The first clear case of an overstated 2017 contract came from the initial reports regarding the contract signed by receiver Alshon Jeffery in Philadelphia. Dubbed out of the gates a one-year, $14 million deal, Jeffery actually will hit that number via a $4.5-million incentive package that includes, among other things, making it to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2013.
There’s another case of misinformation being given to multiple reporters about the value of a contract. Multiple reports pegged the Andre Branch deal in Miami as being worth $27 million over three years. Per a source with knowledge of the deal, the base value is $24 million.
The difference may not seem like much, but it’s a full million when looking at the average per year, making an $8 million deal look like a $9 million contract.
He gets $6 million to sign, a $2.9 million fully-guaranteed base salary in 2017, a $7.9 million fully-guaranteed base salary in 2018, and a non-guaranteed $6.9 million base salary in 2019. Throw in $100,000 in annual workout bonuses, and the total is $24 million.
He can earn up to $1.25 million per year in incentives based on playing time and team performance, which would actually push the maximum package to $27.75 million. If that’s the case, the information disseminated by Branch’s agent to the Associated Press, ESPN, and NFL Network (to name a few) should have been “three years, $24 million, with a maximum package of $27.75.”
But life moves pretty fast in #scooptown. Far too fast for folks who hope to get the burst of dopamine that comes from standing out among an army of insiders to make sure that the information they’ve been handed is, you know, entirely accurate.