Here is Wilson's agent's on why he finds the standard new money designation "annoying."
Look, if I find a dollar in an old pair of shoes that dollar spends the same way as a dollar I just got at the bank today. So, again, I’m not sure about ‘old money’ and ‘new money.’ I get what they are trying to get at when they talk about it. Money is money. It spends the same way.
Yes, money is money. How these extensions typically work (Rodgers, Newton, Ryan, etc.) is that the franchise QB exchanges his low base salary in the year he signs his extension in exchange for massive upfront money in the form of a signing bonus. Wilson's agent is going against the industry standard, why? Because he knows it's a tactic that could greatly increase their expectation money (going from being the highest paid player in the league at $22 million a year to receiving $27 million a year in new money). That's not fair dealing, and it's certainly not "reasonable."
In this same answer, he goes on to explain his warped understanding of how NFL deals work for franchise QBs:
"I think – and this is where I think it gets technical and tedious, at times: NFL contracts are complicated, right? There are a lot of details in a contract. Obviously there are signing bonuses and there’s guaranteed money – in football, obviously, guaranteed money. Total value, with quarterbacks’ deals it’s somewhat of a misnomer because total value presumes players are going to make every penny of that deal. You guys know, you go down the history … look at Tony Romo’s deal. Tony Romo has renegotiated his contract almost every, single year. Ben Roethlisberger just did a renegotiation. Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Drew Brees is probably getting ready to do one at some point. And so the truth of the matter is that these contracts for these quarterbacks never get to the end. And there’s a reason for that. Obviously franchise quarterbacks are hard to find, are hard to come by. Look at what happened in the draft this year, you speculate on talent and potential but at the end of the day you feel a lot better having that talent on your team than not having that talent on your team. At the end of the day – it’s a complicated question. People do classes on the salary cap and how money is defined with option bonuses and workout bonuses. It gets very complicated. I think at the end of the day all of that is relevant, all of that is in play. And the key for us is figure out which variety of those and what amounts do we place on each to get a deal done that is reasonable.”
What
is the reason for that, Mark? I wish he would have used his synapses to complete the thought. Why do franchise QBs choose--which is the operative word-- to assist their teams by renegotiating their massive contracts? The reason is because their interest in winning, and their team's interest in maintaining cap flexibility, are one in the same. That is a fundamental interest that neither Wilson nor his agent have ever explicitly mentioned. And it's not something Wilson's agent normally has to deal with in the uncapped world of baseball, where his top free agents can go on to sign with the Yankees or Dodgers. Also, as someone who has been supported by a championship-caliber defense these last few years, this is not an imperative that Wilson has ever felt.
Anthony!":17aa0e90 said:
That is all true but they do not usually do that on their first big contract, usually it is their 2nd and Newtons deal is not that team friendly. Also again we have no proof they want to tear up this year, I man to say you are ready to play at 1.5 mil but you want this year tore up do not go together, I still think this is about a 5 year deal instead of 4. And to be clear right now the Hawks are offering a 4 year ext and I believe Wilson wants 5 or more year ext. The Hawks as a norm only do 4 year Ext.
Nope, that's 100% incorrect. Rodgers, Newton, Ryan, etc. all accepted low base salaries in the year they signed their extensions in exchange for signing bonuses that were prorated against the cap. That gave them money upfront and allowed their team to ease into their massive salary increases. It's actually more common-- and easier done-- when the player is in the final year of his rookie contract because their initial cap hit is already low, allowing the team to absorb the massive signing bonus without significant cap impairment.