In Philly, cornerback Asante Samuel was scheduled to earn over $20 million for the next two seasons. In Atlanta, he’ll earn slightly less.
Initially reported as having a value of $18.5 million over three years, a league source tells PFT that the base value of Samuel’s new contract is $14.5 million over three, with escalators that could push the number to $18.5 million.
The full details of the escalator package aren’t known, but the source says it includes factors like leading the league in interceptions and making it to the Pro Bowl.
The real question is whether the deal meshes with what Samuel would have gotten on the open market, since the reality is that the Eagles weren’t going to keep him at more than $10 million in 2012. And he likely wasn’t going to accept a pay cut if it meant being the third wheel to Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
So now he can be . . . the third wheel to Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes.