Peezy sent to swim with the fishes
Like this article?
Joey Porter has found himself some warmer climes, signing yesterday with the Miami Dolphins for the next five years. The contract is worth a reported $32 million, including a $12 millon signing bonus. Some folks in the ‘Nation are reporting the signing bonus alone is worth almost double what J.P. would have earned as a Steeler this season. Right to some extent, but wrong if you look ahead to the future.
Contract math works like this: a player is given an annual base salary; over the life of the contract, that value can change from year to year, and it can go up (as it does for most players) or down (as it does over the next two seasons with Casey Hampton). That annual number counts directly against the salary cap for its specified year. If his contract says he is due a $5 million base salary for 2007, then Miami has $5 million less to spend this season than they would have without him. If the player is cut during the course of their contract, the remaining salary is no longer counted against the team’s cap.
The bonus is calculated differently. In this case, Porter will make a one-time lump sum of $12 million, regardless of whether he plays five years or five games in Miami. However, the bonus counts against Miami’s salaray cap in even increments for the next five years, even if Porter is cut before training camp starts. So, even if he’s no longer a Dolphin at some point in the next five years, he still affects their cap by $2.4 million per year.
Had he stayed around this season, he would have made $6.6 million total, including a roster bonus. These bonuses are paid if a player is still on a team’s roster on a given date. So yes, he made out like a bandit this year, but he was likely to make similar money next year, when he would have been a free agent anyway. The Steelers can begin grooming a new player and will likely promote James Harrison to take Porter’s spot in the starting lineup, and at the same time save $5.2 million at the position. Harrison is signed through 2009, and his cap number only increases by $100,000 for 2008 and another $200,000 in 2009. The total savings over the next three seasons are likely in the range of $15 to $20 million at that position alone, assuming Porter would have been re-signed when his contract expired. Realistically the Steelers made out like bandits.
Loading ...