Not so fast. That kaepernick deal is actually ... smart.

[RamFan503]

In response to our item suggesting that theColin Kaepernick deal, trumpeted as being worth “up to” $126 million with $61 million guaranteed contains plenty of fluff, a league source with knowledge of the deal sent the details to PFT.

And there’s plenty of fluff.

Technically, the deal has $61 million guaranteed, even though $6 million of the guaranteed salary could evaporate (more on that later). Either way, only $13.073 million is guaranteed at signing. It comes in the form of a $12.328 million signing bonus, a base salary of $645,000, and a workout bonus of $100,000.

For 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and part of 2018, the base salaries are guaranteed only for injury. On April 1 of each year, the guarantees convert from injury only to fully guaranteed. That gives the 49ers the ability to decide, in any given year, to move on from Kaepernick. And with the deadline for the conversion of the guarantee coming on April 1, the 49ers can squat on his rights until several weeks after the start of free agency, making it harder for him to get paid elsewhere.

The base salary for 2015 is $12.4 million, guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2015.

For 2016, the base salary is $13.9 million, guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2016.

For 2017, the base salary is $16.5 million, guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2017.

For 2018, the base salary is $17 million, $5.2 million of which is guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2018.

The non-guaranteed base salary for 2019 is $18.8 million, and the non-guaranteed base salary for 2020 is $21 million.

In each year from 2015 through 2020, however, there’s a catch. A big one. The total payout potentially de-escalates by $2 million per year, with up to $12 million potentially going away.

Kaepernick can halt the de-escalation by taking, in any year of the deal, 80 percent of the snaps and if: (1) the 49ers appear in the Super Bowl; or (2) Kaepernick is named a first-team or second-team All-Pro. If he satisfies the requirement in 2014, the full $12 million remains. If he fails in 2014 but succeeds in 2015, $10 million stays. If he does it for the first time in 2016, $8 million remains. If he does it for the first time in 2017, $6 million stays — and so on until 2019, when if he satisfies the requirement that year for the first time $2 million stays in the deal for 2010.

It’s a convoluted way to pump up the base value of the deal artificially, allowing Kaepernick and his agents to claim that the deal is better than it will be, unless he satisfies the requirements to stop the de-escalator this year.

The contract also includes, starting in 2015, a whopping $2 million per year in per-game roster bonuses, an amount that one source characterized as “massive” in comparison to similar deals. It means that, for every game Kaepernick misses due to injury after the 2014 season, he loses $125,000.

Starting in 2015, $400,000 per year is tied to workout bonuses, which adds up to $2.4 million of the base value.

The contract also requires Kaepernick to purchase, with after-tax dollars, a disability policy that pays the 49ers $20 million if he suffers a career-ending injury.

As one source put it, Kaepernick can feel good about the deal because he has a lot more guaranteed money today than he had yesterday. But the same source also added that the 49ers are nevertheless “thrilled” with the contract, which allows them to control Kaepernick’s rights for seven years and to move on after any of the next six seasons, if they ultimately decide that Kaepernick is more like the guy who struggled at times during the 2013 regular season and less like the guy who found the gas pedal in the playoffs.

If they keep him, the average payout will be low in comparison to other franchise quarterbacks, and the difference will become glaring as other franchise quarterbacks get new deals under a salary cap that is expected to continue to spike.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/05/the-full-kaepernick-contract-details/

The numbers don't seem to add up. Unless my figures are wrong, somewhere there seems to be about $13 - 14 Mil missing. If that is the case, I wonder how accurate is this league source with knowledge of the deal.

 

[ZigZagRam]

So we've established its NOT a year to year contract. You cant just take pieces out and call it something else, what kind of logic is that?

So in your mind it's more 'logical' to take the extremely rare occurrence of a career ending injury and say that's the reason why it's not year-to-year while ignoring the much more likely occurrence that the 49ers can make the decision every year to walk away from the deal without much financial burden after any of the next handful of seasons? OK chief.

SF has made a commitment to Kaepernick, just because they have the ability to cut him any year doesnt mean they are going to dump him at the first sign of trouble, because ya know that might be bad for the team, having to completely restart with a new QB. Plus they would have to have someone capable of coming in and playing better.

Will they dump him? Maybe, maybe not. But they have the option every year, because it's a year-to-year contract.

How is this obvious? You're acting as if there are no benefits for the players/agents whatsoever and that is not the case. There is certainly greater risk to a deal such as this one, but also greater reward. SF would be much more hesitant to throw this much money at Kaep (especially following flacco etc.) if it were not structured in this manner, so they essentially told him earn it. Hes confident in his ability, it was important to him to allow his team flexibility, he has the potential to earn a huge sum of money, and there are safety precautions that wont leave him making nothing should he not be able to finish his contract.

The benefit is that Kaepernick gets the money now with the potential to earn more. But if he doesn't hit those escalators, he'll get paid below market value. This has been widely discussed by the media today. If he under-performs and gets cut, he may not see half of what he would have gotten in a long-term deal once he hit free agency. That's a risk that a most players aren't going to want to take.

This seems to be one of the more fair contracts Ive seen as far as both player and team getting fair compensation. SF locks up Kaepernick and will pay him as a star if he plays as a star otherwise his contract will adjust accordingly. So to my original point, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen more often.

The extreme inflation of pro contracts suggests that players and agents aren't keen on 'fair deals.' That's why you're not going to see many contracts structured like this.

 

[ZigZagRam]

I think this contract will become the standard for certain players though. Obviously you'll never get a Brees or Manning to sign that kind of contract, but I could see Bradford or Stafford inking it. It's more or less a "prove it to me" contract, and it's up to the players who are presented with it to determine if they're confident enough in their own talents/durability to trigger the escalators. It could end up being a very good one for him if he does, so...

There's always going to be exceptions. Nobody expected Brady to take the team friendly deal he did.

I still think it's more advantageous for a player to take a 1-year 'prove-it' deal rather than taking a long-term 'prove-it' deal that could allow a team to cut ties at a point where their value may be at it's lowest.

 

[-X-]

There's always going to be exceptions. Nobody expected Brady to take the team friendly deal he did.

I still think it's more advantageous for a player to take a 1-year 'prove-it' deal rather than taking a long-term 'prove-it' deal that could allow a team to cut ties at a point where their value may be at it's lowest.

Sure. I agree with that. But we're talking about Gonzo here.

 

[ZigZagRam]

If Kaepernick has another season like his last there's no way given the decent QB shortage in this league that a team wouldn't overpay and give him a deal that would offer him more security.

 

[-X-]

If Kaepernick has another season like his last there's no way given the decent QB shortage in this league that a team wouldn't overpay and give him a deal that would offer him more security.

Well, that isn't an option for other teams now. If he has another good season, the 49ers will hold onto him. If he doesn't, or gets hurt, his contract begins to diminish in value. Kapernick can't break it now, so he's stuck with it until the team decides otherwise.

 

[ZigZagRam]

Obviously, but parts of this discussion has been about why it's a bad deal for the player, not what the player is going to do now.

 

[SteveBrown]

Its a well structured contract - especially for a young QB who believes his own hype and with the Super Bowl winning supporting cast around him

@SteveBrown it would be a great style of contract for some of our players, however with regards to Laurinaitis and Long they are 2 players that have given 110% to the organisation and deserve to be shown a commitment from the organisation, to sign them to a contract that says if we don't get to the Super Bowl you lose some money doesn't seem entirely fair, it could possibly have a reverse effect and open them up to looking for a new kit to pull on, the Rams aren't in a position to be considered playoff shoe-ins (as maybe the 49ers are) we need to keep our talent on our roster...

I understand.....and mostly agree, but I want some accountability for their performance vs. pay. Quinn I don't worry about,nor Bradford...oops, I can't erase "Bradford", my keyboard is stuck...

 

[NJRamsFan]

So in your mind it's more 'logical' to take the extremely rare occurrence of a career ending injury and say that's the reason why it's not year-to-year while ignoring the much more likely occurrence that the 49ers can make the decision every year to walk away from the deal without much financial burden after any of the next handful of seasons? OK chief.

Well "Cheif", I dont like to pretend I know how likely or unlikely it is that a running qb will get injured. Because its been rare in the past means its equally as rare for a qb who puts his body at risk more than a large majority of others who have played the position?

Nonetheless its not about the rarity of a career ending injury. Were discussing what type of contract this is, and I stand by my assessment that Ive never seen a strictly year to year deal that pays a player for another 5-6 years after his career ends b/c of injury. Have you?

There are elements of a yearly to year contract in this deal, duh, that was the point. But there are other elements that make it unique. Elements that don't completely leave Kaep out to dry as much as year to year deal would.

Will they dump him? Maybe, maybe not. But they have the option every year, because it's a year-to-year contract.

Well its quite literally not unless you ignore key elements that disprove you. Than of course it is.

The benefit is that Kaepernick gets the money now with the potential to earn more. But if he doesn't hit those escalators, he'll get paid below market value. This has been widely discussed by the media today. If he under-performs and gets cut, he may not see half of what he would have gotten in a long-term deal once he hit free agency. That's a risk that a most players aren't going to want to take.

If he doesnt hit the escalators he will not be paid below market value, he will be paid what he has earned, thats the way the entire contract is designed.

as X mentioned above, of course the elite players will not sign deals like this. But I wouldnt be surprised to see this again for a guy like RGIII who has a lot to be proved but believes he is a star and would like to be paid accordingly. Which is the only point that ive ever been trying to make, IMO this contract will impact future deals even if it is only for a certain type of player, that borderline star.

The extreme inflation of pro contracts suggests that players and agents aren't keen on 'fair deals.' That's why you're not going to see many contracts structured like this.

IMO, IN MY OPINION, I THINK THAT, TO ME IT SEEMS, ; This contract will influence future contract negations and it would not surprise me to see more of this in the future.

Youre the on parading around your OPINION as fact. "No way" "stating the obvious" "you're not going to see contracts structured like this"

 

[ZigZagRam]

It's OK to disagree on semantics.

I think you might change your mind if the 49ers choose to cut him after next season though.

 

[blackbart]

However long it ends up being that is still A LOT of freeking money to play football.

 

[Boffo97]

Hey! HEY!

That is incredibly inappropriate!

I am offended! I am outraged!

...

Gonzo has way too much class to be a 49er.