Maybin's deal being puffed up?

On Friday, Bills defensive end Aaron Maybin signed a five-year deal.  We reported that it has a base value of $17.6 million. 

We’ve seen multiple reports characterizing the contract only as having a “maximum value” of $25 million.

But that number could be meaningless.

For most of these first-round deals, the maximum value represents what some league insiders call the “superstar package” (a fitting title since it’s been a Longest Yard weekend on the official PFT DVD player).  To get every dollar of the superstar package, the player needs to achieve some high-end stuff.

For example, the contract signed last year by Chiefs defensive end Glenn Dorsey, the fifth overall pick in the draft who like Maybin is represented by Joel Segal, has $10 million in escalators that depend on Dorsey being named the Super Bowl MVP. 

Four times.

Specifically, $2.5 million in escalators each year are tied to Dorsey achieving that honor, along with other less unrealistic triggers.  Indeed, in the 43-year history of the Super Bowl, a defensive tackle has been named Super Bowl MVP only 0.5 times, with Randy White of the Cowboys splitting the trophy with defensive end Harvey Martin after Super Bowl XII.

The contents of Maybin’s “superstar package” are not yet known.  But our guess at this point is that he has about as much a chance of earning the full $25 million from the Bills as we have of winning that same amount via “scratch-and-lose” lottery tickets.