If the Browns had used the franchise tag on linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, he would have received $8.8 million in guaranteed money. By signing a five-year contract with the Browns, Jackson bumped that number for $10.4 million.
Reported as containing $19 million in guarantees and roster bonuses, we’ve tracked down the true numbers. And here they are.
Jackson received a $7 million signing bonus and a fully-guaranteed base salary for 2012 of $3.4 million. (As a practical matter, the first-year base salary is always guaranteed, because the player is never cut that soon.) He’ll also receive a roster bonus of $81,250 for each game that he’s on the 53-man roster. (In other words, if he lands on injured reserve, he won’t get the money.) He also will earn a $100,000 workout bonus, and a $25,000 bonus if he makes it to the Pro Bowl.
For 2013, Jackson’s $3.6 million becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster on the third day of next year’s waiver period, which starts the day after the Super Bowl. (For now, it’s guaranteed only for injury.) There’s another $81,250 per-game roster bonus, another $100,000 workout bonus, and another $25,000 Pro Bowl bonus.
For 2014, Jackson has a $2.6 million base salary, $1 million of which will be guaranteed for injury if he participates in 95 percent of more of the defensive snaps in 2012 and 2013. More importantly, a $4 million roster bonus comes due on the fifth day of the league year. He has another $100,000 workout bonus, and another $25,000 Pro Bowl bonus.
In 2015, the base salary shoots to $6.4 million, along with a $500,000 roster bonus (due on the fifth day of the league year), a $300,000 workout bonus, and a $25,000 Pro Bowl bonus.
The same terms apply in 2016, but the base salary is $7 million.
Finally, Jackson has escalators of up to $1.33 million in each of the final three years based on playing time in 2012 or 2013 or games on the 53-man roster.
So there it all is. You can wake up now.