Fitzgerald Watch

So how did Cardinals' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald wind up with an astonishing $14 million base salary for 2008 and a staggering $17 million BASE salary for 2009? Escalator clauses based on incentives that turned out to be too easy to reach. As this Arizona Cardinals' beat writer explains it all, the real problem is that Fitzgerald made two pro bowls in his first four years. Each pro bowl appointment earned him a $5 million increase in pay. Really, as Kent Somers points out, if Fitzgerald hadn't made the second pro bowl his salary would be a "manageable" $9 million/year and not the $14 million monstrosity, and certainly not the looming $17 million salary cap disaster next year.

 

Sure the deal was designed to incentivize Fitzgerald to be one of the best receivers in the NFC. And who can blame the Cardinals for not seeing that there would be a sudden dearth of talent at the WR position except for He Who Shall Not be Named but Plays in Dallas? Torry Holt nursed a bum knee all year and might have challenged Fitzgerald for the starter spot, at which point only one other WR has to emerge to bump either Fitz or Driver off the Honolulu roster entirely.

 

Weird how if Fitzgerald was only slightly less good and, say, his teammate Anquan Boldin got the call, or Steve Smith had a better year, the Cards might not be in this position.