Gunzlingr
06-17-2003, 08:25 AM
Rich Gannon might be in his last season as Raiders quarterback, because of the contract he signed last year.
Football contracts are routinely misrepresented by the media because they are not guaranteed contracts. A "seven-year deal for $70 million" means nothing if it's terminated by the team after the second year.
The key to these contracts is the signing bonus. Players like this because it's guaranteed money. Clubs like it because they can spread the bonus over the length of the contract for salary-cap purposes. If it's a substantial bonus, it also gives the players leverage because, if the player is released, all the remaining bonus counts against the team's cap number for that year.
more (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/17/SP135799.DTL)
Football contracts are routinely misrepresented by the media because they are not guaranteed contracts. A "seven-year deal for $70 million" means nothing if it's terminated by the team after the second year.
The key to these contracts is the signing bonus. Players like this because it's guaranteed money. Clubs like it because they can spread the bonus over the length of the contract for salary-cap purposes. If it's a substantial bonus, it also gives the players leverage because, if the player is released, all the remaining bonus counts against the team's cap number for that year.
more (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/17/SP135799.DTL)