Skins shell out too much cash again, extend Moss

[Hercules Rockefeller]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=2053347

Speedy wide receiver Santana Moss, the veteran on whom the Washington Redskins are counting to add some big-play dimension to their anemic passing attack of last season on Wednesday reached a contract extension with the club, ESPN.com has learned.

Moss was officially acquired from the New York Jets on March 9 in a swap of unhappy wide receivers, with Laveranues Coles going to the Jets, the team that originally brought him into the league. The trade had been discussed by the Redskins and Jets for two weeks before it was finally consummated, and then was delayed several more days because the two players had to pass physical examinations.

The six-year extension, negotiated by agent Drew Rosenhaus and scheduled to be signed on Thursday, is worth $31 million. But the sixth-year of the deal will void if Moss merely reaches minimum playing time levels, and so the five-year value of the add-on is $26.55 million. The deal includes $11 million in combined signing and option bonuses, paid out over two years.

The four-year veteran was entering the final season of his original NFL contract and he was scheduled to have a base salary of $540,000 for the 2005 season.

Rosenhaus and Redskins officials have been working on the extension since the trade was completed. But with the draft, and Washington having to clear salary cap space to finish the deal, it took more than a month to complete.

There was never any doubt that, once the trade was consummated, the two sides would strike an extension agreement, just as Coles did with the Jets. While negotiations dragged on, though, Moss stayed away from the Redskins' offseason training program. He will report on Wednesday evening to the team and begin participating in the workouts as early as Thursday, Rosenhaus confirmed.

"Everyone worked hard, first of all, to get the trade finished, and then to complete this (extension)," Rosenhaus said before boarding a flight back to his Miami base. "Santana is excited to be with the Redskins and, obviously, he is a player that Washington wanted in its offense. Hopefully, this contract with spark some movement with some other wide receivers in the league."

Rosenhaus represents several other prominent receivers, such as Philadelphia's Terrell Owens and Javon Walker of Green Bay, who are seeking to upgrade their contracts.

Moss, 25, was the Jets' first-round choice in the 2001 draft. The former University of Miami star, who possesses great quickness, has 151 catches for 2,416 yards and 19 touchdowns in 51 appearances.

He has been hampered at times by hamstring and knee injuries but, when healthy, is an explosive performer, as reflected in a career average of 16.0 yards per catch and one touchdown every 7.9 receptions. Of his 151 catches, 106 have resulted in first downs or touchdowns. Moss' best season came in 2003, when he posted 74 receptions for 1,105 yards and 10 scores.

The four-year veteran is also a playmaker on special teams and has averaged 11.9 yards and scored two touchdowns on 88 career punt returns.

Certainly the Washington passing game, statistically the NFL's fourth-least productive in 2004, can use a receiver of Moss' potential. The Redskins, stymied in part by an archaic design that featured a lot of "maximum" protections and only two receivers in the pattern, averaged a paltry 5.36 yards per pass play last season, and 10.96 yards per completion. Both those numbers were second-lowest in the league.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will surpass Santana's 4 year totals during this season

[Atlas]

Coles is a much better WR.... Damn guess what kind of Money Lelie will be looking for...

[Bronco_Beerslug]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will have surpassed Santana's 4 year totals during this season
Maybe, but Moss has been injured some and missed games. He is a darn good receiver but if you don't have anyone that can get you the ball then that doesn't mean a whole lot.

[SoCalBronco]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will have surpassed Santana's 4 year totals during this season

In a sense i agree with you Herc, about the bonus but with this offseason the 10 million bonus threshold doesnt seem to be alot anymore. Wasnt there a corner out there who was just sorta above average who got 13 million up front? Moss is a very good deep WR, who Hackett stymied this year. He had a great year in 03. Washington should make a concerted effort to use him better. You are prolly right about Ash. In fact, if he progresses as i think he will and goes for 65 for 1300, its going to be rough to hold onto him. He still has 2 more years on his deal. I really, really, really do not want to lose the guy. I think the team is preparing their cap slot for him.

[labronx]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will surpass Santana's 4 year totals during this season

I guess this is payback for trading us their #1. They freakin raised the bar again on player contracts!!

sh*t this is ridiculous

[Kaylore]

Coles is a much better WR.... Damn guess what kind of Money Lelie will be looking for...
Who's Lelie's agent.

[scttgrd]

Man, the Redskins overpaid for Moss. I guess Rosenhaus strikes again. And as others have stated, Lelie is going to want his. I just hope he doesen't get any ideas to hire Rosenhaus to get it for him.

[SoCalBronco]

Who's Lelie's agent.

Dont worry its not Rosenhaus, i think its Octagon Inc. or something like that. It doesnt really matter, the market will dictate the price.

[SoCalBronco]

Herc, isnt it true the next few years our cap shape is going to look pretty good? If thats the case and we dont hold onto Walls, i dont think we will have a problem signing Ash.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Herc, isnt it true the next few years our cap shape is going to look pretty good? If thats the case and we dont hold onto Walls, i dont think we will have a problem signing Ash.

It depends on how much accelerates for Nalen after this season since his deal voids, and they still have got to get Pryce off the cap. Nalen's restructured too many times to really get a feel for how much unamortized bonus money is out there. Pryce's cap figure is back at around $10M again next year. That's going to be almost 10% of the cap on one guy who isn't an upper echelon lineman anymore.

The cap should get better and better though. After next season, they'll be down to Jake and Rod as the two older players on big deals.

[Kaylore]

Dont worry its not Rosenhaus, i think its Octagon Inc. or something like that. It doesnt really matter, the market will dictate the price.
That's fine. I don't mind dealing out money for Lelie, he looks like he's going to be even better this year. I just don't want to contribute to Satan or the Postons' income in any way. Not to mention their holdout crap they always pull.

[sirhcyennek81]

difference being, Lelie will be worth a 10 million signing bonus, and Moss is not. I dont think ashley will ask for that, so its not a problem, because his contract is not up. Redskins overpaid a player who was not worth the 540k he was getting in the first place.

[Rascal]

It depends on how much accelerates for Nalen after this season since his deal voids, and they still have got to get Pryce off the cap. Nalen's restructured too many times to really get a feel for how much unamortized bonus money is out there. Pryce's cap figure is back at around $10M again next year. That's going to be almost 10% of the cap on one guy who isn't an upper echelon lineman anymore.

The cap should get better and better though. After next season, they'll be down to Jake and Rod as the two older players on big deals.

What can they do with Pryce's contract to get the number down?

What about Wilson's contract?

[Atlas]

What can they do with Pryce's contract to get the number down?

What about Wilson's contract?


As long as Pryce is willing they can redo it again next year.

[Rascal]

Hopefully they talk to him so we don't have a repeat of this again next year. Not to mention if Warren has a decent year we will probably want to resign him and then there is the option of Browns contract which has a 8 mil signing bonus I think.

[SoCalBronco]

As long as Pryce is willing they can redo it again next year.

I suspect Denver has already planned that if he has a huge year they can trade him for that 1st they wanted this year. If he is okay, they will still deal him unless he continues to take a huge straight pay cut. If he is okay he wont, so he will be gone for a mid 1st day pick. If he is average to poor, Denver will just flat out dump him without the worry of Oak or KC picking him up.

[Sodak]

As long as Pryce is willing they can redo it again next year.

Pryce will be playing to prove himself this year. He jumped into the FA maket and came out like a dead fish. Hopefully, he is more realistic about his value next year.

[Sodak]

Right. What he said...

[Broncoman13]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will surpass Santana's 4 year totals during this season



I don't think he'll have a problem with the 8 TD's or having a 70 yard TD reception, but getting the 200 yards and 30 catches to surpass Santana may be hard to come by!!!!!!!!!

[SoCalBronco]

I don't think he'll have a problem with the 8 TD's or having a 70 yard TD reception, but getting the 200 yards and 30 catches to surpass Santana may be hard to come by!!!!!!!!!

How so BMan? He has a whole year to equal it? He will have 30 catches at the mid point of the season and 200 yards after 2.5 games. I see Lelie going for 65/1300 this year. Heck he was at 1100 this season, if the passes were a little more accurate he would have been at 1300 this year. I remember at least 5 huge plays where he was wide open the ball was thrown way, way behind or out of bounds, 3 of them in the first san diego game.

[ozomulsion]

I'm guessing it was sarcasm.

[SoCalBronco]

I'm guessing it was sarcasm.

Your right. I didnt even see it. Its obvious now that i look at it. My bad, cant believe i didnt see that. :hitself:
Hell, even Luke is going to get 20/300 this year.

[Bronco LB 59]

Wasnt there a corner out there who was just sorta above average who got 13 million up front?

I don't know who are you talking about, but I think this signing was one of the worst of the offseason.

Anthony Henry got a $10 million signing bonus for signing with the Cowboys. Plus, he negotiated two $1 million roster bonuses plus a base 5 year, $25 million contract.

[SoCalBronco]

I don't know who are you talking about, but I think this signing was one of the worst of the offseason.

Anthony Henry got a $10 million signing bonus for signing with the Cowboys. Plus, he negotiated two $1 million roster bonuses plus a base 5 year, $25 million contract.

thanks 52, i think thats who i may have been referring to. If Henry is getting 10 up front, its going to cost alot the next few years to lock up our young talent.

[ozomulsion]

I don't know who are you talking about, but I think this signing was one of the worst of the offseason.

Anthony Henry got a $10 million signing bonus for signing with the Cowboys. Plus, he negotiated two $1 million roster bonuses plus a base 5 year, $25 million contract.

I watch a lot of football and honestly hadn't heard of the guy until he singed that crazy contract.

[Bronco LB 59]

Jonas Jennings this offseason inked a 7 year deal, $36 million dollar deal with a $12 million signing bonus.

Do you think that's a good estimate of what George Foster could demand on the open market? I guess it depends on how he performs the next three seasons.

From what I understand, George Foster signed a six year deal but the last year would be voided if he met certain predetermined minimum playing time requirements. Herc, can you add what you know about Foster's situation?

[SoCalBronco]

Jonas Jennings this offseason inked a 7 year deal, $36 million dollar deal with a $12 million signing bonus.

Do you think that's a good estimate of what George Foster could demand on the open market? I guess it depends on how he performs the next two seasons.

From what I understand, George Foster signed a six year deal but the last year would be voided if he met certain predetermined minimum playing time requirements. Herc, can you add what you know about Foster's situation?

****. 7/36 with 12 up front. Jennings isnt really elite either i think. Again, the double digit signing bonus ratio is becoming quite common for just above average players. Whats even scarier is that such a figure wont even be close to what the estimate would be for a bright future guy like Foster. Even if he just becomes a decent but not pro bowl tackle, with the way salaries seem to be outpacing the increase in the cap each year, 5 years from now, for a decent tackle, translated back to 2005 dollars, i wouldnt say its out of the ball park for something like 6/45 with 18 up front. And thats for a decent but not pro bowl tackle. Key position salary increases due to the market is far outpacing the annual increase in the cap.
Luckily, based on the early estimates, Herc seems to think our cap shape will be excellent the next few years. We will need it.

[Hulamau]

If Denver is straight up with Lelie and pays him fairly he wont try to gouge us.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

****. 7/36 with 12 up front. Jennings isnt really elite either i think. Again, the double digit signing bonus ratio is becoming quite common for just above average players.

But it seems like a lot of these "signing bonuses" are really a signing bonus and an option bonus or two. The press still hasn't caught on yet that teams aren't giving out huge lump-sum signing bonuses anymore. You'd hope the 49ers didn't give that much out up front to Jennings.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

From what I understand, George Foster signed a six year deal but the last year would be voided if he met certain predetermined minimum playing time requirements. Herc, can you add what you know about Foster's situation?


1. OT George Foster, Georgia (No. 20 overall): Signing bonus: $3,000,000. Base salaries: $545,000 (2003); $681,300 (2004, plus $1,600,000 option bonus and $35,000 workout bonus); $817,500 (2005, plus $35,000 workout bonus); $953,750 (2006, plus $35,000 workout bonus); $1,090,000 (2007, plus $35,000 workout bonus); $871,250 (2008, plus $35,000 workout bonus, voidable). Note: If team exercises option bonus base salaries reduced to $326,250 (2004); $462,500 (2005); $598,750 (2006); $735,000 (2007). Total: six years, $8,313,750 or, if voided, five years, $7,407,500. Cap charge: $1,045,000.

[WaffleBoy]

2400 yds in a 4 year career is worth $10+M in signing and option bonuses?

Denver's going to have a hell of a time re-signing Ashley in 2 years when the Skins hand out ****ty deals like this.

Santana, 4 years:
151 2416 16.0 69 19

Ashley, 3 years:
126 2237 17.8 60 11

I'd be willing to bet a healthy Ashley will surpass Santana's 4 year totals during this season

Doesn't Javon have as many catches as Lelie in one year? 126?

The Boy Wonder :super:

[MileHighMania]

Walker has more yards and more TDs in 1 fewer season than Moss. Both are Drew's clients, so you know he's talking to Green Bay saying "Moss got this, isn't Walker worth more?". Snyder did Drew a favor and set the bar too high.

Hell, Kennison has almost identical yardage and 2 fewer TDs in the last two seasons compared to Moss... he should tell Peterson to STFU and STFD , pay me. That would make me chuckle.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Doesn't Javon have as many catches as Lelie in one year? 126?

The Boy Wonder :super:

You're obviously not that smart, or simply have no reading comprehension skills. So when was Javon Walker actually mentioned in this thread besides your post? Nice attempt at a dig, but most people can stay on topic when they try that.

[Broncoman13]

How so BMan? He has a whole year to equal it? He will have 30 catches at the mid point of the season and 200 yards after 2.5 games. I see Lelie going for 65/1300 this year. Heck he was at 1100 this season, if the passes were a little more accurate he would have been at 1300 this year. I remember at least 5 huge plays where he was wide open the ball was thrown way, way behind or out of bounds, 3 of them in the first san diego game.


LMAO...... :captain: You really think he can pull in 30 catches for 200 yards this year. :D

Sorry bro, you asked for it on that one! ;D

[Broncoman13]

I tend to agree with Hula. I don't think Ash is going to hold us hostage over a big time, league leading contract. However, I think he is going to be deserving of a 5 year 30 million deal with 10 mil in bonuses. Hopefully it will work out to a back loaded contract and if he's still performing after year two we re-work it with more bonus money.

[watermock]

Lelie has some stats, but is far from a "go to" reciever like Rod Smith, Sharpe or Floppy Ed. I don't think signing Freddie "pimp daddy" Mitchell would change that.

Watts was horrible IMO. Lelie is used wrong. Smith is getting up there but who knows with this guy, I give him two more years at least. The Putz is still improving, hopefully we did the right thing to re-sign him, but he has to contribute in the red zone.

I would of liked of traded one of our firsts and a second for Mike Williams when he fell to 10. Talk about an heir to Rod Smith....Oh well...the bones say that Washington will be a top 10 pick...so we wait....