Good Morning, Broncos fans! Tony Romo's new deal - is it worth $108M? Does it contain $55M in guarantees, as has been reported?
Probably not, and nope.
As per usual, Romo's contract in Dallas features fewer guarantees than was originally reported - only $40M is fully guaranteed, and only $28.5M of that is new money, anyway. The rest is, of course, only guaranteed for injury, which doesn't mean squat, as we were just saying to our old friend Elvis Dumervil.
Does he deserve it, relative to his play, and the precedent of other QB contracts? Unquestionably, yes.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Friday's big news was another massive quarterback contract, this time an extension in Dallas for Tony Romo.
Joe Flacco and Tom Brady were the first passers to get big contracts, and Aaron Rodgers is reportedly nearing agreement on one with Green Bay.
Romo will reportedly be paid $57M over the next three seasons as part of what's being called a six-year deal worth $108M.
As might be expected, news of the deal prompted plenty of hyperbole, handwringing, and jealousy, but its parameters are right in line with the established precedent of the QB market.
Happy Friday, Broncos fans! According to NFLN's Ian Rapoport, Dwight Freeney is looking for a contract that exceeds the $8.5M in base pay that Osi Umenyiora is scheduled to receive from Atlanta over the next two years.
In addition to Denver, Freeney is said to have interest in joining the Lions and Dolphins, although it's unclear whether that feeling is reciprocated. The ex-Colt is reportedly willing to wait until after the draft to get a deal, but that doesn't tend to be when players get the salaries they have been demanding.
If Freeney is interested in winning, then the choice would appear to be quite clear, and if he's looking at Denver as his landing spot, then can he really expect the Broncos will let the draft pass, and then still be willing to give him $5M+ per year in a contract?
Good luck with that tactic, Dwight.
Continue reading "Freeney thinks he can wait out suitors Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Although it had been suggested earlier that Elvis Dumervil left Denver for Baltimore over a $500K difference, the details tend to say otherwise.
According to Mike Klis, the Broncos offered Elvis $10M in full guarantees ($8M of 2013 compensation, and $2M as part of a $5M salary in 2014) as part of their three-year offer, while the deal he took from the Ravens includes only $8.5M in full guarantees. Over the first three years of his Ravens contract, the base compensation is actually $1M less than what the Broncos had offered.
The Baltimore deal contains greater upside in the form of incentives, but as all regular IAOFM readers know, comparing NFL contracts is all about examining the fully guaranteed money. Granted, Dumervil's 2014 compensation is just $4.5M now, and would have been $5M from Denver, but the point here is that Baltimore can cut him next offseason without owing him a penny beyond his 2013 salary.
Good Morning/Afternoon, Broncos fans! Your usual correspondent is back with the Daily Lard, albeit a bit later than normal and even less coherent than is typical.
I tend to try not to use this space for sharing personal news, but in this case, the development in question is bound to have an impact upon the timeliness of the Lard each morning for the near-term future, until I find a new schedule.
Don't worry, faithful readers - IAOFM isn't undergoing any major changes. We're all still here, and intend to keep improving upon what we believe to be the best independent Broncos coverage out there.
The big change is that there's a new Broncos fan in the world, and in the Lee household, and this yet-to-be-named boy is obviously going to have a little more control over my schedule than an OCD control freak like me would prefer.
Happy Tuesday, friends. Doug is indisposed today, so you're stuck with me. It's important that the Daily Lard stay daily, so watch as I mail this one in. Really, it's because my Google reader isn't set up with all the good sites. I bet it's still better than the auto-generated links dump that you get at MHR, though, and we'll never, ever link to Bleacher Report. Okay? Okay.
Jeff Legwold is about a week late to the party in debating with himself, via both the Rolodex and quotes obtained by other media sources, whether the NFL has gone too far with its rule changes. The money shot:
It might be the biggest collision the NFL has to offer these days.
Compelling stuff, Jeff.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Now that the Ravens have stolen away Elvis Dumervil, Peter King suggests that Baltimore may have - when combined with their playoff win over the Broncos - finally gotten its revenge on John Elway.
Perhaps he's right, but Denver got a legendary QB out of the deal, two Super Bowl titles, and a great start to Elway's career as football czar, so a lot more would have to happen for those scales to balance out.
Back to Elvis, PK suggests that Dumervil's decision, as expected, largely came down to pride and finding the slightest excuse to leave Denver. The extra $500K in 2013 compensation (which was the only fundamental difference between the two teams' offers) was apparently enough, and it's hard to blame Dumervil, after all that he went through over the past few weeks.
Elvis, it was a pleasure watching you play for our Broncos for these seven years (six seasons, counting the injury), and we wish you success and happiness in Baltimore, although not at Denver's expense.
Continue reading "Baltimore gets back at Elway again, still has far to go Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Word is, Elvis Dumervil hasn't made a decision concerning where he'll play in 2013, because he needs more time.
More time for what? To think? To find another suitor? For Denver or Baltimore to increase their offer, which Mike Klis suggests isn't happening?
Honestly, who cares? What's the rush?
The worst-case scenario from Denver's perspective is that Elvis leaves. They obviously wanted him back all along, but they were also very much ready to move on and replace him with a cheaper - albeit older and slower - player in John Abraham or Dwight Freeney.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Due to a scheduling conflict with their neighboring Orioles, the Ravens will not host the NFL opener in 2013, as SB champions have habitually done in recent years.
Baltimore will instead hit the road for the opener, and the Broncos have been mentioned as a possibility to host the game. The Ravens' other 2013 road opponents are Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincy, Detroit, Buffalo, Miami, and Cleveland.
Obviously, the NFL will prefer a marquee matchup, so logic says the only real possibilities are Denver, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. We don't need or want to explain why Broncos/Ravens would make an awful lot of sense here, so we won't.
But Mike Klis says the Broncos aren't expecting to be the Ravens' opponent that night, and are instead more likely to host the back end of the opening MNF doubleheader (ugh on the behalf of all East Coast Broncos fans).
Happy Friday, Broncos fans! John Abraham and Dwight Freeney visited Dove Valley yesterday and left emptyhanded, but they're still seen as the fallback plans should Elvis Dumervil opt for a fresh start.
Adding to his report on Baltimore's offer to Elvis, Mike Klis says the Dolphins and Titans have expressed interest in the defensive end, but have not yet made formal offers. It's unclear whether either team has scheduled a visit with the 29-year old.
As for Klis's suggestion that re-signing Elvis would require the team to cut a player or two, we'll assume he means that would have to happen by the time the draft rolls around. (Jason at OTC has updated his estimates for rookie draft pool amounts; for Denver, the figure is just over $3.9M.)
We'll stick with Chris Kuper and Joe Mays as the likeliest candidates to be released.
