By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Aug. 06 2006
For years, the basic thumbnail of NFL player contracts included three basic
pieces of information: contract length, overall contract value and amount of
the signing bonus.
But for first-round draft picks, those days are gone. At least that has been
the case in recent years because of wrinkles and complications in the
collective bargaining agreement. As the contract of Rams cornerback
Tye Hill
illustrates, there's often more to first-round contracts than meets the eye.
At face value, Hill's contract will pay him just under $10.2 million, with no
signing bonus, and a minimum base salary of $275,000 this season. But
incentives and escalator clauses could raise the overall value to $12.6 million.
And don't be fooled by the lack of a signing bonus. Hill received a $1.079
million roster bonus the day after he signed the contract. He will receive a
$5.33 million option bonus on the first day of the 2007 "league" year in March.
Once that option bonus kicks in - for the fifth year of the contract - Hill's
2009 base salary of $1.037 million becomes guaranteed.
Throw in that $275,000 base salary for this year - because Hill isn't going to
be cut as a rookie - and in essence, $7.7 million of Hill's contract is
guaranteed.
The contract structure sounds complicated, but it's all about maximizing
income, particularly guaranteed income for players, by finessing the salary-cap
rules. At the same time, it's obviously a deal that works for the Rams.
Here's the basic breakdown. According to information filed with the NFL Players
Association, Hill's base salaries are: $275,000 in 2006; $360,000 in 2007;
$698,500 in 2008; $1,037,000 in 2009; and $1,375,500 in 2010.
Throw in the $1.079 million roster bonus and next year's $5.33 million option
bonus, and that gets Hill to $10.155 million.
But incentives and escalators can add nearly $2.5 million to that total:
Hill gets a $945,000 one-time bonus if he participates in 35 percent of the
Rams' defensive plays this season or 45 percent of those plays in any
subsequent season. Unless Hill has a lot of injuries, or is a total bust, that
incentive should be attained easily.
Hill can earn up to $250,000 for making multiple Pro Bowls, $62,600 per Pro
Bowl up to four Pro Bowl appearances.
Hill's 2010 base salary will grow by $1.25 million if he participates in 80
percent of the Rams' defensive plays in two of his first three NFL seasons.
By the numbers: Rams 2006 draft class
Round # Name # Pos. # School # Contract
1st #
Tye Hill # CB # Clemson # 5 years, $10.2 million-x
2nd #
Joe Klopfenstein # TE # Colorado # 4 years, $2.91 million, $1.3 million
signing bonus
3rd #
Claude Wroten # DT # LSU # 4 years, $2.415 million, $805,000 signing bonus
3rd # Jon Alston # LB # Stanford # 3 years, $1.63 million, $550,000 signing
bonus
3rd #
Dominique Byrd # TE # USC # 3 years, $1.546 million, $466,000 signing
bonus
4th # Victor Adeyanju # DE # Indiana # 3 years, $1.406 million, $329,000
signing bonus
5th # Marques Hagans # WR # Virginia # 3 years, $1.218 million, $138,000
signing bonus
7th #
Tim McGarigle # LB # Northwestern # 3 years, $1.121 million, $41,000
signing bonus
7th #
Mark Setterstrom # G # Minnesota # 3 years, $1.109 million, $29,000
signing bonus
7th # Tony Palmer # G # Missouri # 3 years, $1.109 million, $28,900 signing
bonus
x-Incentives, escalators can raise overall value to $12.6 million.
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