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Originally Posted by BrudLee
Please don't take this personally Schneed10, but that's a bullshit stat. This year - and this year only - Owens's base salary is ranked outside of the top ten in total compensation. However, with the signing bonus he received last year, his two-year compensation ranks him below Moss, Harrison, and (I think because of his new contract with the Jets) Coles. That's elite company. If he had kept his mouth shut, without any changes to his contract, he would receive an additional $7.5 million in bonus on April 1st.
The "10th best receiver" line is Rosenhaus rhetoric designed to illicit sympathy for his noble client. Take it with a grain of salt. Hell, take it with a whole salt lick.
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No offense taken. But I think Rosenhaus is more correct on the relative value of the contract than anyone else. If you're going to look at compensation for the last two seasons only, then you're eliminating anyone who didn't sign a contract within the last two seasons. Owens, Harrison and Coles all signed within the last two seasons. Saying they rank highly in two-year compensation doesn't say much, since the signing bonus comprises well more than half of the first two years of compensation in almost all NFL contracts.
Total contract value is a pretty worthless measure since so many contracts are backloaded such that the final few years are never intended to be honored. The best measuring stick is the size of the guaranteed money (usually equal to the signing bonus). Owens got $10 million from the Eagles. We gave Coles $13 million two years ago. Harrison signed with guarantees of $23 million (bonuses payable in several installments). In 2001, the Vikings signed Randy Moss to an extension giving him an $18 million signing bonus. He's still under that contract with the Raiders.
Owens is definitely underpaid when you consider his talent alone. I was just saying that when you consider the whole package, including his talent and how bad a teammate he is, the contract value seems right on to me.