Johnson signs with KC, McGahee next?

[Demon]

Chiefs sign first-rounder Johnson

Courtesy of Kansas City Chiefs media relations

KANSAS CITY, Mo., (July 17, 2003) -- Kansas City Chiefs president Carl Peterson announced that the Chiefs have agreed to terms of a seven-year deal with first-round selection (27th overall) RB Larry Johnson. He is just the second first-round pick from the 2003 NFL Draft to agree to terms. QB Carson Palmer, who was chosen with the first overall selection by Cincinnati, is the only other first-round pick to agree to terms with his club.

As per Chiefs policy, no further terms of the agreement were disclosed.

"Obviously, I'm very pleased to have our first-round draft choice under contract at this time," Peterson said. "This was a contract that we thought would be done because of the principals involved -- namely Larry Johnson, the Johnson family and Larry's agent.

"As we said when we drafted Larry, he's coming to the Chiefs to learn from a very talented running back and Larry gives us tremendous insurance at that position," Peterson continued. "He has a lot to learn in the NFL, but he has the talent and work ethic to help the Chiefs in his first year and for many years to come."

Johnson signs

Now that we know how much Larry Johnson will be paid, will Willis McGahee sign next??

[BillsFever]

7 years? I hope Willie gets a 7 year deal .

[Jan Reimers]

Seven years sets the bar pretty high. Doubt TD will go seven with Willis.

[ryven]

McGahee will probably sign a 5 yr. contract

[Throne Logic]

Uh, Willis only has one knee and still is a risk to ever actually play a down, regardless of what the rehab reports say.

If he get's a 7 year deal, then it will have some sort of major backout clause for the Bills if that knee doesn't fully recover. I see a shorter deal lined heavily with clauses that will assure he only gets the real money if he is able to play.

I'd also bet on an option to extend that contract to a long-term deal.

[TedMock]

Chiefs | Johnson Contract Breakdown - from www.KFFL.com
Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:40:57 -0700

Updating previous reports, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports the seven-year deal Kansas City Chiefs RB Larry Johnson received is worth $8.847 million, including a $3.31 million signing bonus. If certain playing time benchmarks are achieved, Johnson's deal will void down to a five-year, $6.7 million deal. He'll have base salaries of $452,000 (2003), $515,000 (2004), $628,000 (2005), $741,000 (2006), $854,000 (2007), $967,000 (2008) and $1.08 million (2009) and there are workout bonuses of $50,000 each for 2004 through 2009.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by Throne Logic
Uh, Willis only has one knee and still is a risk to ever actually play a down, regardless of what the rehab reports say.

If he get's a 7 year deal, then it will have some sort of major backout clause for the Bills if that knee doesn't fully recover. I see a shorter deal lined heavily with clauses that will assure he only gets the real money if he is able to play.

I'd also bet on an option to extend that contract to a long-term deal.

I couldn't agree more. The thought of signing McGahee to a long term deal scares me in case he never fully recovers.

[SamAdamsFan]

The length of the contract doesn't matter so much as how much is upfront or guaranteed. They could give McGahee a 10 year deal, but if they wanted to they could just cut him after the 2004 season without ever having to pay the last 9 years, and those years wouldn't count against the cap. But I do think the contract will only be 4 or 5 years because McGahee would probably want to renegotiate once he proves himself as being healthy.