As the Broncos and receiver Demaryius Thomas close in on the deadline for finalizing a long-term deal, some numbers are leaking regarding the negotiations.
Specifically, it looks like the team is leaking some numbers regarding the negotiations to support the reasonableness of its proposals.
According to Mike Klis of KUSA-TV in Denver, the Broncos have offered Thomas a multi-year deal with an average value of more than $12 million per year. That would put Thomas at No. 2 among all receivers, second only to Calvin Johnson’s $16 million-per-year package and ahead of Mike Wallace, who signed a deal worth $12 million on the open market in 2013.
That definitely seems reasonable, on the surface. But the starting point for the Thomas deal should be the franchise tender of $12.8 million in 2015 and the second-year franchise tag value of $15.36 million in 2016 -- which equates to more than $28 million over the first two years, an average of more than $14 million right out of the gates.
For the same reason Calvin Johnson’s deal isn’t relevant to Thomas, contracts signed by other receivers also aren’t relevant, either. For Thomas and the Broncos, the question isn’t what other players are making but whether the Broncos will offer enough on a long-term deal to persuade the player to give up the ability to make $12.8 million in 2015 plus the opportunity to earn a 20-percent raise -- or to hit the open market -- in 2016.
So while an average of more than $12 million looks good in a vacuum, it doesn’t properly reflect the business leverage Thomas has in light of the franchise tag.