It was believed that Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson would soon sign a one-year contract with the team. He will sign a contract, but it won’t cover one year. It will cover five.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that Jackson has agreed to a five-year deal with a base value of $47 million. Jackson also gets $15 million fully guaranteed.
He gets $10 million to sign, along with a $750,000 base salary and a $250,000 workout bonus in 2012.
In 2013, Jackson receives a $6.75 million base salary, $4 million of which is fully guaranteed. The other $2.75 million is guaranteed for injury only. He also will receive a $250,000 workout bonus, which increases the two-year take to $18 million.
In 2014, Jackson will receive a base salary of $10.25 million, $250,000 of which is fully guaranteed and $250,000 of it is guaranteed for injury only. (Those guarantees go away if he receives the workout bonus in 2012 and 2013.) He also will be eligible for a $250,000 workout bonus.
In 2015, the base salary will be $9.75 million, with a $250,000 workout bonus.
And in 2016, the base salary will be $8.25 million, with a $250,000 workout bonus.
Jackson also could earn up to $4 million in escalators, with $250,000 per year from 2012 through 2015 for making the Pro Bowl, $250,000 per year from 2012 through 2015 for 1,300 or more receiving yards, $250,000 per year from 2012 through 2015 for 10 or more receiving touchdowns, and $250,000 per year from 2012 through 2015 for Super Bowl wins.
With the potential escalators, the total package is worth up to $51 million over five years.
In the end, Jackson swapped a one-year, $9.4 million guaranteed franchise tender in exchange for another $5.6 million in fully guaranteed money — and $3 million more in money guaranteed for injury only.
The deal allows him to stop obsessing over his long-term financial security, which should get him back to playing the kind of football we saw from him in 2009 and 2010, not in 2011, when he seemed to be more concerned about staying healthy in order to get paid and not playing at a high level. And it represents a calculated risk by the Eagles, who had every reason to let it ride for 2012 and see if Jackson would behave like he did for much of 2011.
Could Jackson have settled for the $9.4 million in 2012 and rolled the dice on getting a better deal in 2013? Sure. But with the extra guaranteed money on the table now, it made sense for Jackson to squeeze the bird in the hand, and to get back to playing the kind of football he’s capable of playing when he isn’t worried about how much money he could be or should be making.
UPDATE 5:16 p.m. ET: The Eagles have announced the deal.