Thursday, July 28, 2005 Clarett wants to prove he's worthy of first-round money By John Clayton ESPN.com
Maurice Clarett, who legally challenged the league for early entry, still hasn't given up the thought he should have been a first-round choice in the NFL.
Instead of suing the league, Clarett came up with a novel approach. He is putting his money where his mouth is. On Thursday, he signed a four-year contract in which he gave up the $410,000 of guaranteed money in order to secure an incentive-laden deal that could eventually earn him $7 million.
The complex contract, which includes more than $5 million of performance escalators, forced the Broncos and Clarett's agents to negotiate well into Wednesday night. After a few hours of sleep, they resumed their talks Thursday morning and reached agreement by the afternoon. Clarett was the last pick in the third round of the draft.
The contract was negotiated by Steve Feldman, Josh Luchs and Clarett's attorney and advisor, David Kenner.
"This deal struck gives Maurice the opportunity to be paid like the first-round draft choice he was born to be," Feldman said.
Specifics of the contract are sketchy, but it works something like this. If Clarett gains 1,000 yards, he could hit an escalator worth more than $1 million, almost three times what he would have made in a signing bonus given to him by the Broncos.
The more he rushes for, the more he makes. He can max out at around $7 million.
This was Clarett's gamble. He has the confidence he can gain the yards and hit the $7 million figure. Rollovers give him a chance to make the big bumps in salary if he doesn't do it as a rookie.
To further show his commitment, he accepted no guarantees. The $410,000 the Broncos were willing to give him Thursday was put into workout bonuses in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Clarett wants to prove he's a first-round talent. If he runs like a first-rounder, he could be paid like a first-rounder instead of a third-rounder.
I was one of the few who believe in his sincerity when he apologzied for his actions. However I believe he deserved what he got and thats a lower draft status and less money.
Frankly, I really like the idea of draft picks getting less "guaranteed" money upfront and, instead, having their contracts incentive based. That way, they'll have to perform well to get paid.
Fran Farren "Justice Hog"
Newark, DE
“God didn't give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving and controlled.” 2 Timothy 1:7
I also like the idea of players getting paid performance escalators, I wish every team would start pushing in that direction. That would accomplish several things; you would get what you paid for, players would play harder, and a team could cut there losses with little to no impact.
Justice Hog wrote:Frankly, I really like the idea of draft picks getting less "guaranteed" money upfront and, instead, having their contracts incentive based. That way, they'll have to perform well to get paid.
Isn't this also a plus for the Broncos organization? If I'm not mistaken, incentives don't count against the cap, right?
It's too bad that this sounds a little too much like the Ricky Williams/Master P deal from a few years back.
Unreached incentive don't count against the cap. They count only if the player reaches the set incentive goals. There is also some funky thing by which you can get a credit to the following years cap if the player doesn't reach the incentive. Thats why if you look at Philly's Cap Space last yar (Before they sign Kearse and TO) it was higher that the league average. They always put ridiculous and unlikely incentive's clauses in the contract. I wouldn't be surprised if Greg Lewis got an incentive bonus if he reached 2000 yards and 20 touchdown recieving.
this is the way contracts should be handled. play well, get paid, don't play well, you deserve to not get paid. this way, it bodes well for both the player and the organization, and it offers more of an incentive to the player to actually play the game he claims to love.
Sean, may you always rest in peace and look down on us with the same love that we look up to you.
