for him, there was no way to predict that ownership would not only have no fear of an uncapped year but would actually embrace it.
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"Taking this little?" He's getting $21 million to play a game! These people are being paid astronomical amounts of money to throw a ball around. There are families trying to survive on 0.25% of what this man will make next year. Oh yeah, I feel so bad for Casey Hampton.
This is less than Seymour's tag number, which is the higest, and should be the floor for guaranteed money in any coming extension. Ends get paid a bit more, so it is relatively similar in that respect.
Neither is like the money others are expecting or wanting?
What does a guarantee matter if the actual salary across the deal mirrors what the current tag number is? It's only a three year deal so the bonus isn't proportionally more, either. Those are th enumbers others want to see increase? Liftime deal equals anything past three years as a second contract?
Casey can cowboy up to the loan officer and get a pretty good amount of extra cash past his eleven million payday. Not that he would really need it...
Wilfork is a superior, younger player than Hampton (and this is coming from a Steelers fan) and he will get more. And as a Steelers fan I can tell you there has been some decline in Hampton's ability the last couple of seasons.
But Franklin, Picket and Hampton are similar and all play approximately 50-60% of defensive snaps for their teams.
Haynesworth, when healthy, plays close to 75-80% of snaps. Richard Seymore about 80-90% of snaps.
That's a big difference that is reflective in money.
This type of money might be what 2-down players, even NT's that are great at what they do, max out around.
@Mike
relax buddy, it's all relative. I'm willing to bet that those families that are trying to live off of much less (myself included) don't have a 6'4" 350 athletic freak in the family either. Some people are luckier than others. And I wonder how you would feel about getting paid if you were playing a game that requires the kind fo commitment pro football does. Not to mention it has been proven that collision sports like pro football can shorten your life expectancy. If you don't believe that then you might want to check with Mosi Tatupu's family, or Gaines Adams's family, or Kory Stringer's family, get my drift. At the NFL level it's a little bit more than just a game.
Mike, Professor, you both make a valid point. Many years ago a wise old man told me that the fewer people who can do what you do for a living the more you will generally earn. There are but a few football players who play Hampton's position as well as him. Unfortunately Mike, as the Professor stated, some people are luckier than others.
Hampton singing secures the tag for use on the Steelers kicker.
Man, I get tired of idiots complaining about salaries. If you want to watch a 'game', try MLB, whose average salary is twice that of NFL players' and has a tenth the risk of serious injury at most. These people are in the top one percent of their profession (and that's being extremely liberal). Do you complain about the top one percent of businessmen making outlandish amounts of money compared to the rest (and far more than the vast majority of NFL players will ever sniff)? At absolutely no risk to life and limb?
It's the players who draw people in to the games, not the owners. They're the real moneymakers for the teams. However, if you don't like that, you are certainly welcome to turn off your TV on Sundays, not go to any games, not buy any NFL gear, etc. Trust me, the rest of us won't miss you or your complaints.
Jeremy - I believe the rules state that if a RFA player is offered a contract, the originating team must match the deal. It's sort of out of the hands of the player. From what I understand, the RFA procedure is a lot more public than with UFAs.
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Feb 26, 2010
12:18 PM
Seems like a bad deal for Hampton. Its unclear how much protection he has if he were to get hurt next year, but that's about the only reason I can see for taking this little. Even if he gets the full $11 mill, that is not a whole lot more than the $7 mill he would have received if tagged. This is a premier player at a position in great demand with all the teams switching to a 3-4. I'd love to hear the agent justify this contract.