Russell Okung the agent did a great job of persuading reporters that he did a great deal for Russell Okung the client. Based on the true details, however, Russell Okung the client may at some point have a few pointed questions for Russell Okung the agent.
PFT has obtained the official details of the five-year-not-five-year, $53-million-not-$53-million contract Okung signed Thursday with the Broncos. As previously reported, it’s a one-year, $5 million deal with an option on the rest of the contract.
But it’s not even a $5 million deal for one year. He has a $1 million workout bonus, a $2 million base salary, and a $2 million roster bonus tied to being on the 53-man roster for any one game. So, basically, the Broncos are giving Okung $1 million to participate in the offseason program, with an option before Week One to pay him another $4 million to actually play for them in 2016.
Not a single penny of the deal is guaranteed at signing.
Per a source with further knowledge of the contract, Okung must participate in at least 90 percent of the offseason workouts and be on the roster when the offseason program ends to get the $1 million workout bonus.
The Broncos have until the first day of the 2017 league year to exercise the option for 2017. If they do, Okung gets a $1 million option bonus, an $8 million roster bonus, a $2 million guaranteed base salary, and up to $1.5 million in per-game roster bonuses for 2017. His base salary of $9.5 million for 2018 also would become fully guaranteed if the option is exercised, making it a $19.5 million decision for the Broncos after the 2016 season.
If Okung even makes it to the start of the 2016 season. If he does, he needs to perform well enough to persuade the Broncos to pay him $19.5 million guaranteed over two years.
The contract has $1.5 million in per-game roster bonuses from 2018 through 2020, and base salaries of $8.5 million in 2019 and $9 million in 2020.
Still, months before the Broncos have to make a $19.5 million decision on Okung, they have a $4 million decision to make — which could make him a free agent again in late August, with $1 million for his trouble.
There’s also a possibility that Okung could be traded, since the deal doesn’t have the same no-trade clause that the Broncos gave Peyton Manning a year ago.
To summarize, Okung has obtained the ability to earn $1 million to participate in the team’s offseason program, with no guarantee he’ll even be on the opening-day roster in 2016 — and no guarantee he’ll earn anything more than the $1 million bonus for participating in the team’s offseason program.
It’s unclear how Russell Okung the agent persuaded Russell Okung the client to accept these terms, but at least Russell Okung the agent earned his fee.