The news Friday morning is that the Eagles will meet with Nnamdi Asomugha's agent, Ben Dogra, today to discuss possible restructure of his contract. Sheil Kapadia explains the topic succinctly:
But the key here is that the Eagles owe Asomugha $4 million if they cut him. In other words, Asomugha will have to weigh two options from a financial perspective.
- Whatever the Eagles offer him over $4 million in a newly re-structured deal.
- What he thinks he could potentially get from a new team on the open market.
In other words, Asomugha can pocket the $4 million AND make whatever a new team offers.
I don't see much to gain in restructuring Asomugha's contract. Because the Eagles didn't put offsetting language in his contract, they have to pay the aging corner a sunk cost of $4 million no matter what. They can certainly negotiate his total salary down from $15 million, but to make it worthwhile to Asomugha, the amount over $4 million has to be at or above market rate.
There's little upside in keeping Nnamdi through this regime change, let alone paying him a few million (extra) for his services. Time for the team to learn from their mistake, cut their losses, and move on.