[CBFF] ESPNi: Teams using cap room for early extensions

[Victor Waldron]

(not quite Briggs' situation, but considering the cap increase it
makes you wonder why the Bears aren't getting the deal done. Vasher
mentioned below.)

Teams using cap room for early extensions
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Give just about any salary cap manager in the NFL an extra $100 of
wiggle room and the money usually burns a hole in his pocket. Give him
a nearly 20-percent increase in the spending limit, as the league did
for this season, courtesy of the extension to the collective
bargaining agreement, and he'll be using C-notes to light his cigars.

OK, so maybe that's not quite the case.

But since the CBA extension kicked in, setting the 2006 salary cap at
a record high $102 million, some teams have come out smokin' in
pursuit of long-term deals with younger veterans they consider
"nucleus" or "core" players. The huge salary cap increase, the
second-largest in league history on a percentage basis, coupled with
improved cap management in general around the NFL, has resulted in
some notable contracts that otherwise might have not been consummated.

Exhibit A: San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick, only two seasons
into the three-year contract he signed as a third-round draft choice
in 2004, last week signed a new, six-year contract through 2011.

Given that Hardwick started 27 games in his first two years, and
already has established himself in the view of some scouts as a top 10
snapper, the deal wasn't unusual. But the timing certainly was.
Hardwick was due a 2006 base salary of $425,000, the minimum for a
third-year veteran. Had the Chargers not touched the contract, Harwick
would have been eligible for restricted free agency next spring, but
San Diego almost certainly could have curtailed any potential suitors
by making him the mid-level qualifying offer, which likely will be set
at about $1.7 million. So, for a total outlay of a little over $2.1
million, the Chargers could have secured Hardwick for two more
seasons.

Instead, in those two seasons, San Diego will pay the former Purdue
star $6.25 million in bonuses and salaries. Of course, under the old
contract, and with just a qualifying offer to keep Hardwick around for
the 2007 season, he might have departed as an unrestricted free agent
in the spring of 2008. The new contract, which is worth $17 million in
so-called "new money," and includes roster bonuses totaling $5 million
this year ($2.8 million) and next spring ($2.2 million), keeps
Hardwick around through 2011.

And that, said agent Craig Domann, who provided the impetus for the
extension, is the point.

"From the team's standpoint, if it has a good player, and he continues
to be an ascending player, the longer the club waits to sign him (to
an extension), the more expensive he becomes," said Domann, who became
proactive last December pitching a long-term deal to Chargers
officials and who finally got their attention this spring. "From the
player's standpoint, if I've got a good young veteran who has
outplayed his contract, it's smart to make a move. Once a player
establishes himself, and a team is convinced that he is a good player,
it's more prudent to do (an extension) early, rather than wait.
Because if you wait, and a guy gets closer to free agency, he's less
likely to extend. And then you lose the player and end up spending
even more money to replace him."

When a team is sold on a player, and has sufficient cap room, why risk
losing him? As Domann noted, for such players, it is usually a case of
paying now or paying considerably more later, as he nears free agency
and his price tag spirals upward exponentially.

Before the Hardwick extension, it's believed the Chargers ranked last
in the league in aggregate salary cap money invested in its offensive
line. But general manager A.J. Smith has done an excellent job the
last few years infusing good young players, such as guard Kris Dielman
and tackle Shane Olivea, into the line, and those guys will have to be
paid, too.

Hardwick was the first one to the pay window and his deal is a win-win
for both parties.

Hardwick, 24, gains a degree of financial security he probably would
not have achieved for another couple years. The Chargers, who had a
boatload of cap room, get an ascending player -- Hardwick was the
third alternate at center in the AFC Pro Bowl voting in 2005 -- and at
a palatable price.

For this season, Hardwick's salary cap charge is $3.486 million. But
after this season, his cap charge does not rise above $3 million until
2011, the final year of the contract, when it peaks at $3.675 million.
At that point, Hardwick will be only 30 years old, and should still
have at least one more big contract in his career.

	Nick Hardwick
The Chargers signed C Nick Hardwick to a contract extension through 2011.
Under team president Joe Banner, the Philadelphia Eagles have been
doing business like this, extending the deals of young "core" players,
for years. And it is a major element of the Eagles' success.

It all starts with good scouting, of course, and under the stewardship
of general manager Tom Heckert, the Philadelphia personnel department
is among the NFL's elite. So is the coaching staff that Andy Reid has
assembled, and so players typically are developed without being rushed
into the lineup. But the Eagles have taken things a step beyond, and
are remarkably adept at identifying key players very early into their
careers, and at signing them to extensions, sometimes several years
before their original contracts expire.

Rarely have such "early" deals backfired on Banner and the Eagles.

Philadelphia struck again last week in signing third-year guard Shawn
Andrews, the team's first-round choice in the 2004 draft, to an
extension through the 2015 season. There certainly was no urgency to
do so. Even though Andrews voided the final season of his original
six-year deal he signed as a rookie, he was still under contract
through 2008. But the Eagles, who always seem to have $10 million-$12
million of available cap space, had money to spend, as usual. And
despite his past weight problems, the Eagles regard Andrews as a
cornerstone for their line in the long-term and a future Pro Bowl
performer who eventually might move outside to tackle.

As part of the extension, the Eagles rewarded Andrews with a $5
million signing bonus and a $5 million roster bonus, meaning he'll
earn $10 million more than the $600,000 in base salary that he was
scheduled to bank this season. And the Eagles will carry a salary cap
charge for Andrews of $7.779 million.

But consider this: That is the highest salary cap charge for any
season of the contract. In 2007, the charge drops to $4.71 million,
and then after that, it dips under $4 million until 2013. And the cap
charge doesn't rise to over $5 million until the penultimate year of
the contract, in 2014. By then, of course, the odds are that the two
sides will have reworked the contract. But for a long time, the Eagles
will enjoy short salary cap charges for a young player they regard
highly.

The Eagles will pay Andrews base salaries of $2 million or less until
2011 and of less than $3 million until the 2013 season.

How much the practice of signing core players to long-term extensions
early in their careers escalates remains to be seen. The Chicago
Bears, for instance, steadfastly have declined to extend the contract
of Pro Bowl cornerback Nathan Vasher, who claims to be only the
131st-highest paid player at his position for the upcoming season.
Like Hardwick, Vasher is two years into his contract. But he signed a
four-year contract, not a three-year deal, as did Hardwick. And with
two seasons remaining, at total base salaries of just about $900,000,
the Bears don't have much motivation yet to address his financial
grievances.

Still, it's anticipated that "early" extensions will become more
commonplace around the league as the salary cap ceiling, which will go
to $109 million in 2007, gets fatter. And the long-term ramifications
of these long-term extensions could be interesting. With more players
locked into such contracts, free agent classes will continue to shrink
in quantity and quality every spring. There could be fewer attractive
players in the market because teams might have secured their futures
before they even approach free agent status.

"We have several young, ascending players, and we're trying to do the
same thing for many of them," said Domann, who with longtime partner
Drew Pittman and recently added associate Leo Goeas quietly has
created one of the NFL's top representation firms. "We've been really
proactive in approaching teams about such deals. Why should my guys
have to wait four or five years to get their money? When you consider
all the variables and the risks -- the potential for injury, coaching
changes, all those things -- it's not good business to just sit back
and wait."