Pay 'em now, or pay a lot more later
Franchise players
Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, Dallas safety Ken Hamlin and Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha are the only franchise players who haven't signed their tenders. Here is a look at what has transpired this offseason with the NFL's other eight tagged players:
Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen: Traded from Kansas City to the Vikings and signed the largest contract (six years, $73.3 million) for an end in NFL history.
Cincinnati guard/tackle Stacy Andrews: Signed his $7.455 million tender in March; Will start at right guard or right tackle.
Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby: Signed his $8.065 million tender in April; Could ultimately cash in after fellow linebacker and former teammate Calvin Pace left Arizona this offseason for a six-year, $42 million deal with the New York Jets.
Carolina tackle Jordan Gross: Signed his $7.455 million tender in March; The first-round selection of Pittsburgh tackle Jeff Otah in April's draft could lead to Gross' departure in 2009.
Philadelphia tight end L.J. Smith: Signed his $4.522 million tender in April; Trying to rebound from an injury-plagued 2007 campaign.
Baltimore defensive end/outside linebacker Terrell Suggs: Signed his $8.5 million tender in May; Judging by the current market value of other standout pass-rushing hybrids, Suggs may ultimately land a contract with more than $25 million guaranteed.
Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant: Signed a six-year, $50.2 million extension in March.
Cleveland defensive lineman Corey Williams: Signed a six-year, $38 million contract after being traded from Green Bay to the Browns.
— Alex Marvez
For the athletes, that is. Not their respective teams.
Clubs that failed to strike long-term contracts with franchise players earlier this offseason are now paying the price. Salaries continue to skyrocket league-wide, making the financial landscape drastically different than even just a few months ago. Those mega-deals have made it increasingly difficult for teams to re-sign franchise players seeking huge paydays.
Tennessee is learning this the hard way with Albert Haynesworth.
Oakland's re-signing of Tommy Kelly on the eve of free agency was a harbinger of things to come for defensive tackles. A solid-but-unspectacular player coming off reconstructive knee surgery, Kelly received a seven-year, $50.5 million contract with $18.1 million guaranteed.
The free-agent market at the position was so thin that needy teams were forced to swing trades for players like Shaun Rogers (Cleveland), Marcus Stroud (Buffalo) and Kris Jenkins (New York Jets) as well as provide them with new or restructured contracts. Rogers scored the biggest deal: Six years for $42 million, with $20 million guaranteed.
The bar was then raised even higher Thursday when Chicago's Tommie Harris signed a four-year, $40 million extension. According to the Chicago Tribune, the deal includes $18.1 guaranteed and pays $27 million over the first three seasons.
Harris is an excellent player, but Haynesworth is considered even better. And he will want to get paid like it.
The Titans have until July 15 to sign Haynesworth to a long-term extension. Otherwise, Haynesworth is locked into playing for his $7.25 million tender in 2008 and can't sign a new deal with Tennessee until after the regular season.
By then, who knows what the ceiling salary for defensive tackles will be?
The Titans could franchise Haynesworth again in 2009 at what would be an even larger tender, but that would make an ugly situation even worse. Unhappy at not having the financial security that comes with a new contract, Haynesworth has skipped offseason workouts. A training camp holdout could follow.
That would hurt both parties. The Titans would be without their defensive lynchpin, while the big-bodied Haynesworth would have less time to get into football shape and could become more susceptible to injury during the regular season — provided he even reports by then.
Even with some character concerns, the 27-year-old Haynesworth is the kind of star Tennessee should want locked into a long-term contract. The Titans also have ample salary-cap space to get the deal done. By being more proactive in early 2008, the Titans could have avoided this current mess and saved millions of dollars should Haynesworth ultimately sign an extension.
The Titans, though, aren't the NFL's only team slow on the draw. Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant is the only one of 11 franchise players to have signed a long-term contract extension with his team after being tagged. Five franchise players have signed one-year tenders. Two others (Minnesota's Jared Allen and Cleveland's Corey Williams) scored new contracts after being traded.
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Besides Haynesworth, Dallas safety Ken Hamlin and Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha are the only other unsigned franchise players.
The Cowboys feverishly tried signing Hamlin to an extension in mid-May before new salary-cap rules went into effect when NFL owners opted out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Reaching agreement on a new deal now is more difficult but not impossible.
Oakland's wild offseason spending spree resulted in three players — Kelly, safety Gibril Wilson and wide receiver Javon Walker — landing boffo contracts even though they aren't even considered among the NFL's best players at their respective positions. But the most curious move was acquiring DeAngelo Hall from Atlanta and then signing the cornerback to a reported seven-year, $66 million contract with almost $25 million guaranteed. While anything is possible, it appears the Raiders priced themselves out of being able to sign Asomugha long-term with the Hall deal.
One compromise that could end the Haynesworth, Hamlin and Asomugha holdouts is a promise from their respective clubs that they won't be tagged again in 2009. Linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Asante Samuel agreed to play with Chicago and New England, respectively, in 2007 under those conditions. Briggs re-signed with the Bears this offseason; Samuel left the Patriots for a six-year, $51.4 million deal from Philadelphia.
Even greater riches could be awaiting players at premium positions like Haynesworth and Asomugha if they can win this game of tag and hit free agency.
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