DeSean Jackson's Contract Negotiation Primer

With DeSean Jackson reporting to camp at Lehigh, worrying can end about the ramifications of what I considered to be one of the least worrisome holdouts in recent memory. Jackson is, by NFL standards, ridiculously underpaid. As a budding star, he deserves to be compensated better than the long snapper.

Gaining whatever leverage he could from holding out affected nothing about the season. We didn’t really want DeSean getting hit and potentially injured in meaningless practices anyway. And there was never any doubt in my mind that he’d eventually report.

The more interesting question now is how long it will take for the Eagles to give him that new contract. The team told the press that they wouldn’t negotiate with a player holding out. Now there’s no such excuse. Discussions should begin immediately, if they haven’t already.

On one hand, the deal should get done quickly. The market for an established, young, number one wide receiver is set. Look at the numbers for the latest contracts and the age at which these wideouts signed.

Santonio Holmes (27): 5 years, $50 million, $24 million guaranteed.
Miles Austin (26): 7 years, $57 million, $18 million guaranteed.
Brandon Marshall (26): 5 years, $47 million, $12 million guaranteed.
Roddy White (27): 6 years, $48 million, $18 million guaranteed.

White got his deal in 2009, and the average was $8 million. Last offseason Marshall and Austin averaged $9 million a year. Holmes extracted $10 million per season from the Jets a week ago. I would expect about $10 million a year for any contact extension DeSean would sign. That’s the easy part.

But there could be two sticking points in the deal. The first is guaranteed money. The Eagles were already going to be shy about giving Jackson the most guaranteed dollars given his concussion history and slight frame. One big hit could knock him out of the NFL. The Holmes deal, furthermore, raised the bar substantially with $24 million guaranteed. If Drew Rosenhaus wants to use that contract as a guide, it could be more than the Eagles wanted to spend. (Note: as a free agent Holmes had more leverage.)

An even bigger problem could be the length of the deal. Jackson is only 24, younger by two or three years than his comparables. The Eagles, given the risk they probably feel they are assuming with a large contract, will want control over all of DeSean’s prime years. Jackson will want the opportunity for another payday down the line.

Here are my guesses. Given the market, I expect Rosenhaus to start with a deal that would beat Holmes: 5 years, $55 million, $24 million guaranteed. The Eagles first counteroffer might be more like an updated version of Austin’s contract: 7 years, $60 million, $16 million guaranteed.

A fair deal might be something in the middle, perhaps 6 years, $60 million, $18 million guaranteed, although a lot depends on leverage in the negotiations. DeSean won’t want to risk injury without a payday, which the Eagles can basically force him to do. But the Eagles don’t want to lose Jackson in free agency next year. Something’s gotta give.

Photo from Getty.

A Few Notes on Kevin Kolb

First, the final (?) message on Cobb/Kolb Contractgate. Kevin went on 610-WIP earlier today and squashed the reporter who shares his name:

“We haven’t even talked to them as far as I know,” Kolb told WIP host Howard Eskin. “That totally blew me away when that was reported because that was obviously false.

“I don’t even talk to my agent [Jeff Nalley] that much about it because ultimately it doesn’t have anything to do with what we say. So we’re kind of just sitting back right now and letting things iron out. We know there’s still some time here and I’m sure there’ll be a phone call some time in the near future or a meeting. But as of right now we’re just going to let it iron out and have faith that the right decision’s going to be made.”

Ok, so on the surface at least, it seems like the Eagles and Kolb haven’t had any serious discussion yet. But this was still a strange interview. “As far as I know”? “I don’t even talk to my agent”? Those are just some weird statements from Kolb.

I’m not going any further than that. No point in stoking the flame more.

Second, here’s a flattering report on Kevin Kolb from Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williamson:

“He’s been very impressive in limited snaps, going back to preseason. Although last year he got thrown into action when [Donovan] McNabb got benched against the Baltimore Ravens, and he looked horrible. But that was the worst-case scenario for the poor guy, too, to go into the second half against one of the best defenses in the league with no preparation. So you tend to wash that away. But since then Kolb has really stepped it up, and I am high on him. I think he can make every throw. He’s a quick decision-maker, and he’s a good enough athlete. Kolb has everything you want physically, and the ball comes out of his hand really nice. He has an awful lot of upside, almost like a Matt Schaub when he was in Atlanta or Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay [waiting] behind Brett Favre. Kolb just needs to get a crack at it. I kind of feel like he’s the next guy to be breaking out, either with his present team or with a new team. Considering what some of the teams are starting in this league, I would start Kolb today, still being more of an unknown, over 10 or 12 starting quarterbacks for sure.”

A glowing report to be sure. It’s especially nice to hear Kolb “can make every throw,” since one of the big dropoffs to him from McNabb is arm strength. And maybe more important: “quick decision-maker.”

Williamson said he’d start Kolb over one third of QBs starting right now. That’s a big vote of confidence based on the few games he’s played. You have to think Andy Reid and the rest of the Eagles front office is even more positive on Kolb, with thousands of hours of practice on top of that.

It’ll be interesting to see how Reid characterizes Kolb if/when he finally takes over for McNabb, and how he knew Kolb was ready. Until then, I’ll take any (qualified) take that I can get.

Breaking: Eagles Offer Contract to Kevin Kolb

Update: Right on schedule Jeff McLane has a team source say the report is “completely 100 percent false.” Again, this may not be true. But its going to hurt the Eagles’ trade leverage no matter what.

Update (2): GCobb fires back at critics — “Wasn’t it interesting that Kolb’s agent had no comment about the matter?”

* * *

It’s all very vague, but GCobb has a source that says the Eagles have made an extension offer to Kevin Kolb, and offers some of his own analysis:

The Birds have been accused of a lot of things, but being bad businessmen isn’t one of them. They know they can get Kolb for less, if they work out a deal with him while they have McNabb and Vick on the roster.

They also know that they can pressure Kolb by telling him and his agent, that they would have to consider trading him if they couldn’t get him under contract for some “reasonable” numbers.

All of the above is certainly true. Right now, in terms of contracts, the Eagles have all the power. They can say, “Look over at the Phillies and how they handled Cliff Lee. If you’re looking for some ridiculous sum (in other words, anything higher than what we offer) then we’ll go with the other guy.”

But in order to keep Kolb, you’re going to have to pay him starter money. He might accept something below market value (whatever that is for a guy who’s only made two starts), but it still is going to be greater than what you pay a backup. And there’s no way he and McNabb will both be here next year at starter’s salaries.

Thus, the problem with even offering him a new contract is the Eagles have tipped their hand as to whom they want behind center next year. At the negotiating table with Kolb that might be ok, because you still hold all the cards. But what does your leverage look like when you talk with Buffalo or San Francisco or whoever comes calling next about McNabb?

I’m sure the Eagles will deny the report whether its true or not for that very reason. But its too late — the cat’s out of the bag. Every team now knows, or think they know, that McNabb can’t be back next year. Look for them to take advantage of that.