Darwin's Deal

Darwin Walker got the pay raise and contract extension he was looking for. Good for Darwin, a good guy. But call me skeptical about some of the numbers in the contract. Talk about funny money. The 5-year, $25 million deal includes $12.5 million in bonus and incentive money. That’s half the value of the contract. Say a $2 million signing bonus and I’m guessing the rest of those “bonuses” are roster bonuses in years 3, 4 or 5. His base salary this year is $2 million. So he’s guaranteed $4 million (this year’s salary + bonus). And he’ll probably get the $2 million in base next year (assuming no career ending injury in 2007). That brings him to $6 million in cash received. But he’ll be lucky to get the other $6 million to bring him to just HALF of the actual contract “value.” That’s the reality in the NFL today.