Josh Harris Contract info

FalconAwesome · Post by **FalconAwesome** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 10:06 am

I thought you guys might be interested in the details of Josh's contract. Not exactly Eli Manning money.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/features/ ... gnings2004

BGSU Falconz · Post by **BGSU Falconz** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 10:26 am

More money than I'd make in 35 years at my current job.

It's not as much as he deserves, but I wouldn't complain if I were him.

BGSU96 · Post by **BGSU96** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 5:10 pm

You won't see Josh whining that he doesn't make enough either.

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 5:21 pm

Josh Harris will go down as one of the greatest bargains in Baltimore Ravens history.

truth · Post by **truth** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:05 pm

I'm pleased to see he got into the nfl.

fredthefalcon · Post by **fredthefalcon** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:09 am

BGSU Falconz wrote:More money than I'd make in 35 years at my current job.

It's not as much as he deserves, but I wouldn't complain if I were him.

Time to get my first post (again) out of the way. I do believe that the money, other than the signing bonus, is not guaranteed for these lower round draft choices like Josh. Make the team though and the money is there.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 12:29 pm

fredthefalcon wrote:
BGSU Falconz wrote:More money than I'd make in 35 years at my current job.

It's not as much as he deserves, but I wouldn't complain if I were him.
Time to get my first post (again) out of the way. I do believe that the money, other than the signing bonus, is not guaranteed for these lower round draft choices like Josh. Make the team though and the money is there.

You are correct. The money sounds great, and if Baltimore likes what they see in J5 he'll play out the contract, but in actuality it is no guarantee. If he breaks his leg tomorrow they'll settle to release him for prolly 10% of that at best and he'll be on his way.

If he is cut he sees only the signing bonus. After the signing bonus the team can cut him whenever they want and he will never see another penny from them at that point forward. That signing bonus is the only part of an NFL contract that is worth the paper its printed on. Personally, I'm rather fond of the system, although it does result in holdouts for high profile players

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 12:57 pm

hammb wrote:If he is cut he sees only the signing bonus. After the signing bonus the team can cut him whenever they want and he will never see another penny from them at that point forward. That signing bonus is the only part of an NFL contract that is worth the paper its printed on. Personally, I'm rather fond of the system, although it does result in holdouts for high profile players

Hammb, check out "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" on nfl.com. I think he writes about this very issue ever week during the season. Some player signs a "huge" contract for like $85 mil for five years. But wait, the first year is only for $5 mil and a $5 mil signing bonus. So what happens next spring when that team has salary cap issues? That same player gets cut. So how much was that contract really worth? About one year, $10 mil. Not $85 mil. I think it is hilarious when that stuff happens to these greedy b@st@rds going for the largest contract.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 1:24 pm

Warthog wrote: I think it is hilarious when that stuff happens to these greedy b@st@rds going for the largest contract.

I don't think there's anything hilarious about having to drop 40 or 50 bucks minimum to see a sporting event because some owner might have to pay a greedy bastard $85M.

Whether or not they get screwed in the end, the fans are the ones ALWAYS getting screwed in the beginning, middle AND end.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 2:21 pm

Warthog wrote:
Hammb, check out "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" on nfl.com. I think he writes about this very issue ever week during the season. Some player signs a "huge" contract for like $85 mil for five years. But wait, the first year is only for $5 mil and a $5 mil signing bonus. So what happens next spring when that team has salary cap issues? That same player gets cut. So how much was that contract really worth? About one year, $10 mil. Not $85 mil. I think it is hilarious when that stuff happens to these greedy b@st@rds going for the largest contract.

The problem is Warthog that the players & agents know this sort of thing now. Rarely will they ever try to go for the biggest contract. Rather they opt for the biggest amount of guaranteed money. The last 2 years of an NFL contract are rarely worth anything as they escalate so much the team can just cut them.

The problem is cutting players with these huge bonuses has serious cap ramifications. If anyone is unclear on how this works I can write a more detailed explanation, but this is a college sports forum, and those that care probably already know. The key is that the salaries are not guaranteed, only the bonus is really the real amount they make. Hence when someone signs a 10 year $150 million contract it is likely going to be a 5 year $40 million contract only to be renegotiated after the 5th year.

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 2:33 pm

hammb wrote: Hence when someone signs a 10 year $150 million contract it is likely going to be a 5 year $40 million contract only to be renegotiated after the 5th year.

I guess that was more to my point. Maybe this should be more of a media issue as they start foaming at the mouth to report the latest gigantic contract that was just signed. When we all realize that in a year or two that player will have to re-negotiate that contract (which the team conviniently back-loaded so they haven't paid that much salary yet, just the signing bonus wich gets allocted over the lenght of the contract) or be cut because of the salary cap constraints.

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 2:39 pm

TG1996 wrote:
Warthog wrote: I think it is hilarious when that stuff happens to these greedy b@st@rds going for the largest contract.
I don't think there's anything hilarious about having to drop 40 or 50 bucks minimum to see a sporting event because some owner might have to pay a greedy bastard $85M.

Whether or not they get screwed in the end, the fans are the ones ALWAYS getting screwed in the beginning, middle AND end.

Yes, it is always the fans that end up paying.

Nonetheless, there are still some instances where these guys really screw up. They turn down an offer for $xxx for a shorter time to accept the offer for $yyy (where yyy is MUCH larger than xxx!) and a longer term. Then they get cut after two years because of salary cap issues. Then in retrospect the smaller, shorter deal would have actually netted them more dollars over the two years. I know this happens, you know it happens, the owners know it happens, but the players and their agents seem to bury their hands and say "Oh, that won't happen to us." Baloney! That is what I find amunsing.

CapitalFalcon · Post by **CapitalFalcon** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 2:45 pm

Yes...But no one is forcing the fans to go to the games. If the fans are fed up with the Pro Sports BS, then they should quit going.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:46 pm

TG1996 wrote:
I don't think there's anything hilarious about having to drop 40 or 50 bucks minimum to see a sporting event because some owner might have to pay a greedy bastard $85M.

Whether or not they get screwed in the end, the fans are the ones ALWAYS getting screwed in the beginning, middle AND end.

That said, most pro sports are a cheaper ticket than a Michigan or Ohio State football games.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 5:20 pm

hammb wrote: That said, most pro sports are a cheaper ticket than a Michigan or Ohio State football games.

yeah, I thought the exact same thing when I typed the "$40 or $50" line.

and as for the earlier points, I'm guilty of still going to games, but I guess I'd only boycott if I knew it would make a difference. There's no way teams/leagues/players would back down to "normal" ticket prices even if EVERY fan stayed at home. They've got their eyes on the prize and the place that prize has in their wallets.